In another, I broke my board, cut my leg, and had a long swim anyway. The down side to bailing out is that it may put another surfer in jeopardy. By far the best thing to do is to have enough foresight not to put yourself in a situation where you're endangering other people in the lineup. With all that said, it is true that big-wave surfers also bail their boards often to avoid undue punishment. In regards to duck diving bigger waves, I'll share with you some general tips.
Guns are more buoyant and therefore harder to submerge.
Try and use both feet on the tail instead of one. Get your butt as high off the board as possible for more leverage. Since it takes a little longer to get a gun submerged, start your duck dive earlier than usual. All of the statements made on this page and throughout this Web site are only provided as our opinions and should not be considered as recommendations or advice in any way. All rights reserved.