Surfing river mouths - Read here first!

To sum it up before it’s even written out, DON’T surf river mouths!

Simple, but you are probably wondering why, because you see other people out there. But they have a lot more experience and these are some of the gnarliest places to surf.

One body of water entering another body water yields hazards in abundance. Sandbanks that shift after storms or strong tides, rips and tidal currents, submerged rocks and holes and a good chance of one or two of your friendly neighborhood razor toothed predators. Not exactly a neophyte friendly environment.

For seasoned surfers the training begins months in advance. They ride the biggest waves they can find to become acclimated. Outside their comfort zone, let alone the comfort zone of a beginner. They also train to increase lung capacity because they know that when (when, not if) they wipe out, chances are they will be held down longer than normal.

When you are more experienced, three to four years, and you are ready for this kind of surf be aware that this is best done by increasing your cardio and holding your breath when you are NOT underwater. You can actually black out from doing it underwater and drown.

The currents here are extremely strong and the waves are powerful. It is often also a favorite place for predators as there is a lot of sea life moving in and out of the rivers.

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