Sometimes, you just got to bail. Whether a wave isn’t working for you and you want to stay outside to line up for a new set, or there’s an obstacle on your line you need to maneuver to avoid, there comes a time when you need to know how to cut a ride short safely and fluidly. Kicking out of a wave is a surfer’s get-out-of-jail-free card. An intermediate surfer in chest to head-high surf can pull off a kick out with confidence, but things get a little tricky in really big surf. Here, when things get iffy, you can still kick out, but it bears considering a few important variables. Firstly, you need to be at or over the lip in order to kick out successfully and propel yourself to the outside of the break. On big waves, this could potentially mean a lot more distance to cover between where you are when you realise you have to bail and where you need to be to make it happen.

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How to kick out in big waves

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