Most people will devote a lot of time and energy into learning how to surf but they might not be exposed to all of the dangers that surround surfers around the world. Some of those dangers come from the demons of the ocean depths that have a liking for surfers and sea creatures such as sharks are what most surfers fear most everytime they venture out into the ocean.



Most surfers use common sense to avoid other dangers when they are surfing. Surfers are known to venture out into the ocean during bad weather but there is a limit to the amount of danger that they are willing to take. Most surfers will avoid the ocean if there is lightning scorching through the night skies and they will seldom venture out to surf if a hurricane is in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.

Some of the dangers that surfers encounter come from their own kind. There are certain protocols that must be followed while surfing and the surfers that do not heed these simple principles are what makes surfing dangerous for all who are in the water. A surfer that is not willing to wait their turn to ride a wave to shore is one that could cause another surfer to drown by knocking them off their board.

Any surfer will encounter danger if they are not aware of what is happening in the water around them. There may be many surfers in the water along a small section of beach and those that do not keep count of how many other surfers there are in the water could end up hitting someone with the surfboard that they are on. Getting hit by a surfboard can result in severe head and spinal injuries. If those injuries are severe enough, the damage done could make surfing again an impossible task to accomplish.

Most cities will use lifeguards to alert swimmers and surfers to dangerous conditions. Surfers will observe all safety rules and keep an eye out on the flags that are posted by each lifeguard station. These flags serve as an alert system that notifies swimmers of water hazards and whether there are other hazards that are not viewable with the naked eye. Surfers that pay attention to flags with hurricane warning symbols on them are surfers that are certain to remain alive and will be able to surf on another day.

One of the biggest dangers that surfers face on any given day are the rip tide currents that can not be seen with the naked eye. A surfer must know how to handle the situation when it happens because the surfer can be carried out to sea by a wave and drown if they panic. A surfer will often lose sight of their surfboard when they are caught in a rip current but with the proper state of mind, they can swim even with the shoreline until they are clear to return to shore under their own power.