A surfer's biggest worry in large waves, such as those that have been pounding Southland shores this week, is getting caught in the impact zone and held under for an excruciatingly long time.
Many have wiped out, then flailed mightily against the downward churning surf, thinking they might drown, only to poke their heads above water at the last possible moment, gasping for air.
Perhaps because of this fear, most surfers know their limits.
But occasionally there is a drowning and when it happens, questions arise that become difficult or impossible to answer.
The latest casualty was Peter Davi, 45, who was found floating face-down Tuesday during a mammoth session at Ghost Trees off the Monterey Peninsula.
Davi was last seen attempting to swim to shore after losing his surfboard. The cause of death is not yet known.
Family members want to know why, with so many others in the water and many more watching from the bluffs, someone did not come to his rescue.
But some wonder why Davi, at 45 and well past his prime, was even in the lineup. Wave faces measured 50 to 70 feet, much too large for even the fittest of experts to attempt to safely catch without a tow rope and Jet Ski assistance.
When it gets 30 feet or bigger at Ghost Trees, the paddle surfers generally give way to tow-surfing teams, which have specialized boards with foot straps and use the personal watercraft to pull each other onto the faces of swells long before they even break.
Thus, after letting go of the rope, they can ride waves that are too large and moving too swiftly to be caught with arm power. If there is a wipeout, Jet Ski drivers are able to whisk in and pick up their fallen partners, often before the next wave pummels them.
There were at least 15 tow-surfing teams in the Ghost Trees lineup that day, but only two paddle surfers: Davi and Anthony Tashnick, who got out before Davi's body was discovered by one of the tow-surfing teams.
"He was in over his head for one thing," said Don Curry, 38, who was among the tow surfers present. "I don't know what he was thinking.
"He was a very respected big-wave surfer in his day and for some reason he made the wrong decision to paddle out on a day that was strictly for tow only."
Because tow surfers sit much farther out, they either did not notice Davi's plight or did not consider him to be in trouble.
