How to safely crest big waves (going out) - by: manta

Hi 

Saturday I went for a paddle and we had huge swell in the bay where I paddle. I went to a local surf spot as I was thinking of doing some surfing of the ski. However when I got there I saw it was too big for me so made up my mind to leave. 

As I was leaving there was a huge deep water wave which looked like it would break on me. I paddled to get over it and had a huge drop off the back. I was weightless for a second or two and then hit with a thud. Short story cracked my boat pretty decently, right across the bucket.

Is there another technique I am not aware of that allows a paddler to safely crest big waves without falling off the back and cracking or breaking a boat?

Thanks