Surfing Waves

The waves were small today, 2-3ft but on my last wave of the day, I fell off backwards and some how the board turned to the side and the fin slid down my left inner arm, completely slashing open the wetsuit!

The fin barely grazed my arm and I saw blood. Thankfully, it was a 3 inch long - deep scratch that was bleeding, no stitches needed.

1. How can I make sure this never happens again?

2. Can I get some softer fins or should I get a foam board?

3. How can I repair my wetsuit.

At least it was the wetsuit and not my arm was split open.

(By the way, it took me forever to find a lifeguard to get a bandage, maybe a good idea to keep that in the car.)

Good to hear you were not hurt to bad. I once cut through the back of my new wetsuit the same way. The thing about fins is they are foiled to travel through the water cleanly so they do not vibrate or hum. This foil can leave the fins trailing edge sharp, which can easily cut through neoprene or flesh. You can try to dull the tips and trailing edges with sandpaper, but be careful not to mess up the foils. Another option is Surfco Hawaii makes Pro Tec fins. Surfing fisn with hard rubber edges that are much safer. Check them out here: http://www.surfcohawaii.com/Pro-Teck-Fins-s/26.htm

Tony, thanks for the link, I will definitely get softer fins, just not worth the chance. if it takes away a little performance that's fine with me, not like I am professional or anything. I feel very grateful my arm was not bare!

Hi Socal glad to hear you weren't hurt too bad, we are pretty blessed in this surfing caper there are many things taht can hurt harm or kill you but there seems to be a much smaller percentage of harm done than you would expect, strangely my most serious injuries have been in small surf where I wasn't showing it the respect it deserves, and I was given a reminder with pain and humble pie.

Here is an interesting link for anybody that has been hurt by their surfboard,
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/26 ... s-20110826, this is how somebody will end up causing government regulation of surfing! In this I am serious.

Anything can happen but this was a good wake up call. I do not plan to go out until I change out my fins. Also, will be much more aware of other surfers and their fins. Law suit is crazy but perhaps there should be more a warning on the board about fins.

While I am at it, what are some other safety topics we should be aware of?...I was not really aware of the fins being such an issue...

The pointed nose of a shortboard can be very dangerous. I have seen pictures of surfers with their eyes badly damaged.You can get rubber nose guards to protect yourself. SurfCo Hawaii also makes noseguards. Another thing to watch for is other surfers, SUPers bailing their boards when you are behind them. A loose board can be very dangerous when the force of a wave carries a loose board toward you. Try to assume others are beginners and paddle wide of them.

Tony,

good ones, thank you!

How can you avoid it? You can't, if we are talking specifically cuts by the board, I had the fin go through my wetsuit and into my buttcheek, but only got a huge bruice. I was surifng big waves and wiped out, somehow my feet ended up by the fins and I cut the bottom (have no idea how) of my foot all the way accross, getting 11 stitches. I also wiped out and the tip of the fin went into the small space bettween my heel and my ancle bone, taking off all the skin in between.

This doesn't include bruices, knocks on the head, gashes from reefs...

Surfing is a blast, but sometimes things happen. Like a bicyclist falling off, a soccer player hurting a knee, it's a sport, things happen...

themathteacher wrote:Surfing is a blast, but sometimes things happen. Like a bicyclist falling off, a soccer player hurting a knee, it's a sport, things happen...

+1

Ultimately we're out in the ocean attached to a long, solid object with one or more dull knife blades sticking out of it. Get tossed into the washing machine enough times and eventually body and board are bound to interact in ways that come out poorly for the body. Not to mention the interactions between body and reef, body and other person's board, etc. It's not rocket science.

Requiring a board manufacturer to have a warning that fins can cause injuries seems akin to me to requiring coffee houses to print "Warning, beverage is hot" on their cups, or auto advertisements to flash "professional driver on a closed course; do not attempt" at the bottom of the screen. Fear of lawsuits drives it, but IMO perhaps people who truly require those warnings shouldn't be drinking coffee or driving cars in the first place

Like themathteacher said, most sports involve calculated risks of injury. You take whatever practical measures you can to reduce those risks, but if you play you're eventually going to pay.

A question I asked on the forum before which led me to severe surprise!
Have you got a first aid kit? Do you know CPR? Could you look after yourself in a minor injury state or look after a friend
The life guard station is not going to be there at every surf

It is frightening how many people surf without first aid knowledge, and even more who surf and can't swim relying on their leashes

cpr topic -> viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17571