How often do you get hit hard by your board

[dtc]

Ah, yeah I forgot about those. Do they fog up or get water beads?

[waikikikichan]

There is a bit of a "Fish Eye" effect when you look not dead straight ahead. And there some scratches that developed pulling the visor down.

[malattia]

Must be bad karma.

I have been reading this thread thinking "oh well, I don't think I ever got hit all that hard by my board".
Then, the past weekend, I managed to wipe out multiple times in some goofy way so as to fall on the fins (the board would flip and position right under myself). As a result of that I managed to only get a non serious cut on my thumb, since all the other times the 4/3 wetsuit protected me (and didn't get damaged!).

This was on the high tide at the hook in Santa Cruz.

But then the ugly: on the way out, I miscalculated my trajectory or maybe it was just the backwash... my board slammed on the rocks (better there than on my head) and got a pretty serious hole that will make it unusable for the next couple of weeks (or maybe more).

Finally, this morning on my daily reload of surfline forecast, the insult:

Sigh.
I could always rent a board but it's not not the same thing as going out with your faithful companion.

[jaffa1949]

As a beginner I wipeout often, and while it has gotten less, I still get hit maybe every fith session. I feel that I get cuts from my fins in my feet at least as often as that.

Do you by any chance have the board upside down?

[kookRachelle]

But Rachelle wants to know what is the likelihood of damaging a cell phone so if you could all respond then we might be able to figure out if it's likely that her phone will get damaged

Well I actually went out with BaNZ on Saturday and rented a board (didn't bring mine because I wasn't 100% certain I was going to surf since pins still in my finger). Those bastards gave me a 9' board with like a 6' leash and every time I wiped out I got hit with the damn thing! Nothing serious though. The old leash had broken with the previous renter and I guess this kid just threw any leash he could find on there.

I also get a bruise or a scrape or something every single time I surf. I've come to expect it. When I first started in July, I would make it out before work and ride the train in to the office with busted up knees. My knees still get bruised a little but it is way less finally.

The worst was when I got hit in the ear. Good lord.

I also scrape my chin when I paddle into a wave. The board bumps my chin at least 5 times every time I go out - surprised I never bled. Does this happen to anybody else?!

Never had a fin injury, thankfully. Got a nice piece of skin snipped off by a jerk of a crab once though.

This is why surfers are so hardbody!!

[oldmansurfer]

I rarely get any visible injury surfing

[saltydog]

I used to get jammed multiple fingers and toes each session from trying to hang on to my wavestorm. As soon as I switched to a log I stopped getting them.

Rochelle... my knees always look like yours from bumping into all over the place both in and out of the water

[saltydog]

Rochelle - btw, hope your finger is healing well.

[kookRachelle]

I rarely get any visible injury surfing

Just visceral injury?

[kookRachelle]

Rochelle - btw, hope your finger is healing well.

Thanks so much! Yeah I finally got the pins out on Monday. Technically not supposed to surf for another two weeks. Technically.

[saltydog]

Oops, sorry to misspell your name, Rachelle One time I slammed my hand against the kitchen counter really, really hard and my left pinky remained painful for good 6 months. I couldn't bend or bear weight since it hurt too much, but I didn't think it was a big deal (stupid I know). Looking back I'd fractured it. Luckily I've eventually regained mobility but it still feels a little weird like even after a few years. Good thing you are taking care of your hand!

[Big H]

There is a shaper here (Bruce Hansel) who reccomends at least medium thick glassing (heavier than standard off the rack boards) for anyone at intermediate level or higher because they hit their boards harder when they do hit them and generally charge bigger waves.

To that end I got a whack last Thursday that still has me walking (and surfing) funny. Was the peak of the swell and where I was it was about double OH.....I managed to get bucked off a late drop (chop in the face) and I fell awkwardly.....anyway, managed to take the pointed nose to the inside of the thigh in the ensuing tumble......on surfacing I checked right away for a ragged gaping hole in my leg.....found only a smallish cut but it felt like I’d been gored. Thankfully the shaper of the board I was on had sanded the point off unlike some boards I’ve seen otherwise It would have been nasty. Huge black bruise now and been limping since last week though I haven’t missed a day going out......good times!

[kookextraordinaire]

The chin affliction is an odd one. Is the abrasion more under the chin or the pointed part (not sure what the anatomical nomenclature is here)? The head is very heavy, you may not need to make contact with the board at all. Look up Luke Egan, he was a big proponent of using the weight of the head to catch waves more easily, but I don't think he actually made contact with his chin.

[oldmansurfer]

I sometimes use my head to put more weight while catching a wave but haven't ever been injured doing it

[Big H]

If you position yourself so that the board is in the correct trim when paddling for a wave when you arch your back and keep your head high, then when you drop your head and “dive” into the wave catching is easier. It will be a little forward if where you would position yourself to paddle back out. Works good when waves lack guts.....not necessary or wanted in steeper waves as a little bit of stall while in the process of getting up is desirable.

[sflogging]

I rarely got hit by my board. Then, I went on a recent surf trip in Indo where waves were hollower than my usual break. I went over the falls on one wave when I tried to pull back and my board and I were slammed together on the fall... ended up getting a gnarly bruise on my thigh. After that, I also hit my board two other times over course of 3 days but with just tiny bruises as a result.

Interestingly, what ultimately was the worst and ended the surfing was a gnarly rash I got all over my chest and nipples. My baby soft skin from wearing those 4 mm wetsuits all year round just couldn’t handle the tropics.

On a similar note, I just watched the Pe’ahi Jaws comp yesterday, and saw a few horrible looking wipeouts where it looked like the surfer collided with board or was damn close. I am amazed that those guys take that kind of beating and paddle back out to catch another.

[oldmansurfer]

On a similar note, I just watched the Pe’ahi Jaws comp yesterday, and saw a few horrible looking wipeouts where it looked like the surfer collided with board or was damn close. I am amazed that those guys take that kind of beating and paddle back out to catch another.

I think big wave surfers are used getting banged up a bit but would usually go in if they got banged up. In the competition they're determined to finish and just use the adrenaline to push through the pain. They take advantage of the support crew present.

[RinkyDink]

Took off on a wave today and ate it on the drop. The wave behind it broke right in front of me. I tried to grab the nose of my board and hold onto it through the white wash, but the white water from the wave, about double overhead +, grabbed a hold of my arm and flung it into the side of my rail. It hurt like hell. I thought I might have broken my arm, but it was okay. Still, my arm was hurting during the rest of the session and is probably going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow. I have to remember to switch out of small wave thinking when the surf jumps up because things you take for granted in small surf don't translate to bigger waves.

[dtc]

Took off on a wave today and ate it on the drop. The wave behind it broke right in front of me. I tried to grab the nose of my board and hold onto it through the white wash, but the white water from the wave, about double overhead +, grabbed a hold of my arm and flung it into the side of my rail. It hurt like hell. I thought I might have broken my arm, but it was okay. Still, my arm was hurting during the rest of the session and is probably going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow. I have to remember to switch out of small wave thinking when the surf jumps up because things you take for granted in small surf don't translate to bigger waves.

are you trying to hold onto your board during your fall?

[kookRachelle]

Took off on a wave today and ate it on the drop. The wave behind it broke right in front of me. I tried to grab the nose of my board and hold onto it through the white wash, but the white water from the wave, about double overhead +, grabbed a hold of my arm and flung it into the side of my rail. It hurt like hell. I thought I might have broken my arm, but it was okay. Still, my arm was hurting during the rest of the session and is probably going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow. I have to remember to switch out of small wave thinking when the surf jumps up because things you take for granted in small surf don't translate to bigger waves.

Ooof! How is it feeling now?