getting hit by your board

[venice beach mafia]

How often do you guys get hit by your own board snapping back at you and what do you do to avoid getting clocked hard by your board? Happened to me today. Caught 1 fin on the back of my head and a fin on my right shoulder. Knocked me senseless haha. Dunno if it was because my leash is too short? Its about the same length as the board (6'8").

[isaluteyou]

hasnt happened to me yet but when i fall off (which i do a lot) i automatically curl up into a little ball with my arms covering my face and legs close to me. (learnt that the hard way bbing on reef break). Another thing i do is if im gonna wipe out i try to fall away from the board as best as possible.

Its worse when someone shoots their board at you OUCH!.

[Driftingalong]

It's happened to me a few times...not too often though.

I've still got a lump on my shin from a little over a week ago.


If you feel like you're going to fall; try and dive off away from the board. Sometimes it happens to fast; in that case just hope for the best!

[venice beach mafia]

Its worse when someone shoots their board at you OUCH!.

yea thats pretty much what happened. The leash snapped on some dudes shortboard as I was paddlin in. The board came hurtlin at me, didnt have much time to react and next thing I know I was under water with two boards flying around me and then CRACK!! I'm fairly certain I had a hold of the dudes board and it was my own that was thrown away and then snapped back at me but I dont know for sure.

[Stone Fox]

I managed an absolute BEAUTY at Saunton in 2004, I was standing too far forwards, and came off the nose in chest high water. There was a stiff offshore, so the board sort of stood on it's nose for a couple of seconds (just enough time for me to stand up) before crashing down fin first on my shoulder!

Strangely enough there wasn't a mark on the wetsuit, no hole or anything but there was a lovely fin shaped cut in my shoulder pissing blood when I crawled out!

[Ellie]

I think that having a homing device for its owner is some kind of behaviour thats a natural part of a surfboard....Good if it means you don't lose it, but baaaaad if you wipeout and it hits you on the head, knocking you into the sand headfirst Happened to me at Crantock....and yeah it knocked me even sillier than usual - I'd recommend taking a little break to get your head straight!

[GowerCharger]

try and be aware of where you board is when you fall, bear in mind if its between you and a wave its likely to be picked up and hurled at you by the wave. when you come to the surface keep you head covered with your arms, a clout from a board in a wave can easily knowck you out, which can really spoil you day.

[dougirwin13]

I think you learn not to get hit by your board pretty quickly... At least I did

You know - making sure you aren't between your board and shore.

Not that that helps if get sucked over the falls

-doug

[Driftingalong]

I was just out yesterday in solid chest high waves with some head high sets and head+ on few (thanks TS Beryl).

Anyway, I blew a take off and got pitched. My board got sucked down and flipped over while I'm flying through the air. So, I'm coming down looking right at the fins. Brace for impact and Wham! right in the stomach/rib area. That stung a little, but lucky no board damage.

On a plus side, I got some of the best (biggest/longest) rides on my shortboard. So stoked, dude! Nothing fancy though just a few top and bottom turns.

[bluesnowcone]

i was hit in the eye (well above the eye) by my shortboard noes hurt like hell had a scar for a bit buts its sorta heald now

[klhoskins]

I don't usually drag up old posts on a forum but this happened to me last night.

I am still begginer and am just starting to catch waves out in the green stuff. Anyway, a bigger set rolls through (about 5' or 6' which is still big for me)so I paddle for it but I'm nowhere near positioned right. I'm on top of this thing watching it wall out so I bail off the back of the board but the wave takes the board with it, and me right behind. I ended up coming down on a fin with my forearm.

After a trip to the ER I eneded up with 16 stitches and some sliced up muscle tissue underneath. It feels like my forearm got ran over by a truck. I can't even imagine what catching a fin in the head would be like. Prior to this it never even crossed my mind to be afriad but now I'm a little freaked out. Has anyone else been sliced by their own board????

[gdude335]

i tend to bail on the side.
I actually fell forward while riding a shorter board then i flipped forward and it hit my knee. Just a small cut but a bing on my board.
My board hit me on the head but thankfully it was on teh side withought the fins.
Also once you go in cover your head and stay underwater for a bit like that your board will have time to stop moving around and cover your head while going out. If you get sucked in and dont wwant to get killed by your board you might wanna just hold on to it and hope for the best?

[rich r]

Always hold onto your board. It is a danger to you and mostly to others if you don't.

Unless you're standing and riding and get inadvertantly sucked over the falls, or pearl really badly, you should never have to fear getting hurt by your fins.

I hate to say it, but bailing off the back of your board was the worst thing you could have done - your're more likely to stay on top by sticking with your board. Sit up on it, dig your legs in, spin it backwards. You might get sucked forward but you'll have a better chance of staying above water and not getting suck under or over the falls. And even if that does happen, your fins will be pointed away from you.

I've gotten some fin injuries.. but in the past 20 years, it's only nicks and scrapes here and there from dragging a foot or something. Before that, the worst in my initial years was slicing a piece of meat off the side of my foot after pearling and not balling up.

[southwestsurfer]

Try to jump off the back off the board, its easier said than done me thinks.

[iomarti]

When we were out at Watergate Bay about a month ago, Ellie's boyfriend Sean cut the whole back of his head open with a fin, it needed stitches and it made me feel sick

I think that was after the post Ellie wrote above....!!

[Ellie]

Yup, I've just a re-read of this and thought..ahhh, fin in head!!!

Bless him - its all healed up now by the way. And now he hides his head in his arms when he falls!

[iomarti]

good!! I never do that, I ought to, I know...I just forget until the moment I'm back up and ok again! I guess it'll take a bit of a nasty blow to make you do it all the time...

[GowerCharger]

you should always come to the surface with either your head covered or your arm out. As you come up your board could be on its way down, nasty.

[bluesnowcone]

getting hit by your board is just part of surfing

[rich r]

I think the question that revived this thread was focused on just prior to take-off.. so you're paddling, get to the top of the lip where you're about to stand and decide it's closing out or too knarly and want to bail out of the wave.

At this point, you should never, ever, bail off your board. You should lean back, pull up the nose as hard as you can with your arms and dig your legs to pull you back/spin you out of the pull.

If you bail your board, not only will the wave be able to pull you over the falls (you are now no longer bouyant and heavy, just heavy - and your board is bouyant and light), but someone might be charging down the line from outside and your board will smack them, too.

Even if you're partially down the face, pulling back into the wave is possible, like a reverse duckdive, since your tail is already buried in the wave a bit.