Any advice after a surfing accident?

Northclare

I never knew surfing could be so dangerous.
Had a few close encounters with those guy's with the paddle boards but no contact made :S

Are those fins really that sharp ?

FlashD

Northclare wrote: »

Are those fins really that sharp ?

They sure are.

I had the same happen a few years back while duck diving through a wave face, some lad unintentionally caught the back of my heel with his fin as he passed over me.

Can so easily happen when a board is moving at speed, like a hot knife through butter.

After messing up, had my longboard land down on my head as I came to the surface in my earlier days, there was a loud crack, thought I had done my skull in or something but just a crack in the fibreglass, left a gash on my head though. I can just imagine the damage a plastic Bic could do as there is no give in the board material.

I automatically put my hands to my head whenever I surface after that.

Mickeroo

Had my old Bic slam down on top of my head after a wipe out a few years ago, pretty sure I was mildly concussed after. i think my log would be worse though, it's heavy as hell. always cover up my head when wipe out now too. Thankfully managed to avod fin related injuries so far.

Low Pockets

Alright then.

Landed ass first onto a nice pointy reef, cut from the top of my ass crack about 18" up my back, screwed my back up nicely on that one.

Done the splits with one leg on the board as the wave picked me up and dropped me back on the board. Tore all the ligaments in my left leg (hip/knee/ankle) bruised a few bones in the leg as I bounced off rock as I went past, had to crawl outta the water as some prick stood there watching. That one took about 8 weeks before I walked again.

Face planted onto a flat shallow reef the night before a mates wedding in France, nice concussion and looked like Quasimodo for the photos. Never paddled as quick when I saw the blood, the lads had been winding me up for weeks about sharks in france.

Took 11'6 of fibreglass across the forehead in DOH surf, bet on myself to make a section, I didn't and the board clipped my head as it went past. Again, nice concussion. That one was at the bottom of some cliffs and a few hours from home. Great fun trying to get back to my car and then getting myself home afterwards.

In all my years I'd never hit the fin of a board. I managed it twice in two days. First time I landed ass first onto it, 60lbs board with a twelve inch tall inch thick fin, maybe a inch and a half from my nuts. Next morning, same board, fell awkwardly, fin caught me across the chest, thought I'd cracked ribs.

Took the same board onto the flat of the head once. Lay in the water for ten fifteen minutes not sure who/where/what I was. Reading all these, I'm lucky iv a thick skull.

Iv broken my big toe on my right foot three times at last count. There fragments in my toe from it and the joint is trying to grow over itself to protect it from the abuse. (nice pain killing injections for that one)

Wiver fish stings count? Three at last count, highly allergic, each one worse then the last, started to go into shock last time.

And last but far far from least, this was kept me outta the water intermittently for over two years. Took the tail of a board under my armpit while the nose hit the reef. Broke two ribs, that bone on the front of your chest, compressed two vertebra and damaged my right lung and damaged quite a lard portion of mussel/cartilage. Have had two years of not being able to breath properly. Even ended up with pleurisy on the back of it, fun times.

Iv had more slices, cuts, knocks and bruises then I care to remember but these are definitely the highlights.

(edit, grammer)

Northclare

Low Pockets wrote: »

Alright then.

Landed ass first onto a nice pointy reef, cut from the top of my ass crack about 18" up my back, screwed my back up nicely on that one.

Done the splits with one leg on the board as the wave picked me up and dropped me back on the board. Tore all the ligaments in my left leg (hip/knee/ankle) bruised a few bones in the leg as I bounced off rock as I went past, had to crawl outta the water as some prick stood there watching. That one took about 8 weeks before I walked again.

Face planted onto a flat shallow reef the night before a mates wedding in France, nice concussion and looked like Quasimodo for the photos. Never paddled as quick when I saw the blood, the lads had been winding me up for weeks about sharks in france.

Took 11'6 of fibreglass across the forehead in DOH surf, bet on myself to make a section, I didn't and the board clipped my head as it went past. Again, nice concussion. That one was at the bottom of some cliffs and a few hours from home. Great fun trying to get back to my car and then getting myself home afterwards.

In all my years I'd never hit the fin of a board. I managed it twice in two days. First time I landed ass first onto it, 60lbs board with a twelve inch tall inch thick fin, maybe a inch and a half from my nuts. Next morning, same board, fell awkwardly, fin caught me across the chest, thought I'd cracked ribs.

Took the same board onto the flat of the head once. Lay in the water for ten fifteen minutes not sure who/where/what I was. Reading all these, I'm lucky iv a thick skull.

Iv broken my big toe on my right foot three times at last count. There fragments in my toe from it and the joint is trying to grow over itself to protect it from the abuse. (nice pain killing injections for that one)

Wiver fish stings count? Three at last count, highly allergic, each one worse then the last, started to go into shock last time.

And last but far far from least, this was kept me outta the water intermittently for over two years. Took the tail of a board under my armpit while the nose hit the reef. Broke two ribs, that bone on the front of your chest, compressed two vertebra and damaged my right lung and damaged quite a lard portion of mussel/cartilage. Have had two years of not being able to breath properly. Even ended up with pleurisy on the back of it, fun times.

Iv had more slices, cuts, knocks and bruises then I care to remember but these are definitely the highlights.

(edit, grammer)

Your a legend,wishing you luck this winter,mind yourself...
Don't get reefed

seachto7

@Low Pockets :eek::eek::eek::eek:

promethius

jesus christ low pockets i've never heard of anyone get such a sustained hammering surfing! i must avoid you in the water

fair play for keeping the stoke going! respect...

Low Pockets

Its nothing to be overly proud of. Im at this a while and I never had enough sense to stop (or not to go to the amusement of my so called friends...) I also use't surf logs no matter what size it was, Iv learnt that takes a toll. Iv started to expand my horizons and the difference is huge, not half as much pressure on the body but the late drops just aint the same.

My hand has been forced now and I am going very slowly insane. I got in for my first swim in months last week, felt fantastic to be back in the water but I paid for it for the week. Not sure when Im going to be in a condition to surf again but Im hoping that I can get away with a few more swims a month now days that its worth it.
Heres a few pics from that day if anyones interested.
http://www.johnbeasley.ie/blog/2012/9/sense-versus-sanity

I was thinking about other things Id done to myself since and another great one was going back a few years when I surfed this one beach for the first time. Your up really high looking down at it and the friend I was with was trying his best to dissuade me telling me it was considerably bigger then I though it was. Another lad started to suit up so I thought sod it, it cant be that big. It was. Anyway, at some point, dinged my head, and as it was cold when I came outta the water I was pumping. The lads proceeded to convince me I needed stitches. Off we went to south doc, when we got there, there was a local farmer and his brother. His tractor had flipped and basically opened his head. He seemed fine about it (im sure this was the drugs) but I have never felt so ****ing stupid in my life. All I needed was a €45 stery strip.....
Found a pic from the day in question
http://www.flickr.com/photos/corksurf/1686362949/in/photostream/lightbox/

keryl

Great pics and stories. My few brushes are very pale in comparison...

Worst I got was a smashing off the sand bank, sounds soft but concussion ahoy, huge swelling on my forehead and carried on surfing which was absolutely idiotic...

Top side of a shortboard landed on the side my head, lucky it didn't do any damage.

Regards fins, nothing major thank God, just a girl wiped out and her fin hit into my back that's about it....

keep em coming

rodento

Low Pockets wrote: »

Its nothing to be overly proud of. Im at this a while and I never had enough sense to stop (or not to go to the amusement of my so called friends...) I also use't surf logs no matter what size it was, Iv learnt that takes a toll. Iv started to expand my horizons and the difference is huge, not half as much pressure on the body but the late drops just aint the same/

Love surfing big stuff on the log but only on fat'ish reefs, need a channel to aim for if i get in trouble:D

seachto7

My one is tame in comparison to the others, and luckily I only had this happen once. Got dumped in the shallow water in Spanish Point a few years back on a bodyboard. It was as the tide was almost in, so it was over the rocks. It felt like someone had punched me in the back of the head. That was just from the wave. When I surfaced I felt "punch drunk", and was trying to keep my balance and walk over the rocks. Embarrassing..........

VNP

Fair play Low Pockets for getting back in the water keep at it, man you must have a high pain tollerance hurting your spine is nasty. I ve started carrying a jumbo first aid kit in my car after having to borrow a some wipes and a plaster recently from a better prepared surfer. thinking of reading up on my insurance policy small print didnt go out on a sketchy reef today with a friend because he was concerned about getting back in on the rising tide, in hind sight it was probably wise not to even though i was kitted out. I felt like a dope, but i started thinking i might be compromising his saftey too if something happened, ended up going somewhere a bit more forgiving for a bigger day kind of glad now reading all that.

rodento

First time in a long time I got well spanked last week, bruised to the bone on the pelvis and lucky not to break/crack the bone, didn't realise it at the time and paddled out for more, but the drive back to the swift care clinic in Dublin was well and truly horrible

Geomy

rodento wrote: »

First time in a long time I got well spanked last week, bruised to the bone on the pelvis and lucky not to break/crack the bone, didn't realise it at the time and paddled out for more, but the drive back to the swift care clinic in Dublin was well and truly horrible

Sorry to hear that, where did that happen ?