Riding a few smoking green walls this morning and watched my mate breach and go over the handle bars at speed then plunge in front of the board and under the water while the foil continued on over his head and body.
I yelled out you ok , and he said nothing hit him, I was surprised as it looked really bad. Not 5 mins later same happened to me.
Both decided maybe we need to start wearing Gath helmets again.
We were both riding small wings on overhead waves ( so going quick ) Dunno weather that had much to do with it but we both thought ,that's not good.
Touch wood only had a couple of minor cuts and corked legs in 2 years of prone foiling ,wondering how everybody else is doing ,anyone had similar near misses? don't really ever hear about anyone getting injured but that might be cause hardly anyone foiling here.

I've been prone foiling about 18 month's & have not had any injuries yet but definitely had some close calls. There's about a dozen of us local foilers & have not heard of a single injury....touch wood.

None of us are wearing helmets.

I've been lucky so far too. I do try and wear a plastic bump cap underneath my shelta hat to avoid getting split open if the foil catches me on the noggin. Last session I blew a few late takeoffs on set waves in the head high range, going over the handlebars. After epic splashes, I was swimming down with my legs pulled in waiting for impact both times.

One guy on another forum ended up in the hospital with a collapsed lung after his stab caught him in the torso. I'm not sure if it broke skin or not, but I would imagine it must have. He was a SUP foiler, exiting the water and the shorepound got him I believe. So it wasn't really wave riding related.

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toppleover said..
I've been prone foiling about 18 month's & have not had any injuries yet but definitely had some close calls. There's about a dozen of us local foilers & have not heard of a single injury....touch wood.

None of us are wearing helmets.

Hey Boys, Thanks for feedback ,like the idea of a plastic bump cap under the sun hat as I have had a few sun cancers cut out of my face and I need sun protection which the Garth helmet doesn't really do.
MidAtlanticFoil is the bump cap something you bought or made?
Glad to hear no one seems to be getting hurt in the waves, Im thinking hopefully it's no more likely than in normal surfing, where there is plenty of potential for it but quiet rare considering.
If you did a "risk assesment " on it you would end up with stacks of hazards, lots of near misses, no risk controls and no lost time foiling !

DMC head gear

+ 1 for the DMC head gear.

I've had mine for over a year now. It's comfortable and in addition to impact protection, it's great in winter for the warmth and surfer's ear protection...........

dmcfins.com.au/collections/accessories

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NTAA said..
+ 1 for the DMC head gear.

I've had mine for over a year now. It's comfortable and in addition to impact protection, it's great in winter for the warmth and surfer's ear protection...........

dmcfins.com.au/collections/accessories

They look really good !

I have thread on the Zone where I made some improvements but really just google bump cap. Mine was $7 US and I put it in a cheap trucker hat.

i need to update that thread. They have an arch hole like the hats do in the back. I riveted a flap of Eva foam with a single layer of 4oz glass on it over that and glued in extra eva on the sides but that's just because I had the time. The main value is that this would prevent stitches really which is good enough for me.

Thanks everyone, that looks like the go, had no idea they even existed !

might i interest you in the foil specific (not intended for use in conjunction with wind wing) Lion Red High Density low Drag Light Weight Foil Bump Cap or LRHDLDLWFBC for short.
one size fits all, rrp $199.99 + $24.99 for 12 bottles of Lion Red ultra high performance athletes drink

www.instagram.com/p/CEA11mejqiO/

So here is a weird one for your amusement: I broke a middle toe on the very first wave of my very first prone foil session!

Was kite foiling for about 6 months so I though I would be just fine in 2 foot surf with my 5'2" board (the smallest board I ever ridden at the time). As the foil lifted I tried to pop up but I kind of missed the traction pad and my back feet ended up on the kicker, two toes back and 3 toes front. I pushed to get up and crack! My middle toe was pointing at 10 o'clock

Other than that, I have been OK since. 90% of my wipe outs happen when the foil breaches which leads to a sudden nose dive of the board. In that case, I have founded that the board usually comes to a dead stop and wave just passes by around it, pushing my away from the board. If I can "predict" the direction the board will take based on how I fall, I try to arch my body under water to steer away from its trajectory. Then I immediately turn myself to face the incoming (if any) board/foil and roll into a ball with my harms crossed in front of my face. I figured I'd rather get hit in the harms or legs rather than my back, head or neck and get KO.

I am not wearing a helmet anymore but still use a spring suit with long sleeve.

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container said..
might i interest you in the foil specific (not intended for use in conjunction with wind wing) Lion Red High Density low Drag Light Weight Foil Bump Cap or LRHDLDLWFBC for short.
one size fits all, rrp $199.99 + $24.99 for 12 bottles of Lion Red ultra high performance athletes drink

www.instagram.com/p/CEA11mejqiO/

Can I get a discount if I buy more than 1, and wait...there should be more....
Dont need the free steak knives Im already surfing on a set of those.

Sup foiling for 3 years and had 3 trips to Emergency Dept for stitches (apparently that is my new nickname). The first 2 were slices from tail stab ( one in the head and one in the leg) Both low impact and both I consider to be from my own carelessness . The third one shook me a bit more. Didn't make a sucky takeoff. Went down and board came back at me underwater and mast smashed into my forehead right between the eyes. Saw stars and a nasty blunt force trauma gash. Also small gash on elbow at same time that has turned into bursitis (dragging on a month later).
My advice is don't get complacent out there. Always throw your arms up after wipeout to guard your head/face. Don't be tempted to use a short leg rope no matter the performance advantage. Sand down the edge of your stab. Regards, Tim

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gspotxtreme said..

My advice is don't get complacent out there. Always throw your arms up after wipeout to guard your head/face. Don't be tempted to use a short leg rope no matter the performance advantage. Sand down the edge of your stab. Regards, Tim

Great advice about short leggies Gspot.
Last weekend I was prone foiling knee high waves, so tied on a booger leash as I was planning on doing more pumping than surfing. That leggie dragging has got to be holding me back ...
First little wave I had to bail when a surfer caught the whitewater behind me. Thought nothing about the 3' leash until it unexpectedly pulled the stab back into my face. Fortunately only a cm slice below my now black eye, so the 6' comp leash is staying on for small waves!

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Jeffs256 said..

gspotxtreme said..

My advice is don't get complacent out there. Always throw your arms up after wipeout to guard your head/face. Don't be tempted to use a short leg rope no matter the performance advantage. Sand down the edge of your stab. Regards, Tim

Great advice about short leggies Gspot.
Last weekend I was prone foiling knee high waves, so tied on a booger leash as I was planning on doing more pumping than surfing. That leggie dragging has got to be holding me back ...
First little wave I had to bail when a surfer caught the whitewater behind me. Thought nothing about the 3' leash until it unexpectedly pulled the stab back into my face. Fortunately only a cm slice below my now black eye, so the 6' comp leash is staying on for small waves!

Interesting about short leggies, been using a 5' comp for a while because it never gets looped around the stab while sitting, but might have to think about that.

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kobo said..

Jeffs256 said..

gspotxtreme said..

My advice is don't get complacent out there. Always throw your arms up after wipeout to guard your head/face. Don't be tempted to use a short leg rope no matter the performance advantage. Sand down the edge of your stab. Regards, Tim

Great advice about short leggies Gspot.
Last weekend I was prone foiling knee high waves, so tied on a booger leash as I was planning on doing more pumping than surfing. That leggie dragging has got to be holding me back ...
First little wave I had to bail when a surfer caught the whitewater behind me. Thought nothing about the 3' leash until it unexpectedly pulled the stab back into my face. Fortunately only a cm slice below my now black eye, so the 6' comp leash is staying on for small waves!

Interesting about short leggies, been using a 5' comp for a while because it never gets looped around the stab while sitting, but might have to think about that.

I think 5' should be ok....3' could be looking for trouble though

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toppleover said..

kobo said..

Jeffs256 said..

gspotxtreme said..

My advice is don't get complacent out there. Always throw your arms up after wipeout to guard your head/face. Don't be tempted to use a short leg rope no matter the performance advantage. Sand down the edge of your stab. Regards, Tim

Great advice about short leggies Gspot.
Last weekend I was prone foiling knee high waves, so tied on a booger leash as I was planning on doing more pumping than surfing. That leggie dragging has got to be holding me back ...
First little wave I had to bail when a surfer caught the whitewater behind me. Thought nothing about the 3' leash until it unexpectedly pulled the stab back into my face. Fortunately only a cm slice below my now black eye, so the 6' comp leash is staying on for small waves!

Interesting about short leggies, been using a 5' comp for a while because it never gets looped around the stab while sitting, but might have to think about that.

I think 5' should be ok....3' could be looking for trouble though

Yes, never had a problem with the board comeIng back at me rear first after a fall with 5' , and was thinking when you breach and go over the nose I would imagine the leg rope would pull the board from the rear and most likely spin it sideways ,or make the foil dive more nose down ( hopefully) ??