This happened so fast that I didn't know that the board popped my hand off the paddle, until I saw the vid in super slow motion.
As I came up, I looked at my hand without even knowing why.

Thank God that my body acted on it's own, to protect me from a baseball bat to the face.
Instinct works

Good it missed you! Those are the worst wipeouts, when the board rolls offering the rail up for impact. Yikes is right.

yep fast instincts saved the day Rick ,
I broke a paddle that way and got winded ,its the crown jewels that you have to be aware of
with a nasty board edge . ,well saved

Wow - quick reflexes!! Nice save!

I lost my favourite paddle in nearly the same circumstances. Someone has dropped in on me so I staightened up, bang I was gone and broken paddle. Great save.

Geez, well done Creeky.
I reckon you've avoided a potentially unpleasant symphony of chin music from getting played on the ol' go-tee if not for the paddle and your left hand.
You've still got it mate - like greased lightning!

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surfinJ said..
Good it missed you! Those are the worst wipeouts, when the board rolls offering the rail up for impact. Yikes is right.

You got that SnJ... those are the ones I try like crazy to avoid!

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Tardy said..
yep fast instincts saved the day Rick ,
I broke a paddle that way and got winded ,its the crown jewels that you have to be aware of
with a nasty board edge . ,well saved

ha ha Dude, I got the Jewels back in the mid 60's.... board lifted me right out of the water, it did. It was winter, so it took a half hour to thaw out, to see if my clock was still ticking

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cantSUPenough said..
Wow - quick reflexes!! Nice save!

Thanks CSE... stoked that my body was on auto pilot!

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GreenTea said..
I lost my favourite paddle in nearly the same circumstances. Someone has dropped in on me so I staightened up, bang I was gone and broken paddle. Great save.

Paddles are replaceable, body parts are harder to come by. I'd say we both got lucky

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MangoDingo said..
Geez, well done Creeky.
I reckon you've avoided a potentially unpleasant symphony of chin music from getting played on the ol' go-tee if not for the paddle and your left hand.
You've still got it mate - like greased lightning!

ha ha... DingoMan, my lightning needs to be repacked with grease, but I'm grateful for the save on this one!

I broke my thumb like this . A clean break but kept me out for two months. It was only small surf (but messy onshore). Very painful

Nice save. Your body has its own reflexes and instincts for survival. I am reminded of when I was a teenage grom and surfing some lovely 3-4 foot beauties with onshore wind at Snake Park, Durban. I got a sweet barrel and pulled out via the back, but the breaking wave took my board and stretched my leash. I turned around to see my board zooming back towards me, once the wave released it. At the last microsecond I turned my head slightly to the left. One of the fins hit me on the right side of my right eye socket very close to my eye. Initially I thought it hit me in the eye, or damaged it somehow, because everything went dark and I could only see via my left eye. I remember padding back and the way I could stick my finger into the cut and feel my way around was concerning.

By the time I had walked back home I regained some vision in the right eye, but everything seemed dark. Due to the hit, my eye had gone into some preservation mode and the pupil was super tiny, hence everything looking dark. It must have been even tinier initially, which would explain why everything went black in that eye initially. I ended up with 6 stitches and I still have the scar on my eye socket to this day, nearly 30 years later.

Hi mate, close call, nice to see your body save you or was that you throwing your paddle under a bus

Stephen

Geeze Boots, that's an ouch!

Seb, amazing.... the bodies desire to preserve the good parts is pretty impressive.
Glad you saved your vision... I have a few friends that didn't.

Well Ralphie Boy... I am always willing to throw myself under the bus, so I was happy this time it was the paddle

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supthecreek said..
Seb, amazing.... the bodies desire to preserve the good parts is pretty impressive.
Glad you saved your vision... I have a few friends that didn't.

Man, that's sad.

It's worth noting that I didn't do anything. My head twitched slightly instinctively and that was the deciding factor.

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supthecreek said..
Well Ralphie Boy... I am always willing to throw myself under the bus, so I was happy this time it was the paddle

One of these days paddle, pow...

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drivethebus said..

supthecreek said..
Well Ralphie Boy... I am always willing to throw myself under the bus, so I was happy this time it was the paddle

One of these days paddle, pow...