Hey, Foiling Family

I hope this does not violate the rules of the website but I thought some reading this might be able to help Jose. I apologize if this goes against the rules.

The short story is Jose, who I have foiled with and is a great guy, crashed while foiling and broke his neck. Dave Ezzy, and others, are trying to do what they can to help Jose. And I thought this forum might be a good way to get the word out.

So if you are interested here is the go fund me link.

gofund.me/c925ce48

In the picture, taken at Kanaha a couple years ago. Dave is on the left, Jose is in the middle and Tim is on the right.

Stay Safe

Thank you for letting us know, can you say exactly how Jose broke his neck? That could be very helpful too, in how to avoid doing the same. I thought the main issue with foiling was cuts from the foil.

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Sandman1221 said..
Thank you for letting us know, can you say exactly how Jose broke his neck? That could be very helpful too, in how to avoid doing the same. I thought the main issue with foiling was cuts from the foil.

Hey Sandman, thanks for the support

I have not talked to him, so this is like third hand information but I was told he accidentally hooked in while jibing and crashed. Not sure if he hit the board, rig or just the water. But I can tell you Jose was very comfortable ripping around and jibing so his skill level was not an issue.

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Hess said..

I have not talked to him, so this is like third hand information but I was told he accidentally hooked in while jibing and crashed. Not sure if he hit the board, rig or just the water. But I can tell you Jose was very comfortable ripping around and jibing so his skill level was not an issue.

We have all been there. Thanks for posting the link.

We've all had crashes like that and thought nothing of it. An unlucky and terrible accident.

Just an update

Dave Ezzy had an emotional visit with Jose, who is still in the Maui hospital with a feeding tube in his throat, unable to talk. So Dave wrote out the alphabet and had Jose nod when the letter he wanted was pointed at.

He remains paralyzed from the shoulders down recovering from the surgery and is coming to terms with his situation and accepting help from us.

Thanks to everyone for the donations thus far, it really is about getting 10,000 ten dollar donations.

Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

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Sandman1221 said..
Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

Thanks for the insight Sandman. From what I understand, from Daves notes, is that Jose needs support for the transportation to the mainland from Maui and specialized rehabilitation on the mainland.

Its great to see the support come in from folks all around the world. I am not currently in Maui to get the information first hand. Just trying to spread the word to help Jose get the support he needs.

So is there a facility on the mainland that has agreed to take Jose, if you transport him to them? He will be an out of state, out of county, patient and so not eligible for some or all of the financial programs I mentioned. In addition, while a hospital in the US has to take in a patient during an emergency, he is no longer considered an emergency, so they do not have to admit him. So he really needs to have the transfer paper work filled out and signed by his current facility and the one he is being transferred to before moving. Otherwise, he has no guarantee that a facility on the mainland will take him. The hospital where he is currently has to continue to take care of him until he is in a condition to be released and there is someone who can take care of him.

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Sandman1221 said..
Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

If it was that easy, just pay $1/month and your creditors will be happy. And even in the states I doubt an hospital would charge you $50,000 for a 4 hours stay in the emergency room. Don't spread stuff like this ...

But bills are nuts. My insurance bill for emergency stent and 3 days stay in the hospital was $169,000 and change five years ago. Around that, in the hundreds thousands, is what he will be facing if he is not insured. Not an easy amount to get rid of.

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duzzi said..

Sandman1221 said..
Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

If it was that easy, just pay $1/month and your creditors will be happy. And even in the states I doubt an hospital would charge you $50,000 for a 4 hours stay in the emergency room. Don't spread stuff like this ...

But bills are nuts. My insurance bill for emergency stent and 3 days stay in the hospital was $169,000 and change five years ago. Around that, in the hundreds thousands, is what he will be facing if he is not insured. Not an easy amount to get rid of.

The $1/month went directly to the hospital, not a collection agency, that is an important fact. If you do not pay anything to the hospital, they will send the bill to a collection agency that will do whatever it can to get the money. So please do not misinform people, especially those that are uninsured, about potential costs for an emergency room visit. State/county run hospitals are one entity, but a for-profit private hospital can charge whatever they want to, show me a law that says they can not. But if you are insured they have agreed to a cost for services with the insurance company, IF they are in your insurance companies network.

And like I said, if he is not insured, the hospital can waive the total cost as charity, or the county that he is a resident in can pay it if they have an agreement with the hospital and he meets certain qualifications. Someone needs to be his advocate and find out. But if he leaves the hospital on his own free will, without a transfer agreement in place to another hospital, then no other hospital is required to accept him.

Hess, I tried to find the gofundme campaign for Jose using c925ce48, but nothing came up.

Here is a link to the gofundme page for Jose
www.gofundme.com/f/jose-is-paralyzed-from-windsurfing-accident

While searching for Jose, saw several news reports about visitors to Maui breaking their necks body surfing and becoming quadriplegics, really sad, hope Jose recovers.

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Sandman1221 said..

duzzi said..

Sandman1221 said..
Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

If it was that easy, just pay $1/month and your creditors will be happy. And even in the states I doubt an hospital would charge you $50,000 for a 4 hours stay in the emergency room. Don't spread stuff like this ...

But bills are nuts. My insurance bill for emergency stent and 3 days stay in the hospital was $169,000 and change five years ago. Around that, in the hundreds thousands, is what he will be facing if he is not insured. Not an easy amount to get rid of.

The $1/month went directly to the hospital, not a collection agency, that is an important fact. If you do not pay anything to the hospital, they will send the bill to a collection agency that will do whatever it can to get the money. So please do not misinform people, especially those that are uninsured, about potential costs for an emergency room visit. State/county run hospitals are one entity, but a for-profit private hospital can charge whatever they want to, show me a law that says they can not. But if you are insured they have agreed to a cost for services with the insurance company, IF they are in your insurance companies network.

And like I said, if he is not insured, the hospital can waive the total cost as charity, or the county that he is a resident in can pay it if they have an agreement with the hospital and he meets certain qualifications. Someone needs to be his advocate and find out. But if he leaves the hospital on his own free will, without a transfer agreement in place to another hospital, then no other hospital is required to accept him.

Far from me to be dragged into a Forum diatribe, but really: to suggest that all you need to do to get rid of hospital bills is to send them $1/month is nuts.

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duzzi said..

Sandman1221 said..

duzzi said..

Sandman1221 said..
Does he have health insurance?, if he does and it does not cover his bills then all he has to do is pay $1 a month to satisfy them. If he does not have health insurance, see if the county or hospital has a program to forgive the costs.

I know someone whose daughter fell off of a stool and hit her head on the floor and was getting red blotchy areas on body, parents were worried and had insurance, went to emergency room, doctor observed daughter for every hour or so for 4 hrs, and then released her, bill was over $50,000!, and their insurance did not cover it. Lawyer told them to just pay hospital $1/month and that worked.

Also know someone who did not have insurance and went to emergency room, huge bill, the county they lived in paid their hospital bill. But some hospitals also have their own charity program to cover people's bills who do not have insurance.

If it was that easy, just pay $1/month and your creditors will be happy. And even in the states I doubt an hospital would charge you $50,000 for a 4 hours stay in the emergency room. Don't spread stuff like this ...

But bills are nuts. My insurance bill for emergency stent and 3 days stay in the hospital was $169,000 and change five years ago. Around that, in the hundreds thousands, is what he will be facing if he is not insured. Not an easy amount to get rid of.

The $1/month went directly to the hospital, not a collection agency, that is an important fact. If you do not pay anything to the hospital, they will send the bill to a collection agency that will do whatever it can to get the money. So please do not misinform people, especially those that are uninsured, about potential costs for an emergency room visit. State/county run hospitals are one entity, but a for-profit private hospital can charge whatever they want to, show me a law that says they can not. But if you are insured they have agreed to a cost for services with the insurance company, IF they are in your insurance companies network.

And like I said, if he is not insured, the hospital can waive the total cost as charity, or the county that he is a resident in can pay it if they have an agreement with the hospital and he meets certain qualifications. Someone needs to be his advocate and find out. But if he leaves the hospital on his own free will, without a transfer agreement in place to another hospital, then no other hospital is required to accept him.

Far from me to be dragged into a Forum diatribe, but really: to suggest that all you need to do to get rid of hospital bills is to send them $1/month is nuts.

Yes, here in Florida you can, talk with a lawyer (my friends did), the important part is you are agreeing to pay the full bill.

Here is a link to the gofundme page for Jose
www.gofundme.com/f/jose-is-paralyzed-from-windsurfing-accident

Thanks Sandman for posting that link and sharing the info about medical debt.

Years ago my wife had major back surgery and we were buried under the insurmountable bills. We successfully used $1 dollar a month technique to negotiate the astronomical medical bills. Our standard tactic was to offer to pay half or a quarter today or we will take a payment plan at $1/month. Most of the vendors slashed the bills and took the cash on the spot. The others for some reason took the payment plan. All the vendors would have had to take the payment plan had we not had some cash. They can not charge interest on medical debt and if you make the minimum payment it does not affect your credit. We also reviewed our bills carefully and found tens of thousands of errors in our favor. Thankfully my wife recovered and we are now out of debt.

My thoughts and best wishes are with Jose and his team. He sounds like the kinda guy that can beat this. Come on seabreezers help Jose out!

Does anyone know if Jose was wearing a helmet? I am wondering for my own safety and how much a standard water sports helmet would help in a head impact. The helmets I have all say they should be replaced in 3 yrs, due to the impact foam degrading, but the foam in mine seems fine well after 3 yrs. Maybe a whitewater kayaking helmet with a double shell layer would be better, like a WRSI Trident?

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utcminusfour said..
Our standard tactic was to offer to pay half or a quarter today or we will take a payment plan at $1/month.

Even a quarter is a lot more than what they'd get from a collection agency, which is cents for the dollar. And I guess the reason to take $1/month is the hope that at some point in the future, the payment will increase.

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Sandman1221 said..
I am wondering for my own safety and how much a standard water sports helmet would help in a head impact.

While helmets can protect from impact injuries, I'd be concerned about whiplash injuries in catapults. Over time, I have had a few bad catapults that not only caused a sore, stiff neck for a few days, but also created quite a bit of grinding noise in my neck vertebrae when I move my head. The typical scenario is the back hitting the water first, and then the head snapping back. That's not uncommon in foiling catapults, especially if in involuntary hook-in plays a role.

When that happens, a helmet could have a negative effect, since it increases the mass and momentum of the head, thus stressing muscles and ligaments even more. Heavier helmets would be more problematic that lighter helmets.

That said, I always where a (light) helmet when foiling since the one time I hit the foil with the back of my head in a bad jibe (fortunately, not too hard), and when speedsurfing, where there's always a chance of a hooked in catapult with gear or ground contact. I think the chances of hitting something hard with the head and getting knocked out are higher that the chances of spinal cord injury from whiplash. But I also have neck-strengthening exercises that I do specifically to prepare for catapults.

www.free-ride-addicted.fr/e-boutique/boucle-free-fall/

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bel29 said..
www.free-ride-addicted.fr/e-boutique/boucle-free-fall/

Can anyone find the english pdf on that page?

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thedoor said..

bel29 said..
www.free-ride-addicted.fr/e-boutique/boucle-free-fall/

Can anyone find the english pdf on that page?

Under the Modes d'emploi (fr + En) tab towards the bottom

jimdo-storage.global.ssl.fastly.net/file/e78f42a6-8b26-42d8-85f1-0ad6402f9e12/Mode%20OP%20_En_%20Free-Fall_d.pdf

jimdo-storage.global.ssl.fastly.net/file/95c376a9-0136-412f-8c7a-61d6dfc382c3/Mode%20OP(en)%20Free-Fall_colosse_b.pdf

English translation is a bit clunky; it's basically a self-releasing harness hook that can be retrofitted to any harness; you can adjust the pressure at which the hook will release (eg, to increase the pressure when fin sailing compared to foil sailing)

@boardsurfr: re whiplash, check neck brace some have been wearing.... (see Michele at 13.00 for instance here: , and Enrico here:

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bel29 said..
English translation is a bit clunky; it's basically a self-releasing harness hook that can be retrofitted to any harness; you can adjust the pressure at which the hook will release (eg, to increase the pressure when fin sailing compared to foil sailing)

@boardsurfr: re whiplash, check neck brace some have been wearing.... (see Michele at 13.00 for instance here:

, and Enrico here:

Nice have you tried one? Harness I mean

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thedoor said..

Nice have you tried one? Harness I mean

yes, I have one. it works, but a bit tricky at first to get the setting right at first.

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bel29 said..

thedoor said..

Nice have you tried one? Harness I mean

yes, I have one. it works, but a bit tricky at first to get the setting right at first.

Which size and which design did you get?

Depends on your harness ofc but for mine (Duotone Radium Team Series, with double strap system) I got the hook with double strap fittings and the "secure lock" quick release system (otherwise you have to (re)thread the straps every time). When in doubt send an email to Franck-he's very responsive (including in English) ;)

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bel29 said..
Depends on your harness ofc but for mine (Duotone Radium Team Series, with double strap system) I got the hook with double strap fittings and the "secure lock" quick release system (otherwise you have to (re)thread the straps every time). When in doubt send an email to Franck-he's very responsive (including in English) ;)

ok gonna email him. Good to know that you can get the quick release in the 4 strap model

Hello, I'm the inventor of the above Free-Fall harness hook.
I've read what happened to Jose and can only wish him to recover completely.
I have a french client who broke his neck (but never got paralyzed) while speed training (fin). He now has 2 titanium vertebras...
His head struck the mast when he fell at high speed because of a loose fishing net...
When you fall feet over head an hooked in, it all depends on how you turn. If you turn sideways (most common) then you twist the line. But if you turn facing the sail then your upper body ends up inside the boom. Depending on the length of the line and the sail position your head may get stuck on the mast or boom. A helmet will help for the head but will not protect the crush on the spine in those cases.
If well tuned The Free-Fall Harness hook will open during the fall and should thus prevent this sort of danger.
Of course, the better you ride, the faster you go, and the more energy there is in the crashes.

I have read this topic from the start and seen also concerns about backlash. Building up neck muscles will indeed be a good idea but I think a big helmet can help also. It should of course be as light as possible but what is important is its surface. A big helmet will stop on the water while a small (or none) helmet will not stop the head on the surface.


At this time I'm using a cut DH helmet (Kenny) in which I replaced the foam on the cheeks by some that won't take up water. (easy needle work)
It is 750 gr and seems to do its job. I feel my head against the back of the helmet when I fall and my head doesn't go as far back as before.
As it is a DH helmet it is well suited to use with some sort of neck brace. I will see this winter (this fall...) if I feel it is needed.
I have kept the cheek parts but I suppose I could make it lighter doing some more extreme cutting but I have manage in the past to catch the mast on my left cheek bone...
My previous helmet was 400 gr but didn't prevent backlash... And it was black which should be prohibited as nobody in difficulty will get noticed in the water with a black helmet.
I won't be producing helmets ( I already do safety foostraps)... So if any brand could take my reflections into consideration and come up with a 400g big and flashy helmet, it would be great.

Brands definitely should take security into consideration. Selling fast stuff is nice but safety gear is needed.

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FranckG31 said..
Hello, I'm the inventor of the above Free-Fall harness hook.
I've read what happened to Jose and can only wish him to recover completely.
I have a french client who broke his neck (but never got paralyzed) while speed training (fin). He now has 2 titanium vertebras...
His head struck the mast when he fell at high speed because of a loose fishing net...
When you fall feet over head an hooked in, it all depends on how you turn. If you turn sideways (most common) then you twist the line. But if you turn facing the sail then your upper body ends up inside the boom. Depending on the length of the line and the sail position your head may get stuck on the mast or boom. A helmet will help for the head but will not protect the crush on the spine in those cases.
If well tuned The Free-Fall Harness hook will open during the fall and should thus prevent this sort of danger.
Of course, the better you ride, the faster you go, and the more energy there is in the crashes.

I have read this topic from the start and seen also concerns about backlash. Building up neck muscles will indeed be a good idea but I think a big helmet can help also. It should of course be as light as possible but what is important is its surface. A big helmet will stop on the water while a small (or none) helmet will not stop the head on the surface.


At this time I'm using a cut DH helmet (Kenny) in which I replaced the foam on the cheeks by some that won't take up water. (easy needle work)
It is 750 gr and seems to do its job. I feel my head against the back of the helmet when I fall and my head doesn't go as far back as before.
As it is a DH helmet it is well suited to use with some sort of neck brace. I will see this winter (this fall...) if I feel it is needed.
I have kept the cheek parts but I suppose I could make it lighter doing some more extreme cutting but I have manage in the past to catch the mast on my left cheek bone...
My previous helmet was 400 gr but didn't prevent backlash... And it was black which should be prohibited as nobody in difficulty will get noticed in the water with a black helmet.
I won't be producing helmets ( I already do safety foostraps)... So if any brand could take my reflections into consideration and come up with a 400g big and flashy helmet, it would be great.

Brands definitely should take security into consideration. Selling fast stuff is nice but safety gear is needed.

Thanks Frank, that was very informative. Thinking next time I hit something, (like a 1 ton manatee) that stops the board hard and sends me flying, I need to get my hands and arms out in front of my face, like I do during a wipeout on a big wave when surfing to protect my face/head from the surfboard fin. In both cases, I would rather injure my hand/arm then my head. Right now when I hit something, I tend to try to hold onto the boom and that sends me head first into whatever.

Thanks Franck for jumping in