I was out in the surf the other day boosting some airs off the waves and and doing some transition jumps close to shore when my board slipped off and I fell into the water feet first . I hit a sand bank, now I have broken my heal bone into pieces the doctors said I pretty much broke my heal off .
I go into hospital this week for a operation to get plates and screws put in and they say no kiteboarding for six months .
So my advice to my fellow kiteboarders is stay clear of shallow water, I know I will from now on . I will post a picture of the CT scan soon looks nasty.
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that sounds nasty mate. Sh!t time of year to do it also. The shallow water warning is just common sense.
Yes Bennie your right but most of the time your having so much fun these things are in the back of you mind and you forget about them .
I learnt my lesson 5 weeks ago, however I broke 7 bones in my foot and not my heal in the same situation.
In the old days they even used to teach you "Never fly your kite over land"... Sometimes people get complacent because the sport is so easy and they forget that when sh!t hits the fan (which it can) things go bad pretty quick. You should always do a bit of a possible-scenario check when doing anything really.
Hope you get better soon man! Sounds like a pretty ruff injury! I get heel bruises a lot from skating and thats bad enough, but this sounds totally f#cked. How long will it take to recover?
I'm bad for that one, I don't do it on purpose but on a downwinder last weekend I landed actually on the beach three times, sometimes you're a little late to jump and then you carry a lot further than you expect...
Get well soon...
jumping in shallow water is so tempting - i have fallen victim to this myself with injured limbs
anything less than knee deep is a risk people!!
next time you think of hucking a big boost in the shallow - think "do i want to kite for the rest of the season"? if yes - ride out another 20m.
Good point stuntnaz.I think a lot of kitesurfing injuries happen on that hard sand near the waterline.The great thing about jumping in shallow water is how smooth the takeoff can be.If the temptation is too much for some try to find a spot where it drops off to deeper water or where the sand is soft.Hope you have a speedy recovery.
sorry to hear; learning you wouldn't be kiting for 6 months, probably hurt more than the original injury. Doing tricks in shallow water is always that bit more tempting.
Get well soon.
My fav saying at the moment is:-
If your going to be dumb you better be tough.
I jump in shallow water, I just make sure im not pushing it, eg only stuff I'm super comfortable with.
Shallow water for me is when ya fins start hitting the bottom.
Knee deep is good times.
But yeah, sometimes ya pay the price, I've got good at doing the pancake technique rather than putting an arm or leg out for impact.
I guess ive learnt from making mistakes.
Sucks that you've done ya self injury, hope ya make a fast and full recovery.
Try my "pancake" technique it works for snowboarding crashes too.
First up. ouch that sounds like a bad injury.
second what is the pancake technique? is that landing flat on your back?
I ride and jump the shallows. its super smooth and fun. But I guess I have a different pespectv to most kite surfers as I also landboard and jump on the land as well.
You need to be sure of the wind your kite and your technique if your jumping over hard stuff.
However i'm not going to boost huge in the shallows. Ill do nice little floaty jumps with soft landings or fairly low transitions.
Yep been there big boost hit a dead patch of wind and came down like a rock on a sandbar,crushed and split my knee cartilage off the water for the whole season,two years later still gotta strap it up.
Try to avoid the shallow jumps more now but it's easy to get a bit loose,there's many a time I think s**t that was close.
"Warning" stupid Hurts.
However water does not hurt as much as icy snow, hard sand etc etc.
I guess it comes down to good risk assessment and crash skill.
To answer your question plummet, to dissipate an impact over a larger area can be refered to as pancaking,
For example, if I was coming down on left side rather than putting wrist out for first impact I might go for the forearm or even the entire length of my body.
Every situation is different, I've had my share of injuries, and have kited in your area extensively.
Fitzroy beach has left big bruises and even broken ribs.
Plummet, I'm not 100% sure where the shallow water in Taranaki is? But appreciate rocks are a little bit different to Altona sludge.
Love the naki, miss the surf and the Flatwater in between.
Everybody crashes, it's all part progression.
Kiting can be dangerous, but kiters can remove a lot of the risk....... Skills, equipment, conditions.
Sorry you got hurt i smashed my heel into 14 pieces so i know what you are going through . Could not screw any thing to it no part of bone was big enough . On cruches for 6 months and was kiting in 8 months still kite now but cant run on it and it has been 3 years since i done it . i was real happy to be walking again on it but the biggest stoke was geting back on a board . Stay positive and yes i was told i couldn't go kiting again . There is a light at the end but it is a long way away for you at the moment .
i bruised my heels in the same way, sore as for weeks
also saw a guy snap his wrists in front of me in safety bay, put his hand donw to cushion his landing and snapped his wrist....
gotta be carefulss
Hi guys in hospital now, got this weird ass bag thing on my foot blowing up and down to try and get the swelling down for my opp on Friday hope it works if not the surgeon from this hospital goes away which means I'll have to go to another hospital .
We all feel your pain and flippin misfortune,good luck in your recovery Stuntnaz ...from the Towradgi beach crew.
www.seabreeze.com.au/Media/View/6727578/Kitesurfing/Nazs-injury-1/?m=3&p=stuntnaz
Still trying to get my hands on the ct scan photo's
Oh man, what a way to spend the holidays.
I feel for ya.
Looking at the bright side, at least ya other two legs are still fully functioning.
Lol.
Feel like bit of a knob now going on about shallow water being all good, my bad.
UPDATE!!!!
Just saw the doctor the swelling has gone down enough now for me to have my operation . will be going under the knife tomorrow some time and will be getting plates and screws put in to hold my heal together .
i said this to eppo. scam somebodys buggy. you will be able to kite buggy well before hitting the water again.
Ok its not kitesurfing but its cool none the less and yourl learn a new sport and have fun sitting down when you cant stand!
