My partner has made me paranoid about sailing at speed in shallow water. " You'll end up a paraplegic etc.." Anyone had an experience coming to a stop in the shallows? ( sandy or muddy bottom).
I did today but I was only going cautiously in subplaning conditions and just fell over the front.Bit of a deterrent to really blasting..

Unfortunately yes.
It was late afternoon and low tide and I couldn't see the sand bar because of the reflections off the water.
I was planing along at speed and the next thing I knew the board stopped dead and the rig and I kept going. I was catapulted into the sail and somehow ended up lying on the sail with my back to the sail and the boom across my spine. I couldn't move because of the pain and because I was still hooked in! I lay there recovering from the shock for some time before I could unhook and get up.
I think I was lucky not to fracture a vertebra.
I can't remember how I got back to the beach but I can still remember being flung through the air and landing on my back on the boom. Ouch!

Back in the 80s someone in central NSW was catapulted onto a sandbar and ended up a paraplegic. This was reported in one of the magazines of the day.

this topic is the one that scares my friend from using the harnesshitting fin and catapulting off anything..if Bjorn skims off 1ft of water so shall we..yeah right say that again

I watched Claude come hammering into our shallows and stop suddenly he speared head first.

As with all people when they first come down our neck of the woods we advise.

If you are going to come hammering into shore
Unhook and get your feet out of the straps

That way if you do stop in a hurry you let go fall backwards your sail goes over the side of the board. If you stay hooked in you'll most likely mast chop the front of the board and / or smash your self into the water (hopefully not head first)


Mark I agree with you (I also agree with Mike as well)

When I feel Mr Catapult coming to play
My first preference is to catapult unhooked (it's a mantra running through my head)
Second preference is to have the harness line snap.
My worst fear is to stay hooked in, in that instance I hang onto that boom like my life depends on it so I can (kinda) control how my body is going to be slammed.

If you can avoid sailing in shallow water do so, your missus is wise, but may be a bit selfish in not wanting you to end up as a quadriplegic and thus being responsible for changing your colostomy bags.

I hit the sandbar at Melville once doing 30K+ and got catapulted a beauty. Still hooked in, but fortunately I was unhurt (landed flat on my back in 6 inches of water ). Board wasn't so lucky, the mast smashed up the nose real good.

Worst thing is it happens like slo'mo. You feel the board start to run aground and you know what's coming next, but you don't have time to do anything about it. Scary $hit.

Best to avoid shallow water when going flat out, or sail unhooked. I got all outta shape last Saturday in the shallows when I got hit by a 25K bullet (on my 7.5). I unhooked and kept going til the board starting tail walking and I had to bail. Exhilarating yes, but not terrifying like an uncontrolled catapult.

OK halfway then
If going in hard n fast and hanging on still, bend the arms. Trust me

Pointman said...


Worst thing is it happens like slo'mo. You feel the board start to run aground and you know what's coming next, but you don't have time to do anything about it. Scary $hit.

No slo-mo for me. It was so fast I think there must have been a rock on the sand bar. No warning, just a sudden dead stop as fin hit rock and then a sharp pain in my back as I hit the boom. It happened so fast I still cant quite work out how I got where I did!

If you can avoid sailing in shallow water do so, your missus is wise, but may be a bit selfish in not wanting you to end up as a quadriplegic and thus being responsible for changing your colostomy bags.
I'm still on probation from the horse riding fall I had 2 years ago. I was jumping & the horse stopped dead put his head down, bucked & slammed me into the ground.The helmet still has a dint & my partner was freaked by the cracking noise as my head hit the dirt. I got helicoptered to hospital.I was lucky & got away with a few popped ribs & badly bruised shoulder.The amazing thing was my chronic neck problem wasn't injured..phew..
Probation has mellowed a bit.It was if I came off again the horse was to be retired , now its only if he spits me off nastily..The horse has been an angel ever since..It was my fault as I was pushing his buttons & ignored the warning signs because I was getting photos taken..ego again..
Sounds selfish but I must admit I wouldnt want to hang around & look after a paraplegic either..

I'm still on probation from the horse riding fall I had 2 years ago. I was jumping & the horse stopped dead put his head down, bucked & slammed me into the ground.The helmet still has a dint & my partner was freaked by the cracking noise as my head hit the dirt. I got helicoptered to hospital.I was lucky & got away with a few popped ribs & badly bruised shoulder.The amazing thing was my chronic neck problem wasn't injured..phew..
Probation has mellowed a bit.It was if I came off again the horse was to be retired , now its only if he spits me off nastily..The horse has been an angel ever since..It was my fault as I was pushing his buttons & ignored the warning signs because I was getting photos taken..ego again

Hey SBC - your partner should be encouraging you more. To give up horse riding and take up Windsurfing. I think horse riding is in the top 5 of worst sports injuries from the insurance co. point of view. I know because my wife and daughter break a bone on average every 5 years now from horse riding. Damn animals with a brain the size of a peanut. The family say the same about me when I am chasing that next gust in the shallows and face plant and end up with a sore back/crooked neck. Like I did at Point Henry on Sunday

You don't always have to hit the fin, my mate gybed in about 50cm, foot slid off the board and into the sand at about 20knts, snapped his ankle bone clean, 3 months of work and 5 months sailing gone.
For some reason he now stays offshore while we still play around in the waves, he's even scared of 4 foot water now.
That's it..Im definitely going to stay home today & take up knitting..I tell you if you thought about all the things that could happen to you you wouldnt get out of bed..I think I might go down & check Swansea out ( knees trembling )..I've done my hour of work..
It's ony a tuttle box fin that will stop you. A Power box fin will just fall out with nothing more than a bit of a "snick" - same with Trim box
I've got a US system..? What would it do?

That's it..Im definitely going to stay home today & take up knitting..I tell you if you thought about all the things that could happen to you you wouldnt get out of bed..



Its like gybeing, Dont think about it, It will screw you over everytime

NotWal said...

It's ony a tuttle box fin that will stop you. A Power box fin will just fall out with nothing more than a bit of a "snick" - same with Trim box.

I think the board I was riding was a Tiga. What fin system did they use?

two beauts ! One time hit hard rocky bottom, snapped fin off. Board and rig etc went forward whilst I went over the back and landed ar5e/back down. no bad injury to me. Another time I hit soft bottom, got catapulted in harness over the top and slapped down on the sail. no injury to me but snapped boom/mast joint and mast uni.

Managed to hit the reef at Lord Howe planning on a 140l board - not fully powered. Heard a slight knock on the fin and then the board spun sideways. No catapalt - just a missing fin.

The next day a couple of mates took the rubber ducky out and managed to find the fin obviously minus the screw lying on the bottom. Only a minor chip tothe fin and no damage to the board and a screw even went back in without any problems.

I will never doubt Pete's teasure hunting skills again.

I still have the scars on my shin about ten years on from hitting a fish - in the brief second pre-contact, it looked like a good sized salmon coming from right angle to my line.

In about 20 knots of wind the board stopped dead and I didn't !!

My harness line snapped but not before my forward momentum caused my body to launch itself forward and upwards and then body-slammed onto the water about ten feet in front of the board. On the way my right shin dragged along the luff of the sail and removed a good few layers of skin.

After my head cleared I started hearing the theme music to Jaws - what with a freshly filleted ?salmon? and a fair amount of shaved shin meat and blood in the water!!

It was a quick retrieval of board and water start back to shore to lick my wounds.

It doesn't take much to stop a board when sailing in a relaxed and fairly balanced cruise mode......