Cracked 6th Rib While Surfing

Ok, this seems really stupid. A bit of swell finally started to hit on Sat, Feb 7, 2009. It had been raining for a few days and it finally tapered off. The conditions were nice: semi overcast, glassy at 3PM, and some chunky NW coming in, making for some nice rights. So, into the post-rain, feces and hepatitis-laden sewage. I don't care, I'm sick of waiting for something to surf on. I think it was mid-tide and flooding. It was a bit walled. Super warm water for some odd reason.

wave 1: take off right and it held up pretty well. nice size wall.
wave 2: take off left, nice size wall, but kind of open. My better sense said to pull out, but I figured a good whomping will be good for me. So, it caved on me, no issue. Done that 1001 times in our typically closed-out beach break. Went underwater for a bit with the wave suction. Then 2-3 seconds go by and my board smacks me like a friggen torpedo in my lower left back, right near my kidney. I have no idea what part of my board hit me. I got very dizzy and nauseous. I just kind of curled up under water, figuring my entrails (guts) were pouring into my wet suit. After some thought, I figured I should doggie paddle in and peel off my suit to have a look. I figured it would be a blood bath and that my suit is serving to hold me together. Got on the sand, rolled my suit down, and YES!, no blood. Anyway, 5 hours later I went to the ER for an Xray since the pain was only getting worse. Sure enough, my 6th rib is cracked, but not compound, so no risk of any punctures.

Well, nearly 2 weeks later and this is still the most long-lasting painful injury I've experienced. I can't do any basic thing...cough, breath deep, sneeze, get up after sleep...without major pain. I take Codone before sleeping (though it seems to stimulate my mind and keeps me awake). The only similar pain I've experienced several times is shoulder dislocation.

Volcom Crustaceous Starfish River Jetties Video, Jan 31, 2009

I watched the Volcom Starfish Surf Series contest on Sun, Jan 31. As usual, the waves were still small. Nonetheless, the conditions were pretty nice (sunny, slight texture). So, since the waves were so small, I chose not to video. Rather, i just took bunches of high-speed continuous still images. It totaled around 4000 images in the few short hours I was there. Anyway, I strung them all together as a fast slideshow (like 4 images per second I think). Overall, kind of a different take on "surf video".

By the way, the contestants really did a great job in the small surf. Congrats to everyone who showed up and competed. RJs holds a special place in my heart as that's where I grew up surfing.



You can check out the bigger sizer (640x480) video at the builtforsurf youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/builtforsurf

Check out the Volcom page for the Jan 31, 2009 Starfish Surf Series at river jetties.

Results (borrowed form the Volcom page):
RESULTS

PRO-AM
1. Michel Flores $500
2. Macy Mullen
3. Matt King
4. Kyle Kennelly
5. Teddy Navarro
6. Brandon Tipton

Juniors
1. Jared Cassidy
2. Christian Saenz
3. Luke Davis
4. Ford Archbold
5. Doug Van Mierlo
6. Chase Wilson

roms
1. Kolohe Andino
2. Taylor Clark
3. John Elles
4. Brenden Taylor
5. Kevin Shulz
6. Ian Crane

Girls
1. Meah Collins
2. Charlotte Dellea
3. Shelby Detmers
4. Tammy Mowery
5. Keshia Eyre
6. Caroline Loose

Electric Volt Thrower
Macy Mullen $50