I'm trying to remember this correctly writing it a long time after it happened.
I think the swell came up majorly overnight, and I went surfing again on the 2nd.
It was a large-ish windswell event with new groundswell filling in on top of it
and there were only a few of us out in the afternoon, as it was really burly
looking and gnarly. The windswell at over head high was dominant but it felt like it had
something extra in it - which was the groundswell - and on occasion the two swells
would combine and make for a powerful wave. The tide was also astronomically really high
in the morning and really, really low - like minus 1.2 low - in the afternoon when I was out.
I was treating the surf pretty casually - in other words, it was kinda junked out. But when I caught
a right, I was surprised at the power. And paddling back out there was a shallow spot
with a lot of current that rarely shows itself. Only on the lowest of low tides. And for some
reason I got caught in there and pounded, unexpectedly, and arrived back out kind of surprised
at getting caught inside for some reason. Then the same thing happened. I caught a right, it
was more powerful than expected and then got caught in that shallow area paddling back out.
Maybe it was being too casual approach-wise. Maybe it was still a hangover from New Years.
Whatever. But I got caught in that shallow area and this wave reared up in front of me
and I did not duck dive it correctly. Too casual. The wave then proceeded to completely
rip my board out of my hands in an instant, and I have no idea of what happened next, over the falls,
thrashed and then WHAM! That did not feel good. Not good at all. It hurt badly in an instant, the instant
it happened. Something - board - reef - hit me so hard on the side of my right foot that
it was incredibly painful from the moment it happened. I was like, "What in the world was that?"
while still under water. Paddled back out - foot hurt like a MF. Kept hurting. Kept hurting. Cold water
was helping keep it in check. Had an okay session, uncrowded, actually got some really powerful waves.
Got home, and when I started to warm up, of course, the foot starts hurting more and more and more
and more...and finally I'm like, "I think I broke my foot." Looking at it. Big 'ol bulge
right on the outside area, half way up my foot, what a strange place to be hit by the board
or reef. I think it was my board, maybe snapped back nose or tail first and WHAM. Proceeded to ice
it for almost a week. Hurt more and more. Is this thing broken or what? More ice, ibuprofin, continued
to surf on it with an ankle brace around (which actually made it hurt more). Swelled up, started
to feel better. Couple weeks go by. Then it hurts more after feeling better. Go to the clinic, get an X-ray,
which comes back negative, but told it might be a "dancer's fracture" (google it if you want) that
might actually be on the fifth metatarsel, something that is serious and requires surgery
if not taken care of. But the X-ray/radiologist review saw no fracture. Of course he also thought
that after three weeks the pain might be due to the bone actually starting to re-fuse a little bit.
Well, after two months, it's still "re-fusing" to feel 100 percent better. The only other
time I've been hit by a board or anything else that hard or painful was back in like 2002,
when, surfing at the O.B. Pier one day, I pulled into a nice little barrel, got pinched,
and somehow the board snapped back at me, hit me in the temple, split open my eyelid, and required
six stitches. I have sensitive feet to begin with. I wear booties year around, and reef walkers
in Hawaii, as much as a kook I am for doing it. I have sensitive feet. And this thing - I don't
like the feel of it at all. A resulting "surf knot" has been hanging around. Drs say it might take
as much as a year to go away - or never at all. Great. Just imagine if I WASN'T wearing
3mm of protection over the bare foot. Thank god. It could have been worse. Definitely
an argument for being boootied all year long!
- Cliff