Leashes and rocks

[JackG]

From the Santa Barbara News-Press: http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/ar ... 2689935421

Goleta surfer dies off Campus Point

January 16, 2006 12:00 AM

A 29-year-old surfer died Sunday, reportedly after the leash on her surfboard got tangled in rocks, pulling her underwater near UCSB's Campus Point, fire officials said.

Two other surfers noticed the woman in distress, pulled her out of the water and administered CPR, but she was pronounced dead about a half hour later at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital.

The woman, who was from Goleta, was not identified late Sunday pending notification of next of kin. She had been submerged for about six minutes when the surfers spotted her and pulled her ashore, police officials said.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department and officers from the UCSB Police Department responded to the 5:20 p.m. call. The woman was in cardiac arrest when emergency workers arrived, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police officials said the woman was not a UCSB student and did not work at the university, but declined to identify her further.

--Melissa Evans

[Smokin Rock]

Bud shared this with me after he had a near death experience at G-land with his leash caught in the reef.
DON'T try to lean forward and grab your leash. any current will prevent you from grabbing your leash this way. you will quickly tire out and probably panic.
DO lay flat on the reef on your back then with your legs pull your torso with arm along side to your leash. there will be little or no resistance this way and you should be able to get the sucka off.
this is the main reason to wear short leashes in shallow rocky or reef areas. i wonder what the length of her leash was? i only wear long leashes in deep water big waves. even then it can be a nightmare...your board 25' away tombstoning like crazy. holding you in the impact zone for another beating.

[john -]

One of the features l like on the O&E legrope is the little tag that identifies where to pull to unleash the leggie. I think other brands have them but the o&e seems more pronounced. Such a thing helps.

[skansand]

bullys makes big wave coils that you connect to a bicep leashes coil that makes it twice as large...id put the plug near the nose if got a custom...less hassle and no dragging leash in the water... ....but id be suprised to see anyone taking a groms advice....see you all at trestles sunday

[Smokin Rock]

the problem i see with your setup skasand is with the plug on the nose and your bicep near your head you're gonna have that sucker blasting straight at you eventually.
better include a helmut.

[Beeline2.0]

..

[ross]

last week got belted.vest pulled over my head,leggie attached to right leg wrapped around left leg,disslocate second biggest toe.board karate chopping head repeatedly
humbled ross

[weirdo]

wasn't it only 1ft all last week ross??...

[stemple]

For five bucks dakine sells a cotter pin with a big plastic loop on it. You replace the connection screw on the back of the padded leash cuff. If you get in trouble bend down pull the pin and the lease pops off. I saw Peter Mel wearing one in hawaii last year and bought a couple myself.

http://www.dakine.com/base.cfm

[john -]

disslocate second biggest toe

flippers

[ross]

nah dorje used em once could never go back

wierds,never got under 3 ft for 2 weeks up north.mind you the above mentioned wave was a small one

Martin

[JackG]

Sad story, She wasn't a noob, and her fiance was watching their kid in the parking lot while she surfed -- they were taking turns. I know the swell was up that day, the tide was going out quickly, and it was very windy.

Maybe I'll find one of those DaKine leashes ...

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/ar ... 2201563208

[surfhorn]

Campus Point is usually a longboard wave..without a swell one of the weakest breaks in the area.

Not sure if this is a leash-caused injury, but our friend, Santa Cruz big wave KBer Phil caught his board in the chops recently, breaking his nose and doing some creative dental work. I hear he's patched up and OK.

The most recent board he picked up from Freeline had 6 layers of 'glass............on both sides. A lot of weight.

[SCGARY]

bullys makes big wave coils that you connect to a bicep leashes coil that makes it twice as large...id put the plug near the nose if got a custom...less hassle and no dragging leash in the water... ....but id be suprised to see anyone taking a groms advice....see you all at trestles sunday

Not such a bad idea!
Back in the late 60's when I was KB'ing the Lane Pat O'Neill starts showing up with a suction cup/surgical tube leash thingy attached to the front of his board. It looked like it worked good but I decided to try attaching the leash permanently to the nose of my KB by using a thru bolt. Looked like crap but worked good. I'd wear the leash around my upper arm and found that it not only stayed out of the way of my legs but allowed the board to easily pull thru the wave if I lost it since the board was being retrieved nose first instead of tail first. Makes a huge different in resistance. This setup was also easy to ditch if you got snagged.
I've toyed with the idea of doing it again with today's leashes and cup placed on the nose. Seems to make sense for KB's. Im going to try it on one of next boards I build.

[jadams3]

Hmmmmmmm.........I wouldn't want a leash upfront ......if it wraps around your neck during a wipeout in the high agitation cycle......you're toast.......my personal opinion........I like to get as far away from my board as possible in those situations