Cut Tendon How Blunt Can ones fins be ?

[Terence H]

On the 23rd of Dec i took off on a set wave about 5 ft noticed it was closing out so tried to go through the back , i felt myself getting sucked over and had a very bad feeling.
That this was not going to end up well especially as a felt my board touching me as a i went over , as a hit the bottom major impact above my ankle , was hoping that it was a blunt impact rather than a penetration , bad news felt the ankle area all puffy loose flesh i could hardly bare to look.
I paddled in and with the help of some lifies stopped the bleeding with my rashy.
It was a this point that i felt really faint after looking at the wound. i have a few pictures that the nurse took but would not like to put any body off there food.
Doctor at emergency said could not help as it required specialist surgery.
An orthopedic surgeon was needed to stitch the tendon back together and i did not have all the correct medical aid information so was stuck in the corner until i could raise the equivalent of US $5000 before they would operate.
That is me out of the water for maybe 2 to 3 months at least.

So i will be blunting all sharp edges on my board fins included , i am sure ones performance will not be affected much !
37 years kneeboarding no serious injuries until now.

Guys have a great kneeboarding year just stay away from those fins

Regards
Terence Hogben

[Terence H]

Pro Teck fins look like they could assist when stabbed by ones fins ,any of you tried them ?

[KenM]

Terence, very sorry to hear about your injury. Seems that Parko's nasty heel cut was also due to the trailing edge of his fin. Evidently, the leash stretched way out and when it snapped back the fin got him. Whenever I get a new board or new fins I try to sand some of the sharpness off the edges. The trick is to slightly round the trailing edge because if you just square it off and leave a wide flat edge you'll get some fin hum.

[mark ricketts]

Bummer - tendons don't heal quickly.

I used pro-Tecs for a bit. great idea ( edges are soft plastic) but the main body plastic was too soft to give strong flex and eventually broke on the reef one day. I didn't replace them.

a quick 5 min rub with wet and dry on your trailing edge means less leash nicks and less damage if you get slammed. I wouldn't surf a new fin without it.

effect on my surfing??? as if!

[Terence H]

Mark i see they make fins with different flex properties now so that should
sort out the excessive flex that you might have experienced , anyway will give them a try and give some feedback as soon as i am back in the water.

Seems like it is only a matter of time before we all get cut , might as well try get some insurance with the fins.

And a good idea to have ones medical insurance in order

Regards
Terence

[red]

Hey Terence,
Sorry to hear about the mishap.
After 37 years, though, you could consider this an unusual event. Don't over react. Chances are slim of it happening again before your retire with worn out knees and shoulders

[Terence H]

Howzit Red. I don't know I am superstious and now this has happened I am going to
Worry that it might happen a lot more , + sometimes I just push my luck a lot in the surf if
I find a Pro Tech fin that works as well as my current fins it will be a good insurance policy.
My body is mostly strong just a little bone broken in my back.
Have a good one in Hawaii.
Regards T

[Terence H]

Howzit guys best of luck at the Worlds , wish i could be there maybe next time.
Anyway nearly recovered was down at the surf this morning greeted by a howling beastly Easterly.
So tomorrow for my first surf since 23rd of Dec leg nearly all good , cannot run yet but tendons seem healed just a fair amount of scar tissue inside the wound , should be all good , will just cruise for a bit before pulling big airs and stuff
Oh and have made my fins really blunt have not bought the soft edge fins yet.

[khoningford]

Good luck Terence, getting back in the water after an accident can be tough, believe me I know. Perfectly normal to have those lingering "what-ifs" but those fade into the background the more you get out there. The old saying "Let your conscience be your guide" really comes into play here, you'll know how much to push yourself and if it doesn't feel right, no shame in easing up a bit. In my own experience healing is 20% physical and 80% in your mind...
Have fun and good surfing to you.

[Terence H]

Ken thanks for the mail , i can imagine that your first surf must have been difficult , and what happened to me nothing in comparison to your incident.
Anyway had my second surf today , getting better all the time and ankle stronger , i should be fully fit by the time Winter is here for real in about 6 weeks time.
Well it would have been a good surf if guys would stop whistling at me whenever i caught a wave , and every time i looked there was nobody there , quite spooky.
Well this happened about 3 times until i realized that the whistling was coming from my fins i have gone and made them too blunt , going to have to sharpen them a little again , maybe do the rear first and see if it helps.
Regards
Terence

[Bramo]

Hi Terence, must feel GREAT to be back in the water after so long?

[Terence H]

Bramo howzit , yes it is great , surfed again today bit of a small easterly swell but alright while i am still taking it easy.
Sharpened the fins a bit and the whistling has gone.
Look me up if you ever come up to Durban for a surf.

T

[Bramo]

All good this side, just waiting for waves. We've got some coming Thursday, its has been a bad Summer for waves, can't wait for Winter. Will look you up for sure when I am that side. Take it easy.

[Andy]

Hi Terence,

You promise winters coming in 6 weeks ?

Im about to go postal after surfing summer dribble for ever, even taken the longboard out a few times so my son can laugh at me in the water

Re fin sharpness, its interesting that airfoils for aircraft are generally blunt so I dont see why fins cant be too. Ive had some nice wetsuit cuts from fins which would have taken my leg off if I wasnt covered in rubber, so I reckon a blunter leading edge could be a good thing!

cheers

Andy

[Terence H]

Andy i promise , hey we are starting to get a few cold fronts coming through and offshores puffing in the morning.
I missed all the good swell Durban had to offer late Feb early March while my leg was healing , now i am ready and just got back from a job in JHB and cold front has pushed through hope there is some swell with it.
My fins are pretty blunt now i dont think it affects performance at all , i still cant do aerials

Hope you get some good ones.