Down wind drama's.

[Southbay]

....plus ALWAYS TETHER EVERYTHING!   

[stoneaxe]

I didn't really think anyone was trying to be critical, more amazement than anything. If something like this can happen twice to DJ....DJ!....it can happen to anyone. Certainly has made me think.

[Blue crab]

I once did a run (on a light day thank goodness) with a fin that was not screwed in. Things started to feel really tippy about half way through and I could not figure out why.  I assumed it was my own general suckiness. The fin fell out as I carried the board back to the car. So yes, we are all prone to oversights.  In the backcountry skiing community, they call it the "human element". I now have a mental a safety check list approach prior to each run where I give each piece of my equipment a full physical exam before going out on the water.

This thread has been useful.   Based on great advice on this and the concurrent safety thread, I now have a knife, inner tube, extra leash, tape and tow rope that I intend on taking with me whether I am with newbies or an experienced crew. I am also going to be less shy about wearing a pfd on bigger days, even if I look like a dork (I already do).

What bothers me is that none of these measures will protect against the most dangerous, and apparently common mishap: separation from the board.  The posts in this thread that I find most distressing are the numerous stories of leash snaps, despite everything being done the right way.  This type of equipment failure seems completely unacceptable to me.  The reality is that a mile swim to shore in heavy waters is a very, very high risk situation, even for strong swimmers, that really should be avoided at all costs. Accidents related to human error are inevitable.  However, equipment failure for something as simple as a leash just should not happen this commonly. I am going to experiment a bit with 2 leashes this weekend just to see if a tangled disaster ensues. Would enjoy hearing from the group if there are other techniques folks have used to avoid snapped leashes.

[PonoBill]

With all my whackiness regarding leashes I've paddled out more than a few times and found I forgot my leash. On a downwind board it's common to get in the water, get away from the beach, and then stop to attach your leash. Most of the folks doing Maliko runs do that. Fortunately it's easy to go back and get your leash doing a Maliko, but I've seen some folks stop, realize they didn't have their leash, and then do a Maliko without a leash. The young crazies do it intentionally. I know of one time that Ekolu Kalama paddled from Maliko to Molokai without a leash or a camelback!

It's not completely insane, it certainly focuses your attention on grabbing your board, but it's certainly not for me. One of Headmounts early video shows Connor Baxter losing his board during a Maliko in the surf coming over the Kanaha reef. He hitched a ride on the nose of someone else's board as I recollect.

In any case, this was another valuable service from our friend. Made us all think.

[headmount]

Yeah you can talk about losing your board but actually seeing DJ fade behind the board mounted cam had quite an impact. It was, as the thread title reads, dramatic.

Initially thought it was staged and thought that it was a great learning tool but he posted that he had a few cams on board that explained the change in cam direction.  Even more dramatic that it wasn't staged.