Hyperlite Saved my Arm!

[s_kelley2000]

Scary stuff Jeff but glad things seem to have gone about as well as they could have. I had a similar incident way back in the day(I was riding a directional O'brien Apex....so ya waaay back haha) trying to learn wrapped 3s and I put my arm through the handle on a crash. The driver slowed down immediately but I still got dragged for a little bit before I was able to free my arm and I thought for sure I had broken it. After a bunch of x-rays it turned out that it was "only" torn and pulled muscles. I was sore for quite a few weeks and it took a while to build strength back up in that arm but I was quite thankful it didn't end up worse. I hope you have a speedy recovery!

[Quinner]

Also have had that exact thing happen doing an invert on the Hydrofoil, line snapped before my arm.

Glad you are OK Jeff!! Heal Quickly!!

Something to consider is using a trick release, several types out there including simple velcro or pin break away types (Cinch and Samson Bullet) as well as manual pulls which can be pylon or tower mounted. Maybe Don (txfoilhead) could elaborate further, many of those foil guys use them, in fact the one I use now I got from him.

[nyryan2001]

Glad you are OK Jeff, could have been much much worse.

I think about this constantly...Paranoid here about my boys when surfing, they get the same safty schpeel everytime... as they come in towards the boat with line in hand taking up the slack...ive taught them to gently roll the slack up in his hand and keep away from their body. very concerned about them getting a loop of the line caught around a limb or neck during a fall.

[TX-Foilhead]

My friends that developed the Bullet Release (unfortunately not available right now) tested it on foilers and wakeboarders. The foilers pull 400 to 500lbs on average and a 600lb shear pin works fine for most. There are a few who consistantly go over that who use an 800lb pin, but that will do some damage to something before it breaks. The wakeboarders weren't able to break the 400lb pin, so thats what they use and there's a 200lb for kids. It was kind of funny actually seeing it in person, wakeboarding is more work than foiling. The wakeboarder loads the rope over a much longer period of time so they can't maintain the higher loads like the foiler. The foiler is positioning himself to take take that pull all at once for just a split second. I would imagine barefooters would pull more like wakeboarders, maybe even less and nobody thought it would be a good idea to use an automatic release for a slalom skier.

As far as handles go, we've tried a lot of things to make the hole smaller and even a T that eliminated it. Nothing really caught on and went anywhere. The T tended to grab new things the triangle wouldn't and the flaps on the triangle don't last very long when they get drug through the water behind the boat.

[NautiqueJeff]

I am going to use some sort of release going forward I think. I have been researching how often these types of things happen, and I have learned that they happen more often than I thought. I like the idea of the Bullet release very much, and it is good to know the ratings. If I can't find one of those, I will probably be ordering a CINCH release. I may also try out the Fluid Motion handle guard, but I have heard that they make handle passes difficult. I can see that, if the center piece that connects to the handle is used, but if that can be eliminated, I don't see how they would cause an issue.

My bruising has certainly gotten worse today, but I am feeling pretty good. I am going to try to at least go out in the boat on Sunday! I may even take a surf set depending on how I feel.

[TX-Foilhead]

Glad you are OK Jeff, could have been much much worse.

I think about this constantly...Paranoid here about my boys when surfing, they get the same safty schpeel everytime... as they come in towards the boat with line in hand taking up the slack...ive taught them to gently roll the slack up in his hand and keep away from their body. very concerned about them getting a loop of the line caught around a limb or neck during a fall.

Use as thick a rope as you, braids like the old trick and wakeboard handles are good. The thicker the rope the less chance it will wrap around something. Fingers and thin ropes are a bad mix, they will take you're finger off. Better to throw it in the boat and have someone to pitch it back.

[prairiethunder]

just my 2 cents.... and a titch off topic.... this is also the reason surf ropes are req'd for surfing rather than just shortening a ski or wake board rope. small handle (or no handle) prevents arms, legs and heads etc from going through the handle. I know people try to lower the start up cost of getting into surfing by using an existing rope.... just not worth it

looks pretty ugly jeff. but, it sounds like it could have been much worse. hope you have a full recovery to get back at it

[ES]

Glad it wasn't worse Jeff, that could have turned ugly very quickly.

Reminds me how I yelled at my 8 yr old while wakeboarding...his hands were getting tired and he thought it would be smart to stick his arm in the handle instead. Looks like I yelled loud enough, he immediately pulled his arm out :-)

[wakeboarder3780]

Jeff - very glad you ended up alright. I had no idea the ropes actually had a breaking strength as I always thought dyneema / spectra was so strong it wouldn't ever break in our application. Super happy to find out its possible they might in an event like this.

I have an absolutely terrible habit of sticking my arm through the handle when I'm fatigued while riding. You probably actually saw me doing it when we were riding last weekend. Clearly I need to make a much more concerted effort to stop that.

On a lighter note your arms now look like you curl 100 lb dumbells for warmups Also, take it easy on that brain box of yours, sounds like it's been getting a pretty bad beating lately!

[TX-Foilhead]

Jeff, look into the Comptech release, that would probably be a better solution for the PN boat. Most serious foilers use that for their boat so everyone is protected and then take the rope mounted release with them when they travel.

[surroundsound64]

I've never used one of the comptechs in my limited foiling... But it looks like a great design and even better idea.

[swankster]

I have an absolutely terrible habit of sticking my arm through the handle when I'm fatigued while riding. You probably actually saw me doing it when we were riding last weekend. Clearly I need to make a much more concerted effort to stop that.

Jeff, We also have this bad habit and I showed your arm to my 16 and 14 year old boys. Thanks for the safety tip and we hope you have a speedy recovery.

[s_kelley2000]

Jeff, look into the Comptech release, that would probably be a better solution for the PN boat. Most serious foilers use that for their boat so everyone is protected and then take the rope mounted release with them when they travel.

I haven't been around too many high level foilers so my apologies if this is a dumb question but what is the major risk with foiling and getting caught in the rope/handle? In wakeboarding I have only seen it happen with wrapped or handle pass tricks which I didn't think really existing in foiling but maybe they do? Is it a risk of getting an extremity caught in a slack loop? Thanks for the info, just curious.

[NautiqueJeff]

Jeff, look into the Comptech release, that would probably be a better solution for the PN boat. Most serious foilers use that for their boat so everyone is protected and then take the rope mounted release with them when they travel.

That looks like exactly what I need for the PN boat. $650 is pricy, but may be worth it to me at this point.

I wonder if I could get Comptech to become a site sponsor...

[Chexi]

I haven't been around too many high level foilers so my apologies if this is a dumb question but what is the major risk with foiling and getting caught in the rope/handle? In wakeboarding I have only seen it happen with wrapped or handle pass tricks which I didn't think really existing in foiling but maybe they do? Is it a risk of getting an extremity caught in a slack loop? Thanks for the info, just curious.

Foilers (I mean good foilers, not hacks like me) do spins and flips. There are also a number of points on a foil that can catch a rope handle. Imagine the wing getting caught in the handle and getting dragged. I don't think you are going to get dragged with your head above water. There are a lot of things that can go wrong between a rope, handle and a foil, and it's all one giant lever. Magnify the force several times.