Average: 28

No wind in Cape Town so headed back up to Eland Bay. Cranking wind but totally flat. 

Last week at Sunset, we had a session that wasn't so flat with occasional mast high sets coming in. I was sailing out nicely powered, hit a nice inside kicker and managed to waterstart out of a push loop. Whoop! Same run I went for and crashed a back loop on one of the big outside waves. The gear landed awkwardly with the sail quite deep so I spent a good while faffing around trying to get back up. 

I was a long way out so wasn't thinking about the waves. Just as I managed to pull the sail into the waterstart position, one hand on the boom, the other on the back strap I looked backwards to see a huge set wave jacking up behind me. "Oh crikey" I thought. I held on to the gear hoping it would pass over me but I really got it wrong. It was one of those sucking top to bottom waves and before I knew what was happening I was sucked over the falls of a mast high wave holding onto my gear. 

I tried to push my gear away but somehow I got my arm trapped between the board and mast. The gear bounced and freed my arm just before the pressure broke it. Next the fins were between my legs threatening to slice off my manhood. I tumbled free of the fins and then the bottom of the board hit me in the face. "Thwack". I was sure I heard a crack. 

Finally the kit left me behind and after a few more spins the wave let me out of it's grasp. I came up gasping for air, convinced I would see blood. I wiggled my nose, it didn't hurt but it felt wobbly. After a bit of a swim I sailed back to the beach and Ben was giving me the fist bump having seen the push loop attempt.

"I think I broke my nose!". Ben thought it looked OK. Colin (Dixon) saw it and said it looked pretty bad. Terrified that I would be scarred for life, we found a doctor in the car park. His verdict was that there was nothing wrong with it. Panic over, I headed back out  :-)