It happens that quickly. Rope wrapped around wrist with video.

[5:00]

I put this up as a warning and for input from others to avoid this happening again.

I had never seen it before and I hope to not see it again. Everything turned out fine in the end but it could have gone either way.
In the end the rope wrapped around his right wrist twice while arms were flailing. This was his third time out ever and did well to begin with. He was not throwing the rope quickly during falls on other runs and you can hear in the video I believe four times being told to throw the rope.
A shorter rope may have helped and we did shorten it after that.

Since he was fairly new at this I was keeping a good eye on him. I saw it starting to happen and from and the video time line it was four seconds from that point to complete stop of the boat and slack rope. I had never slammed it into reverse like that before. You can hear others in the boat saying things that showed they didn't even know what had happened.

Keeping a keen eye out avoided a potentially bad situation. Keep your eyes wide open especially with those learning! Luckily there were no gnarly photos of the wrist to show.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvE4iDKpt2E


Not sure how he was going to save it.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb280/sirzappa/almost%20wrapped.jpg

Not the time to be holding the rope.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb280/sirzappa/not%20where%20to%20be.jpg

Its a wrap.
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb280/sirzappa/wrapped.jpg

[Isaguel]

Glad to hear he is OK.
A few thoughts on this.
I never use a surf rope with a handle, especially with my kids. The handle can catch a limb/ Heck some handles are big enough a small childs head can fit through.
My son surfs and his head is pretty small.
I have a surf rope with a T end handle. Also, surf ropes should have a very thick, double or triple braided end, the last 3-4 feet or so. This will prevent the rope from tangling around a limb. Mine is double braided, I've seen triple braided without the T handle. The rope is thick enough you just grab it, but there is almost no chance it will tangle around a limb, or neck.
I would consider a different rope. Also I notice your rope is pretty long, that may also contribute.

But seriously, I know the habdle was not the problem in your case, this time, but, I see a lot of surf ropes with handles. My buddy uses one. I never let my kids use it. I bring my own rope. Its a pretty serious safety issue in my mind.

[mazzyel2162]

When we started introducing wakesurfing to the Moomba crowd, we actually had people on here arguing: "why the heck would you need a life jacket when wakesurfing. Ocean surfers don't wear one"

Another was: "I think it is completely safe to start surfing by slipping off the swim platform".

As you can see anything can and will happen.

Good job being the hero and saving the day!

[smorris7]

Way to be aware. This could have ended badly. Thanks for posting.


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[clarkely]

It can happen to anyone .....happened 2 summers ago to me wrapping my middle finger ......it was mangled ....all joints dislocated and ligaments tore from bone....... fortunately I'd do everything correct.....reset joints (no sharp pain ....knew it was f'd) and isolated splinter finger top and bottom for a week until we went home from vacation.... then 10 weeks immobilized custom splint .....then 6 months therapy and I have 75% use....

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[z28ke]

Nice reaction time!

[parrothd]

Yep.. That rope is to long for him, I never allow people to coil the excess rope like that, you have to watch them even the experienced ones.

We had a family vacation last week, my brother law had me on edge continuously by surfing right next to the platform.

His surf wake sucks so he's used to surfing 1ft back of the platform, made me very very nervous, had to keep yelling at him to move back..

[mattsask]

Since we're on the subject.... A relative of mine had a crew of inexperienced surfers out on his boat 2 summers ago. One of the guys didn't listen to instructions and was holding the excess rope in 3 loops. When he fell, the rope cut his thumb off right at the joint. After picking him up, they pulled the rope in to find his thumb attached to the rope by the ligaments that tore from his hand.

From that moment on, we haven't used anything but a triple braided rope with small handle.

Be safe out there.

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[snyderaaron]

Crazy, that always scares me.

When we were in high school we had a buddies jet ski out and an old tube I had with an older rope. When someone was riding the tube, the driver of the jetski turned so tight that the rope wrapped around my buddies leg. Luckily when the jet ski took off again the rope was so old that it broke. It looked like it could of cut my buddies leg off.

[trayson]

Glad to hear he is OK.
A few thoughts on this.
I never use a surf rope with a handle, especially with my kids. The handle can catch a limb/ Heck some handles are big enough a small childs head can fit through.
My son surfs and his head is pretty small.
I have a surf rope with a T end handle. Also, surf ropes should have a very thick, double or triple braided end, the last 3-4 feet or so. This will prevent the rope from tangling around a limb. Mine is double braided, I've seen triple braided without the T handle. The rope is thick enough you just grab it, but there is almost no chance it will tangle around a limb, or neck.
I would consider a different rope. Also I notice your rope is pretty long, that may also contribute.

But seriously, I know the habdle was not the problem in your case, this time, but, I see a lot of surf ropes with handles. My buddy uses one. I never let my kids use it. I bring my own rope. Its a pretty serious safety issue in my mind.

You'll have quite a few that will disagree. I have a surf rope with a TINY handle. no way a head would fit through there unless it had just been popped out from between Momma's legs... The rope has the thickness you talk about. it has the knots and foam on it. But I HATE t-handles. they're like a flail at the bottom of the rope. Ever get knocked by that handle against your head or another body part? It freaking hurts. The SMALL triangle is way more forgiving. Those t-handles are a lot harder to hang onto as well.

And yes, the appropriate length is of course a factor.


I've had a ski rope wrap around my ankle as a kid, so I know first hand what it's like. But I'm happy with the balance of safety and functionality of my small triangle.

[beat taco]

Rope is by far the most dangerous thing in the boat and I'm pretty serious about enforcing rope rules. All of the serious injuries I've personally witnessed in my lifetime of doing this were rope related. From compound fractures with leg bones sticking out of the skin to ejections from the boat to missing fingers. I know there's plenty of ways to get hurt but my experience is the rope is very unforgiving.

[snyderaaron]

This is also why you don't powerturn back to the ride. Could you imagine what would happen?


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[philnizz]

it happend to me this may, i almost lost my thumb. had a 5 hours surgery to fix the arteries and nerves. happy i am getting my sense back. but still my thumb is pretty damn stiff. so i can't use it how it should be.
now i know how dangerous a rope can be. i am always very alert, when i have beginners on the boat. they just don't know what they are doing.

[5:00]

I looked up triple braided rope and nothing came up past the search engine. Nothing on any rope I found actually says triple braided in the description.
What does it look like or any suggestions on what to get? I want to replace mine right away.

Is it a rope that looks all chunky like this?
http://images.evo.com/imgp/700/63916/311759/liquid-force-surf-rope-w-t-handle-2013-green.jpg

[brain_rinse]

Search for knotted surf rope. Here is an example: https://www.buywake.com/hyperlite-2016-20-ft-knotted-surf-rope

[5:00]

We will probably need something with a handle I am afraid. We have one person who has limited use of their right shoulder because of a high school wrestling injury and gets up using only his left arm. Maybe get one of those but still need something good with the handle.

[trayson]

We will probably need something with a handle I am afraid. We have one person who has limited use of their right shoulder because of a high school wrestling injury and gets up using only his left arm. Maybe get one of those but still need something good with the handle.

I'd say something like this:
http://static1.squarespace.com/static/521e7397e4b01c5870ce3cac/t/5717b0e2f699bb09e788cfab/1461170410293/

[5:00]

I was looking at that one. The overly luxurious grip to pull yourself forward may double at a way of making it more difficult for the rope to wrap.

[trayson]

I was looking at that one. The overly luxurious grip to pull yourself forward may double at a way of making it more difficult for the rope to wrap.

My thoughts exactly.

[sivs1]

I HAVE ONE VERY SIMILAR TO THIS AND HAVE HAD NO CONCERNS.

http://www.marine-products.com/ronix-surf-rope-yellow.html

[wolfeman131]

pull yourself forward

THIS is the problem.

We teach people to ride into the wave vs pulling into the wave.

[BrettLee3232]

Ouch, glad he's ok. That was the fastest 10mph to 0mph I've seen. Surprised water didn't come over. Very fast reaction, good job.


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[5:00]

THIS is the problem.

We teach people to ride into the wave vs pulling into the wave.

I know what you are saying. A lot of people can't surf into the wave when they are learning. Some of that may have to do with a long rope also.

[trayson]

I know what you are saying. A lot of people can't surf into the wave when they are learning. Some of that may have to do with a long rope also.

We have our rope long enough to get the rope to the rider reasonably easy after they fall. Long enough to be at the back of the pocket. Short enough that there's not a ton of rope to take up when they're actually in the pocket.

Here's a pic to give you an idea of the length we run. We also run our rope from the side to aid in helping the rider get up without having to go through the wash or drop off the cliff.

http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u492/traysonh/Moomba%20XLV/20160628_105407_zps1qmfzyi8.jpg

[TheDude]

A thing of my nightmares

[Wax]

This is why I use a thick braided line, this situation has never even remotely happened with it through 11 seasons and countless beginners. Glad it was all okay.

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[5:00]

In search of the perfect rope but until then the current one will be shortened substantially.

[5:00]

We had a better and safer time this weekend. With a substantially shorter rope as a result of running it through the side/top of the cage we got four new surfers up very quickly (less waterfall) and more safely. None let go of the rope but we had two that were really close. Thanks for all of the input on the rope length. We were also teaching in distinct stages so they could learn one part at a time and only that part which made everything fast.
Glad to have a suck gate for great wave and FAE so I could teach on the back without getting a CO headache!

[murraymoomba]

Use a comptech release. It has a dial to set from 100lbs to 800lbs plus a manual you can pull to release it.

[5:00]

I have the Velcro version of that for my Sky Ski. Even a manual release would be good. Aren't the auto release around $800? Still cheaper than a torn up arm.

[goridedoo]

I looked up triple braided rope and nothing came up past the search engine. Nothing on any rope I found actually says triple braided in the description.
What does it look like or any suggestions on what to get? I want to replace mine right away.

Is it a rope that looks all chunky like this?
http://images.evo.com/imgp/700/63916/311759/liquid-force-surf-rope-w-t-handle-2013-green.jpg
Yes a rope that looks all chunky like that. Dont buy that particular one though. The black caps came off of my T the first day and exposed sharp metal, I cut the T off and now have a braided rope.

Proline makes a nice cheap T handle rope, its a bit short and needs to be used from the ski pylon or lengthened with dock line or something like that to be used from the tower.

[Dubwake21]

Good reaction and alertness OP!

[Wax]

Yes a rope that looks all chunky like that. Dont buy that particular one though. The black caps came off of my T the first day and exposed sharp metal, I cut the T off and now have a braided rope.

Proline makes a nice cheap T handle rope, its a bit short and needs to be used from the ski pylon or lengthened with dock line or something like that to be used from the tower.
This is a lot like my rope I've had for 11 or 12 years now. Love it. One cap has been off for as long as I can remember, no big deal.

[moombadaze]

Rope length is more important than handle style to me. The rope should just reach the pocket and that its, no longer. anyone would coil the excessive length when learning if it is longer.

btw, that was some wicked reaction time getting that much forward momentum stopped. the guy surfing should have kissed that v drive and trans for what it went thru

[5:00]

btw, that was some wicked reaction time getting that much forward momentum stopped. the guy surfing should have kissed that v drive and trans for what it went thru

Haha too true! It all happened so fast but by the time I got to the neutral on the throttle just before slamming reverse I was already thinking to myself "there goes the trans". That thought formed really quickly! I was surprised at how smooth it all went to full reverse. You can bet when it was time to check things when it was all over that I was nervous.

[DFTR Josh]

We only use the ropes with a small handle, had seen way too many close calls with the long braid rope. The problems were long! Also please don't ever throw the rope back to your surfer to keep them from going off the back of the wave. This is where a lot of fingers have been lost!
Here's a few Surf Ropes that I have played with and get them for a good deal.
http://www.marine-products.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=surf+rope