skyrider 0 #1 November 17, 2010 The 29-year-old geologist was enjoying an after-work surf at Maori Bay, near Muriwai, in good conditions and a 1m swell when disaster struck. He had just caught his first ride and was on his way out for more when he duck-dived a wave and did not see a surfer who was riding a wave towards him. "Usually you can get out of the way, but it was like a split second ..." he said. "I just remember seeing him, his board and then the next few seconds just tumbling under the water with the boards and the leashes, thinking 'it's not a good situation'." Mr Palastanga, who moved to Auckland from Bridgend, south Wales, about two years ago, surfaced a few moments later. After getting his bearings and not feeling too much pain, he thought he might have escaped the encounter with a broken nose or grazes to his face. "I felt my face because I thought my nose might be a bit out of shape and then I felt this thing sticking out of my face - it was a good 20cm out of my face. "I realised then it was a bit of his board that had snapped off and was sticking out of my cheek ... it was pretty surreal, it was a horrible situation." A facial specialist later told him a chunk of the nose of the other man's surfboard had embedded itself at least 7cm into his face. The board smashed through his left cheek, fractured the floor of his left eye-socket and went through the sinus and Nasal cavity into the pharynx at the back of the throat. Blinded in his left eye, he could feel the piece of board in the roof of his mouth and blood trickling from the wound. Despite not being able to breathe properly, he was able to talk, and with the help of the other surfer, paddled back to shore. "The guy then ran off to call an ambulance and got his mate to stay with me," said Mr Palastanga. "We made our way up to the top carpark and shocked a few people on the way - it was a pretty horrific sight so I got someone to take a photo. "I was worried I was going to pass out, but I think it was the adrenalin that kept me going ... I was asking people how serious it looked and they all went 'yeah, it's pretty bad'." An ambulance took him to Auckland Hospital, where oral and maxillofacial surgeon Lance West was one of two specialists who spent 4 hours removing the piece of surfboard and rebuilding his eye socket. Mr West said the procedure was difficult because the broken bits of fibreglass and foam from the board did not show up on x-rays. The team could see the material in Mr Palastanga's head only because it was covered with a thin layer of blood that could be seen in the scan. He said Mr Palastanga was "a very lucky fellow" who had narrowly avoided being permanently blinded in one eye, severe nerve damage in his cheek and losing several teeth or worse. "He was lucky it had missed everything that was going to bleed and most of the nerves. A bit higher and he might have lost his eye but he has completely normal function there, lower and he would have damaged his teeth a lot," said Mr West. He would probably make a full recovery, apart from occasional numbness in his left cheek and permanent scar left by the 14 stitches inserted under his left eye. Mr Palastanga, who had his left eye-socket reconstructed with a titanium plate and screws and his nose put back in place after the incident three weeks ago, returned to his job in Albany last week. A surfer of 15 years, he says it has not put him off, "but it made me realise how bad it could have been and just how lucky I was." Picture at link: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10688156 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roostnureye 2 #2 November 17, 2010 must have been the new stealth surfboard! damn that would suck!!!Flock University FWC / ZFlock B.A.S.E. 1580 Aussie BASE 121 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #3 November 17, 2010 What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? Damn, I'm glad he lived and isn't too f-ed up, or at least it's fixable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #4 November 17, 2010 QuoteWhat was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyrider 0 #5 November 17, 2010 Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. a special area for hardcore surfers......Oh....wait they have that! Strange though, the number one problem with surfers, is the total lack off a standard patern! Hard to plan where you fall off though! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #6 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. a special area for hardcore surfers......Oh....wait they have that! Strange though, the number one problem with surfers, is the total lack off a standard patern! Hard to plan where you fall off though! Would that be called a chow?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutumbo 0 #7 November 18, 2010 and thats why you dont paddle out in the middle of a lineup, which is what i gbet this guy did. there are many rules of etiquette in surfing kinda like skydiving and base.Thanatos340(on landing rounds)-- Landing procedure: Hand all the way up, Feet and Knees Together and PLF soon as you get bitch slapped by a planet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #8 November 18, 2010 Quote Mr Palastanga, who had his left eye-socket reconstructed with a titanium plate and screws and his nose put back in place after the incident three weeks ago... and how is that NOT better than a good day at work ? scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TriGirl 277 #9 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. And what about pre-surf safety brief? Surfer collisions can almost always be avoided if everyone keeps their head on a swivel! See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LuckyMcSwervy 0 #10 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. And what about pre-surf safety brief? Surfer collisions can almost always be avoided if everyone keeps their head on a swivel! Yeah, and no banging the surf instructors. Always be kinder than you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #11 November 18, 2010 surely he was coming from a small wave beach and for the first time at a multi-big wave beach...scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #12 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. And what about pre-surf safety brief? Surfer collisions can almost always be avoided if everyone keeps their head on a swivel! You are advocating safety meetings?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TriGirl 277 #13 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. And what about pre-surf safety brief? Surfer collisions can almost always be avoided if everyone keeps their head on a swivel! Yeah, and no banging the surf instructors. Hey, now -- let's not be unreasonable. See the upside, and always wear your parachute! -- Christopher Titus Shut Up & Jump! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 212 #14 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote Mr Palastanga, who had his left eye-socket reconstructed with a titanium plate and screws and his nose put back in place after the incident three weeks ago... and how is that NOT better than a good day at work ? What do you do for work?!I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Niki1 1 #15 November 18, 2010 Quote Quote What was the board loading and how many surfs did that guy have? They need a traffic pattern: Swim out in one place on a base leg, then paddle cross-current for set-up, and finally turn down-wave for their final approach. They don't need any of that. Darwin's out there directing traffic. Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done. Louis D Brandeis Where are we going and why are we in this basket? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
