As always the surfing was a lot of fun and many wide-eyed
Skooks-newbies had there first rides on the wave. I got my share of wave time and was almost ready to pack up, but
had to do this one last surf... when I flipped on the second wave. The water pulled
hard enough on the paddle that it tweaked my shoulder. Trying to roll up I immediately
realized that I couldn’t use my left arm – oh, not again! So I pulled the deck, popped out and up a distance away from boat and paddle. Theoretically the kayak provides
extra buoyancy and I struggled to get to it. But as soon as I got hold of the
grab loop, a whirlpool formed and sucked the boat under. Here goes another
theory, I thought, and gave the boat a good push into the centre of the whirlpool hoping
this would keep me out of it. No such luck. Soon I was getting sucked
under too but was strangely calm, enjoying the green light filtering down from above.
Fortunately the underwater venture took only a few seconds and when I popped up
again, Pete was there to the rescue.
The rest of the story took about half an
hour. Pete and I in tow went for the Tour (that's how we call it when a paddler doesn't make the eddy and has to paddle through the run-out of the rapid with its crashing waves and whirlpools). Back on shore it took a couple of tries and some repositioning, but we successfully put the shoulder back
in its place (all the while watching the 'surf lions'). Knowing how to deal with a dislocated shoulder is certainly a useful first-aid skill to have as a paddler. This and a bit of luck
saved us from a trip to the hospital and another night’s stay on the Sunshine Coast. I was pretty bumped out about
this injury, recalling the months it took to heal my other shoulder 5 years
ago, but a few days later the shoulder felt way better and only one week
later, I flew my wing already. But I guess I will have to lay off whitewater paddling for a
while.
