Surf injuries cluster on board-to-head, shallow reef, and rips. Drowning is the worst case. This is not a lifeguard manual or medical advice.
A red flag is a sentence, not a dare.
Hazards
- Rips — Seaward currents; sideways exit.
- Board as weapon — Rails and fins, including one’s own.
- Hold-downs and impact zone — Two waves, shallow sand, panic.
- Shallow reef — The Olympic Teahupo’o reminder: beauty is a slab.
- Cold shock and afterdrop — Temperate winters.
- Crowd — More dangerous than a slightly bigger wave.
Rules
- Swim before surf — A surfer who cannot swim 100 m is in the wrong chapter.
- Flags and towers — The beach’s law.
- Leash plus looking — A loose board is a projectile.
- One peak, one person — Do not drop in.
- Know the reef depth — A pretty face can be ankle-deep.
Red flags
- Red flag and a “quick one” — No.
- Blood in the water from a fin — Exit, clinic. Not folklore.
- A hold-down that felt like a second wave you were not ready for — End the session.
- Lightning — Boards are not lightning rods you want to test.
First response
- Signal the tower — Lost board, cramp, or a friend in a rip — the lifeguard is the system.
- Board cuts — Clean water, then clinical care if deep. Reef cuts infect.
- Not medical advice — Spinal suspicion after a shallow head-first is emergency services, not a walk-it-off.
Surf safety is a flag, a swim, and a leash. The slab can wait for a different lifetime.