"when the surfer is high, so is the risk of drowning"

well I managed to get out for a sunrise surf with Blacks on Saturday. we hit up secret spot number sevens for some waist high glassy lines. this spot seems to still hold it's shape even when it's small and we both had our share of long down the line waves over the shallow kelpy boulders that sometimes pitched and boiled the wave face like a melting highway on an acid trip.

speaking of acid trips -here's an interesting study revealed at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle. according to the study "Surfing under the influence of drugs or alcohol are two of the prime dangers facing surfing enthusiasts..." Dr. James MacDonald goes on to illuminate us with "The 'cool factor' sort of mitigates against wearing helmets or ear plugs to protect against swimmer's ear."

never mind kooks with cords dangling soft tops in the mush like so many dinosaur spears.

old MacDonald didn't forget to remind us about the dangers of localism either: "I was surprised at how much violence there can be in surfing culture. Some of the injuries I've seen have nothing to do with surfing-they're fisticuffs. There's no referee out in the water to break up fights." As popular surfing sites become crowded with novices and out-of-towners, veteran surfers may react to protect their "zones." remebers that!

maybe this Doc surfs and rather than stink eye the soft toppers he publishes blatant warnings in scientific journals. I reckon it won't be long before the Bra Boys start adopting his tactics.

my favourite part of the study though was that "those with full-time jobs that cut into wave time may experience injuries relating to deconditioning, such as muscle strains, soft tissue damage and falls."

so it is. I better close my office door today and bust a few push ups and crunches lest I get injured from deconditioning. and most importantly I think I've learned that the two shots of Crown in my dawn patrol coffee are probably adding to the "risk" factor of surfing making my 'cool' and 'core' factors rise to new highs (pun intended).

ok best get to work

see the original article here or search PubMed