Is it possible to surf with 2 fins on a three fin board?

[OlegLupusov]

I got into a surfing accident with a guy on a short board channel isles. The GoPro shows that his board has only two fins. I wonder whether it is possible that he had two before the accident. Otherwise it must have broken off in the accident.

[OlegLupusov]

Here are the pics

[drowningbitbybit]

Technically possible, but why would you?
You broke his fin

[OlegLupusov]

And he sliced my rail really badly but only in two spots. The third ding could result from his rail impact not the fin. I noticed the missing one only at home while watching the recording.
He has never claimed any damages and continued surfing. Furthermore, his board had no leash.
So, overall it does not really matter right now. I just don't want to feel bad about it and I am a bit curious. Because either way it sounds weird. But the lack of a leash is consistent with the theory of "two fins".

I am more likely to be at fault as he had the priority. But I didn't see him and did not have opportunity to stop or turn but he did see me and more likely than not had opportunity to avoid the accident.

[oldmansurfer]

People surf boards with no fins so yeah it is entirely realistic that he was surfing with 2 fins

[jaffa1949]

Depends on which two fins, technically yes!

Both you and he need to seriously pay attention to what is happening around you.
" I didn't see you " is never acceptable as an excuse for dropping in.
If he as surfing without a leash well he is unaware too!

Don't feel guilty the event has passed , just remember the road rules and look both ways before you take off!

[OlegLupusov]

The right one and the central one as you can see on the pic.

The wave was really small. I was the only one with a 9 foot foamie. So, nobody even bothered to catch it in my area. However, it could have been big enough near the peak in a distance.

[jaffa1949]

Let's put a another thought in for you! If he was surfing a broken down ( missing one fin and no leash) highly likely he was a Kook too.
Leashes have no known relationship to fins.

[OlegLupusov]

Sure! But one missing item can indicate a pattern of disfunctional hardware and other items missing.

The guy was pretty good on the waves. One of the very few catching the small waves with the shortboards.

[jaffa1949]

Well simply put , he didn't care! He might have been very poor or just had to get a surf in.

[OlegLupusov]

btw, what are the rules of engagement re: damages?

I had a similar accident a while but at the opposing end.
Once I sliced a guy's rail with my fins when I had the priority. I was not good enough to make a turn. I yelled to warn him but he did not react immediately. So, I dived from the board and he made a turtle roll which resulted in an impact of my abandoned board and the bottom of his board.
The guy requested forty dollars for his sliced rail. I refused to pay. And, the crowd sided with me and he got nothing. (He collided into a little girl and yelled at her five minutes before our accident. So, nobody liked him). So, not sure whether it was a good case for reference.

[Big H]

I am more likely to be at fault as he had the priority. But I didn't see him and did not have opportunity to stop or turn but he did see me and more likely than not had opportunity to avoid the accident.

You had the opportunity to look before dropping in on him, having the skill to do so or not surfing in that lineup until you can do so....it's all part of the surfing deal....there is more to it than just paddling and catching waves and in lineups with light or heavy crowds you better learn etiquette before plopping right in the middle of things.

If you paddle for a wave inside of someone else paddling, it is completely on you to watch the other guy and pull off if he can't /doesn't take the wave, or conversely be able to juice it last second and take it for yourself if he just surges with the wave, pulls off or flat out missed it....that's a skill and needs to be developed; after you can catch waves consistently under optimal conditions with no one challenging, you can start to work on this....if you can't do it yet, nothing wrong with that, only DON'T paddle for a wave inside of someone else because you are in effect a runaway train who "can't do anything about it" once you get going.....control over yourself and your board within the written and unwritten rules of etiquette IS your responsibility.

[waikikikichan]

but he did see me and more likely than not had opportunity to avoid the accident.

First off, we all make mistakes. But to say " well, he could've / should've gone around me ", is not right. Could you have maneuvered your board around if the situation was reversed ? Say in 5-6 years, when you are ripping, even then ? I am sure he did all he could to avoid hitting you ( your body, head etc. ). Like a train, a surfer can not so easily change tracks all of a sudden on a turn of a dime. If you can't, don't expect that others can.

[jaffa1949]

Oleg in the time you have been posting you have had more than your share of ding accidents and bumps.

I really suggest that you choose your surfing spots where there are fewer people and therefore less risk of collision.

Collisions are no fun for anyone, injury even less so, currently your skill levels are that of a learner driver racing out of the pits in a formula 1 race in a Volkswagen Beetle expecting the ferrarris and other cars to go around you.

I am concerned for you, a wrong move could at the least get you an ugly argument or a physical confrontation.

Then there is the risk of injury to you from a board.

At a number of breaks I know you would be sent in!

[OlegLupusov]

Guys, I do admit it was my fault. Definitely, he does have the contributory fault as well but not yelling or alerting me in any other way. Plus surfing is not a train. One can make a stop, turn, and jump from the boat. But the issue of fault is not in question. I do admit mine.

I have been in the reverse and the same situations several times. (For instance, forty dollar situation I described above).

Usually, alerting helps a lot. If not, there are options to avoid the accident. The collision happens when the one having the priority values the joy of surfing more than the safety of himself and others. Sometimes in big waves, there is nothing that can be done. But in this particular case, the waves were small and predictable.

Are there any rules for covering the expenses of the innocent party? Is it fine to request the repair expenses or refuse to pay? Is there any obligation to pay according to surfing ethics?

[OlegLupusov]

Jaffa, almost all spots are crowded. Less crowded ones do have rocky bottoms and/or crappier waves. And the spot in question is more for novices and intermediates when the waves are small. The nearest spot for advance surfers is one kilometer away. So, in this case it was more like racing in urban environment or even crowded school yard with a racing track pretty close.

One can get into an accident just paddling out.

[Big H]

Guys, I do admit it was my fault. Definitely, he does have the contributory fault as well but not yelling or alerting me in any other way.

Does it really help if someone yells just before plowing into you?
Bro, even you said that you had a similar incident and aren't good enough to manuver the board to avoid a collision....then if you surf a crowded place long enough there will come a time when you are good enough to avoid collisions and sometimes you can and sometimes you still can't. Etiquette and the rules of the lineup, written and otherwise, exist to help structure a sometimes very unstructured environment....you're a learner and surfing in a learners break; these things are going to happen...I wouldn't be so quick to point fingers and truth be told, a learners break is where you learn these things.

Consider a surf tech epoxy board....tuflite is the marketed process...you will kiss sliced rails goodbye.....and plastic fins....and take responsibility....a careful and skilled driver can avoid making accidents as well as avoid being part of someone else's.....same in surfing, especially in a crowded zoo.....I know all about it....

[Big H]

I was out the other day and a kid that had paddled for about 1000000 waves with no joy finally tucked into one....right in front of me.....yes, it was a drop in, but I was so happy for the kid I didn't call him off but rather kicked out over the back and threw him a shaka and a big smile when he bobbed up after his ride ending wipeout....he paddled back out and apologised; I told him to be careful but I was happy he finally got one. Good vibes ensued!

[jaffa1949]

Wow , it is very rare to ask for or get compensation. Yes you can get injured paddling ou! There are traffic rules for that too, and just like traffic situations there are " skilled drivers with bad attitudes" there are learners with over enhanced opinions of ability and just plain weirdos out there.

Proving culpability would be hard, no leash would be a start,.

Consider this , I'm a capable surfer, I choose to avoid crowded situations for often lesser waves so l can enjoy myself. I also leave situation alone where there a more than a few learners so they can have their level to themselves.

The forum is full of arguments for and against the unwritten rules and all of us have been on both sides of the line.

So what do you do , take avoiding action. Develop your own early warning system, not everybody will tell you, you are in the way!

[waikikikichan]

he does have the contributory fault as well but not yelling or alerting me in any other way. Plus surfing is not a train. One can make a stop, turn, and jump from the boat.

Oleg, please understand we are trying to help you. We understand your remorse and admitting your mistake. But do not compound the problem by trying to share the blame. If I don't honk my horn, is it partly my fault for a car that crosses thru a red light and I smash into it ? The car shouldn't have ran a red light.

Surfboards do not just STOP. You can try to turn, but it takes some distance and time. Jumping off sends you board somewhere, usually at the other rider. At you level, you may think it is easy to just Stop, Turn. But it is not.

As you get better in your surfing technique, you will realize surfing on a wave IS like a train on a rail. There are a lot of physics that come into play. You can not trim down the line and suddenly jump up onto another line.