To set the scene
the waves were pretty small, maybe waist to chest high, we'd been in for 2 and a half hours and were pretty much ready to get out.

It had been fucking crowded, dangerously and annoyingly so. This seems to be how things are these days.

I was surfing along a wave, and a guy was walking out in the (waist deep) water with his board. I tried to avoid him but as I tried to turn my leash got under my foot and I slipped, and the board went straight at his head.

I fell off, but I already knew that I was going to have hit this guy.

I stood up to find him kind of half under the water flailing around and obviously unable to get to his feet. I grabbed him under both shoulders and hauled him up so he could breathe and held him there for a while so he could get his bearings, and I could make sure he was ok.

Blood was dripping from his mouth in reasonable quantities at this point, and I was concerned that I'd knocked out a tooth or three.

I was apologising profusely the whole time, completely mortified that I'd done this.

He got to his feet and said he was ok and went out to sit down on the beach.

I then discovered that the impact had split my board a bit (my new, expensive board. *sobs*) which didn't surprise me, but it needed to be got out of the water.

Also I was a little shaken up after almost causing someone to drown.

My gf and I got out and began walking up the beach. I could see the guy watching us as he was sat down and I was in two minds about whether to go and make sure he was ok or to keep going. Someone else came to check on him, so I kept going.

Fast forward 10 minutes and we had just finished getting changed when I see the guy walking up to us in the carpark. I was thinking "oh christ, he's either come to start a fight or to try and sue me".

He was pretty aggro about the whole situation. He hadn't lost any teeth, but cut the inside of his mouth pretty badly. I was still totally mortified that it'd happened and explained what had happened. He didn't want to hear it though and said "are you local?" I said where I was from and he said "stay there" and fucked off.

I am totally convinced though that he had looked through the car park for me, and if I hadn't been with 3 mates he would have started a fight.

Now, obviously it sucks being hit in the face, but it was crowded, it's dangerous, and he wasn't making much of an effort to get out of the way when I hit him (that doesn't make it ok) but to then coming looking for a fight afterwards?

the fact that the guy was such a cunt about it kind of made me not so upset that I'd hit someone, more annoyed that I'd holed my board, and now I've got the shitty feeling that when I go back to my favourite beach I'm going to have to look out for some deranged arsehole....

judgements please, people of b3ta?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Sat 20 Sep 2008, 20:43, Reply)