Breaking waves

We rolled up last night to a report of a possible broken ankle at Manorbier bay. As we have just taken on two new recruits I hung back to give them a lift and to make sure they wouldn't suffer from the 'red mist' that tends to affect you on your first few shouts.

We made or way to Manorbier with the excitement practically rolling off them. The call itself was a pretty straightforward scoop and run with the casualty already being given entonox. My first comment to the paramedic was "why am I not surprised to see a skim-board next to him". For those of you who don't know, skim-boarding involves buying a thin, circular piece of wood which you throw into the shallows and then run after and attempt to jump on. Predictably nine times out of ten the board simply stops dead leaving the boarder to run ungainly off the stationary bit of plank into the shallows. Broken ankles, twists and sprains seem to inevitably result on the few occasions where skim boarders don't then plough out of control into the paddlers around them.

You can probably tell I'm not that much of a fan of skim boards, but I wouldn't want to spoil anyone's fun.



A skim boarder on a plank