If using normal hard-edged fins, lightly sanding down their sharp edges with fine sandpaper will reduce the severity of any injuries they cause, and have little to no effect on performance. Surf safety expert Andrew Nathanson recommends dulling the edges to a minimum width of 2 mm. Fin-related horror stories are alarmingly common, and uncommonly alarming: Joel Parkinson’s 2010 world title campaign was scuppered when he mistimed an aerial and sliced half his heel off; both Gerry Lopez and Tom Carroll sustained serious fin-related injuries in their hind parts.

Safe Surfing Equipment: Surfboard Nose guards

The surfboard’s nose is the other obvious danger area, as it’s often sharply pointed. The nose of a beginner’s surfboard should be rounded, but when you do move on to a shortboard with a pointed nose, small plastic nose guards are available to soften the impact in the case of collision; alternatively, round off the point with some fine sandpaper (a sharp point has no functional benefit at all). The nose is also one of the parts of a surfboard most likely to get dinged, and with its jagged edges a dinged or poorly repaired nose is liable to inflict considerably more damage (a sizeable scar on my own cheek attests to this danger).

Safe Surfing Equipment: Surfboard Leashes

Wearing a leash is not only hugely convenient, it’s also essential from a safety point of view: when you wipeout your surfboard’s far less likely to hit other surfers, and if you find yourself struggling you’ll always have your surfboard there as a flotation device.

But while the leash represents a large net improvement to surf safety, it also constitutes a safety hazard in itself. There are three main things that can go wrong with a leash. It can catapult a surfboard back through the air towards its surfer following a wipeout, especially in strong offshore winds; when pulled taut by a wave, it can wrap around a surfer like a boa constrictor, or a tourniquet, causing contusion or even amputation (fingers are usually most at risk); and it can snag — or the surfboard it’s attached to can snag — on the reef or around a groyne or suchlike, effectively pinning the surfer it’s attached to underwater. (It’s often speculated that this last eventuality was the cause of big wave surfer Mark Foo’s death at Mavericks in 1994).

Awareness is the main form of prevention here. Your leash should have some sort of quick-release tag or mechanism to aid its easy removal in critical situations; Silver Cord has just launched a special safety leash that features a unique quick-release pin (or ‘Bail Safe Device’), in addition to a back-up inner cord for extra strength.

Remember that leashes are not indestructible, and can snap under the force of a strong wave — potentially leaving you up shit creek without a surfboard. Different thicknesses of leash are available, made to withstand different sizes of surf, and always check your leash is in good condition and securely attached to your surfboard before entering the surf, particularly if the surf’s big.