Japanese ripper Yu Tonbi Sumitomo and a very close shave…
Followers of Carve may have noticed a small comment under our recent post of Kai doing amazing things surfing on a foil board. “Could be like a Game of Thrones battle scene if used at some breaks….”
Well our grim prediction of dismemberment and possible beheadings almost came true when Japanese surfer Yu Tonbi Sumitomo very nearly decapitated himself while learning to surf his new foil board. He is a really good surfer by the way, with 36 years experience.
The incident caused Jamie Mitchell to issue a public plea. Jamie (if you don’t know ) is a real good big wave paddle and tow-in surfer, stand-up paddle boarder, professional lifeguard and immense open ocean long distance paddler. On a Facebook post he said,
“So lately I have been asked consistently about my thoughts on the so called “NEW” foil popularity and haven’t really said much .. But, yesterday sadly i saw a photo that i new was coming sooner then later.. In my opinion Foils are for open ocean swells, Outer Bombies, and places where there are no people or very few people doing it together.. Foils are dangerous… Very dangerous, and do not belong in the surf zone with the masse’s and general public.. Yes Kai and and a few talented kids can probably control the boards amazingly well, but you can’t control other peoples actions and movements. I see more and more clips everyday of people trying the foils and i am so scared that someone will pay the ultimate price and die.. Look at this photo below.. If a foil hits you or you hit someone with the foil its going to end badly.. I sure hope the people and companies that are making money off these are doing their best to educate people about the dangers. i don’t think this will be the 1st or last incident unfortunately… Im very happy that the gentleman in this photo will be ok.. Please think about your surroundings before you just jump in and start surfing those boards..”
Yu Tonbi Sumitomo posted how happy he was to get a foil on the 8 July. This was his repsonse to Jamie posting pointing out it was self inflected injury while learning at a remote beach.
“Hi Jamie Mitchell san. This was my bad. Waves are waist to chest. No one around except me and my father. Had struggle first 30 min. Then I start figure. Had such fun time. Then see what you see what happen. I been surfing since I was 8. 36 year experience. Your friend Sean O. is my best friend we made SUP 11 year ago. I thought foiling is easy. It is easy but easy to turn very dangerous. What I learn from this is have to be careful. Surfing. Or sup. Or foiling. Thank you for the comment and hope no one get’s hurt like I did. Sure foiling is amazing.
So there you have it. Nailing a four foot blade to you sled may look like fun but it could all turn out like the Battle of the Bastards…Looking at you Superbank… You heard it hear first…
“On the bright side…. At least no ones got a foil.”
