July 25 — Zero Wind, But the Ocean Still Delivers (Plus a Stupid Injury...)
viva-wingfoilToday’s forecast was calling for a 3 m/s south wind.
Maxing out at 3 m/s basically means tough luck for wing foiling.
Then again, a forecast is just a forecast.
At Enoshima, the wind can randomly pick up by 1–2 m/s, or completely miss the mark.
“Hey, who knows? Maybe it’ll actually blow.”
With that hope, I hopped on the train from Saitama to Enoshima.
Even if the wind tanks, I can always just go SUP surfing instead.
Honestly, just being out by the ocean is more than enough to make me happy.
To Blow or Not to Blow...
I pulled up around 12:30 PM.
Looking out at the water, the wind felt like maybe 2 m/s at best.
There were a few windsurfers out, but almost all of them were just sitting idle on the water with their sails in a dead V-shape.
Nobody was planing at all.
“Yeah, today’s looking pretty grim.”
I walked over to my instructor.
Since I didn’t have a lesson booked today, we just chatted for a bit.
He glanced at the ocean and said,
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s gonna blow today. You’ll probably have way more fun on a SUP.”
I was actually torn.
Should I haul out all my wing foil gear just in case the wind magically picks up?
Building the foil, inflating the wing, and lugging the board down takes about 30 minutes.
With a SUP, you just change clothes and you’re good to go in 10 minutes.
That 20-minute gap is huge.
I took one more look at the ocean and made my decision:
SUP only today.
If by some miracle the wind decides to blow, I can always come back and rig up.
Simple as that.
Mid-Summer SUP Cruising
It is straight-up summer right now.
Temperatures were well over 30°C (86°F).
I asked my instructor about jellyfish, and he said they hadn’t really shown up yet.
Usually I wear a full wetsuit.
But today, I went with just boardshorts, a long-sleeve rashguard, my life jacket, and my leash.
So lightweight!
Moving around like this is a totally different universe compared to wheeling a heavy foil board.
Once I hit the beach, there was zero setup required.
I just paddled right out into the ocean.
I carefully navigated through the surf and dodged the crowded surf lessons, slowly paddling out into deeper water.
I paddled pretty far out and took in the view of Enoshima and the coastline from the water.
For a guy commuting all the way from Saitama, this moment hits different.
All you hear is the gentle sloshing of the ocean swells.
Mind totally blank.
A total digital detox.
It felt like my soul was being washed clean.
A Minor Killjoy Moment
That said, there was one little thing that kinda ruined the vibe today.
There was this luxury cruiser anchored out in the open water.
Around 10 guys and girls were on board, blasting music and partying super loudly.
It looked like they were having a barbecue or drinking.
Either way, it was pretty chaotic.
Since I just wanted to chill and enjoy the quiet ocean, it felt a bit noisy for my liking.
Then again...
Looking back at my college days, I definitely used to do the exact same kind of stuff for fun!
So maybe I’m just being a salty hater.
Still, since I was hoping for a serene day on the water, it was a tiny bit of a buzzkill.
Tiny Waves, Big Fun
After cruising around out in the deep water for a bit, I switched to my usual SUP surfing session.
The waves were tiny today, though.
There were a few catchable ones, but the rides ended super fast.
Back in the day, I would’ve been totally hyped with waves like this.
But lately, I’ve been getting a bit greedy.
Now that I can actually surf a little, I catch myself thinking:
“I wanna ride longer.”
“I wanna catch bigger waves.”
I caught about four or five rides, but all of them felt pretty underwhelming.
Then I thought,
“If I just push it a little closer to shore, maybe I can stretch out the distance a bit more.”
That was the mistake.
One Second of Total Carelessness...
And then came that ride.
I was pushing my luck, riding the wave as far into the shallows as possible.
Then—
BAM.
My fin slammed straight into the sand.
The board stopped dead in its tracks.
My body didn’t.
I went flying forward.
Just as I was about to dive headfirst into the sand, I instinctively threw my hand out to break the fall.
And in that exact millisecond—
my entire body weight crashed down onto my right pinky finger.
CRUNCH.
I swear I actually heard the sound.
“Yup. It’s broken.”
I genuinely thought I had snapped it.
I panicked and looked at my pinky.
The bone still seemed to be connected.
The joint didn’t look dislocated.
But it went completely numb.
And I couldn’t move it at all.
“Okay... this is bad.”
And just like that, my day at the ocean came to a sudden halt.
First Aid and a Last-Minute Trip to the Clinic
I poured water from my bottle over the finger to cool it down.
But as time went on, it started swelling up like crazy.
On the way home, I bought a bag of ice at a convenience store for 300 yen.
“Damn, that’s overpriced.”
But hey—
This was definitely not the time to be cheap.
I kept icing it all the way home on the train.
Then I rushed to an orthopedic clinic near my house just before they closed.
They took an X-ray.
And the verdict was—
No fracture!
Thank goodness.
It was diagnosed as a severe pinky sprain.
They put a splint on it to keep it immobilized, and I headed home.
Right now, I can barely move my pinky.
Even the slightest touch hurts like crazy.
Looks like life is gonna be pretty inconvenient for a while.
Lesson Learned for Today
Looking back, the cause was glaringly obvious.
First, I got greedy and rode the wave way too close to shore.
Second, when I wiped out, I instinctively threw my hand out to stop the fall.
That combination was enough.
A tiny bit of greed.
A split-second reflex.
And suddenly, the whole day changes.
Falling is part of water sports.
But today reminded me once again that the way you fall matters too.
The ocean keeps teaching me these lessons the hard way.
The Ocean Isn’t Going Anywhere
At the end of the day, I didn’t get to wing foil at all.
I ended up just doing SUP.
And to top it off, I walked away injured.
Definitely not an ideal day.
And yet, weirdly enough, I don’t regret going.
The time I spent out on the water.
The view from the deep ocean.
The rush of riding a wave on a SUP.
All of it was more than enough to completely recharge my batteries.
Obviously, I hope my pinky heals up ASAP.
Next time, I really hope the wind blows so I can fly on the foil to my heart’s content.
For now, I’m gonna take it easy.
Heal up properly.
And then get back out to Enoshima.
The ocean isn’t going anywhere.
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