Greetings all - now this thread will probably loose me some street cred but if it helps prevent at least 1 person from having the same experience as me, well then it's worth it.
Yesterday morning, I was out at mid-tide with some nice little 2' sliders & I caught a set wave / successfully kicked out & as I turned to paddle back out (with nobody around me) the last set wave was pretty much on top of me so I used my board as a platform & thought I would take a shallow dive under the wave & unfortunately, I managed to face plant straight into the sand bank.
My shonz is badly bruised / my neck is super stiff & I have a mild concussion....which is actually a good result cause the outcome could have been a whole lot worse. Fortunately, there are no rocks.....just a sand bank which clearly shifts a lot.
Bottom line - I've heard of people diving into shallow water & having bad injuries but I honestly never thought it would happen to me cause I'm generally pretty cautious. Yes, this was completely me being stupid but trust me, it happens a lot easier than you think so pls do not dive off your board (even if nobody else is around you) unless you are 100% confident the water is deep enough 
Man, you dodged a bullet! Glad to hear you are OK. (I have dived under lots of waves when I thought, like you did, that it was deep enough.) Hope the pain and bruising go away quickly!
glade you survived bro.I to still do stupid things .
i rode a wave right to it end the other day ,this time rocks ledge sucking section .
I was so worried for my fins... i jumped off .
dumb i know .
I lay flat on my back on a thankfully flat rock .
i was high and dry ,the board was to the left just floating there in 5 foot of water ..
just ..laughing at me 
.I'll ride it up on the rocks next time
Good advice, Injuries for diving into sandbanks still outnumber drownings, shark attacks and fin chops in NSW reported by lifeguards, always be aware of shallow dumping waves.
Select to expand quoteSUPbru said..
Greetings all - now this thread will probably loose me some street cred but if it helps prevent at least 1 person from having the same experience as me, well then it's worth it.
Yesterday morning, I was out at mid-tide with some nice little 2' sliders & I caught a set wave / successfully kicked out & as I turned to paddle back out (with nobody around me) the last set wave was pretty much on top of me so I used my board as a platform & thought I would take a shallow dive under the wave & unfortunately, I managed to face plant straight into the sand bank.
My shonz is badly bruised / my neck is super stiff & I have a mild concussion....which is actually a good result cause the outcome could have been a whole lot worse. Fortunately, there are no rocks.....just a sand bank which clearly shifts a lot.
Bottom line - I've heard of people diving into shallow water & having bad injuries but I honestly never thought it would happen to me cause I'm generally pretty cautious. Yes, this was completely me being stupid but trust me, it happens a lot easier than you think so pls do not dive off your board (even if nobody else is around you) unless you are 100% confident the water is deep enough
Supbru people make a big mistake thinking sand bottom surf spots are safer and more benign.Wrong
Hard packed sand break bottoms are as hard concrete.
I had my worst and most painful wipe out ever at Merimbula Bar,waves were about 4 ft with the ocassional bigger one.
I would like to say it was a bigger one but, no it wasn't, I wen't for the big reo, the wave bitch slapped me,I went over the falls upside down landing on my shoulder and neck.It's pretty scary when you come up and everythings numb and feeling weird and your not sure how your even going to get in.
Luckily it was more shoulder than neck,lots probs for months, with heaps of physio.
Lesson learned surf sandbars like I surf my home reef breaks.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement (even though I was a numpty) & I certainly will think twice before diving off my board again.
@rodriguez: you are so right....that feeling when it happens is friggin scary....it took me a few seconds to make sure I could still move all my limbs & as cSe mentions, I feel like a dodged a bullet....especially given I was the only 1 out.
For peace of mind, I always wear an impact vest when it gets big (which it wasn't yesterday) but I guess it's often the less obvious things which can trip you up. The stat pumpjockey02 mentions certainly reinforces my new found respect for sandbanks.
another good thing ,you won't look like a X BOXER with a broken nose 
well i hope it 's still straight .shallow dives are best in most cases .
Turtle it .
SUPbru.... we are ALL numpty's, so it's good to be reminded from time to time.
I am quite sure if I had an MRI, I will find out that I cracked my neck 4 years ago just sliding off the nose on a 2' wave.
Somehow I ended up pile driving, head first into 5" of water with my hands at my side.
I have no idea how I got turned around like that... I 100% know better.
But there I was.... the sound of a smashed champagne bottle came out of my neck.
I have mo Idea how that didn't kill me. My neck has never swiveled since that day.
Being me, I crawled around for 5 minutes looking for my brain, then surfed another hour, before driving 3 hours to surf a rock pointbreak. Trying to figure out if I was dead, I guess.
Be well my friend!
Thanks Tardy & Creek.....it's reassuring to hear that I'm not the only 1 making life tough for myself.....although your stack sounds a bit more serious than mine stc....I'm glad to hear it hasn't slowed you down at all
tiago taught me to dive with paddle extended ahead of one's head--works like a charm, and often i am surprised to hit bottom with the extended paddle handle, when i assumed i was way deeper.
really, tho, i f have to dive now, it's two hands on the paddle, with handle extended in front of my head.
creek's issue was random and cant be planned for--his karma protected him.
nuther excellent tiago tip: use the paddle to assist in surfacing in a hold-down--and use the paddle when under to fight being pushed shoreward--every bit counts when trying to get outside
prolly obvious to many, but not to me
Hell bruv...Pleased you OK man..Been there too bro..Last year before Xmas..Mine was even dumber..Just completed my session , riding in on last wave and coming to shore , that I know like the back of my hand, the water still looked quite deep..So decided to dive off..As I was about to hit what I thought was safe landing..Wave sucked back and it was ankle deep..Turned me head / fortunately but smashed my dodgy shoulder into concrete sand..Badly damaged ego....And shoulder popped out...Not a good experience but a great reminder we are not bulletproof...Rest up brother..And take it easy
Chur
Thanks my bru - appreciate the well wishes although it's typical....the conditions this morning are beaut & I've been relegated to the side lines....which sux
Thanks for the handy tips booundeast (although I could have sworn I dived with my hands extended) & you're dead right....you have zero control over accidents like Creek's so it's always best to have serious respect & stay humbled when it comes to the big blue!
I mainly surf beach breaks and I am a beginner . Maybe this is not a good idea. A few time I have been caught on close outs mid tide
Gboots - don't let this thread put you off beach breaks which are great fun...this was my stupidity diving off my board when it was clearly too shallow...happy surfing 
Select to expand quoteGboots said..
I mainly surf beach breaks and I am a beginner . Maybe this is not a good idea. A few time I have been caught on close outs mid tide
You just need to be aware of the depth and don't make any assumptions about whether there are sand banks, etc. The goal is to either do a really sharp turn back away from shore (if you can) and just flop off the back (if you can't stay on your feet), simply jump off (on to your feet if it is shallow enough and you are not moving too fast), a very shallow dive (almost a belly-whacker), or basically fall backwards kicking the board in front of you (if it is safe). Basically, don't dive with any depth, and control your board if anyone is nearby.
