I fell through my dock!

[drew.ward]

Ouch!

That's all i'm saying.

I went for a bikeride Monday night and decided to see how the ride was between the French Quarter and my new slip at the marina. It's a decent ride, but that wasn't the eventful part of the trip.

My slip is at Municipal Yacht Harbor and like much of New Orleans is in complete disrepair. The good thing is that the slip is free probably for the next year at least. The bad part is there is no water or phone or electricity at the dock and several of the planks are missing. Hey, you get what you pay for...

So I rode out to my slip to and was walking around the docks ogling boats. Someone has a nice wooden sloop about two slips down from me and it's a great looking classic. Like a dumbass I was looking up admiring her rigging when i should have been looking down.

About 15 feet out on the dock I step right through, my foot going squarely through where a plank was missing. Of course I didn't realize this until my weight was entirely on that leg.

My right leg went straight downn up to the thigh and I flopped over with my arms splashing into the water (imagine those flailing arm advertising thingies). All 235 pounds of Drew slammed down and was bounced back up with all the weight being caught by my pinned leg against the next plank of the dock.

Somehow I didn't tear my shorts or do anything more than a nice set of scrapes and bruises. I have to say I have been wondering how moving on to the boat and bodybuilding (my other hobby) would fit in.

Obviously it's fitting pretty well. My quads being 30 inches around must be the only thing that saved me from a broken bone because I know from my medical training that my thighbone should have for all purposes snapped into a clean break.

Let me tell you, that sweaty, salty, dusty bikeride back home with all those cuts and scrapes on my legs was really really comfortable!

Needless to say I spent 3-4 hours yesterday replacing boards and nailing down others at the marina. No more holes.

If anyone doubts the ability of even slightly brackish water to rust metal, they should look at the nails I saw yesterday. Actually most were only nail heads with the metal inside the wood reduced to little more than a thread of rust.

[ssullivan]

WOW! What a story. Glad you're not injured (more than the bruises and stuff).

When I saw this thread title, I was remembering how you said you were a big guy and needed a big toilet... ha ha... I thought you fell right through an *existing* plank.

Sounds like a good plan, fixing up those holes in the dock. Small price to pay for a free spot.

I think the femur is a lot more tough than your or I would imagine. I torqued mine once in a way I was sure would break it:

Was snowboarding at a full tilt through some waist-deep powder. Unknown to me, there was a snowgun frame (the thing they make snow with when nature doesn't make its own) just beneath this powder. I was flying along and hit a steel "A" frame with the very center of my thigh (picture you are standing on a board sideways flying along).

I went *over* the steel bar, while my board, half my thigh, knee and ankle went under. I torqued around the steel bar and thought... man... I'm done. My leg is gone...

Somehow, my motion was stopped completely through my femur and that bar without breaking my leg. I got the worst charlie horse of a life time, limped down to the bottom of the mountain and waited the rest of the afternoon in the car for my friends.

I was back at it again in a few weeks. It's one strong bone.

[MarkJ]

I wish you would cary a video camera for these stunts!

LOL its a very funny story! Glad you are OK

[Intentional Drifter]

Geez, guys -- these hurt just reading about them! I'm glad the injuries weren't more serious.

ID

[Trim50]

I did the same exact thing years back in Marina Del Rey. However, being about your size and weight, I tore the tissue around the thigh muscle on the outside of my leg leaving a permanent lump on my leg. It didn't break the skin, but it did some nasty internal damage. I can still feel the lump.