Any tips on avoiding whiplash? (other than the obvious 'stay on the board')
My last few times out I've been fully lit and for a range of reasons have lost it at speed while unhooked. Realising that the end is near, I've bailed, hit the water on my back/shoulders and given myself whiplash.
I thought maybe relaxing my neck and not fighting the impact, but it's surprisingly difficult to override the self-preservation instincts! Maybe I need to dive in rather than crash onto the surface?
This seems to be the new catapulting for me at the moment! I guess it's the price I have to pay for going stupidly fast in less than flat water conditions..
Hey mate, I've thought about this quite a bit lately and was thinking that being unhooked would be half the battle. This may sound a little out there but how about hunching up into a ball and tucking your head down to your chest ? Mind you I have not treid this myself.
Tucking the head seems to be the part that gets me in trouble - my body/shoulders hit the water and slow down, but my neck muscles aren't strong enough to slow my head down at the same rate, so they get stretched.
Usually there's not much time to think about it between bailing and hitting the water!
you should strengthen your neck muscles google it,there are plenty of easy exercises you can do while reading windsurfing forums.
I think u should try and stay hooked in. That way the sail yanks you around and u land straight as opposed to being randomly flung off into the distance... Oh yeh and before u try and dive make sure the water is deep enough. Whiplash however annoying is far far better than a cracked in skull/broken neck....
Other than that, get a good physio and HTFU :P
This is intersting as I normally only get flung while hooked in and holding the boom. I think falling off the board with nothing to hold onto is similar to water skiing. I am an expert in this (being flung)
Being a water skiier and windsurfer learning to save myself on impact was and is vital.
I am sure the only reason I get invited to go water ski jumping is to watch me bail and crash[}:)]
People who have seen me get harness flicked said I have got my arm in the water first followed by the shoulder, back and then body. I think I tend to tuck my head into my shoulder. This seems to minimise the forces applied to the neck and head. I have been asked many times how the hell did I survive that 
Barefoot water skiing 38-40 knots on your feet prepares you for face slamming and water in every orofice. I am convinced it is the arm in the water first which gives you some leaverage or steerage on impact to minimize hurt.
Windsurfing is so much more fun 
My 2c.
I might be wrong, but the way I am reading it you are letting go and bailing off the back or windward side of the board and skipping along like a stone.
Oddly enough I have done this myself a few times in the last couple of weeks, each time it was as I unhooked to go into a gybe. A couple of times it was just coz I am a gumby the other couple of times I somehow misplaced my "pull out the back foot and move it to the other rail" step and managed to put my back foot into the water which ripped me off the back of the board.
The results were once doing the sideways splits (extreme pain) and the second time I got the old waterski style water enema (again extreme pain).
Luckily no whiplash
I guess as the other guys said, strengthening the muscles is the way to go.
Filthy, after breaking my neck from hitting my kit whilst hooked in I cant agree, the further away you can get from your kit the better, so in future I will be unhooking if at all possible. But if you cant unhook which is sometimes the case some guys are saying let go of your front hand, they say this allows your sail and mast to fall away from you. I will be trying to avoid situations which may mean going over the front, like the obvious ones - sand banks and rail trips or just being overpowered, although with modern kit the risk of going over the front overpowered is heaps reduced. Grumple, I like what your saying, to the side or back sounds gr8
