mon 18/07 - new board arrives. stoked.
wed 19/07 - slip on kerb in work shoes, roll ankle badly
thu 20//07 - ballooned ankle, limping heavily with suspected inversion sprain.
sun 24/07 - windy but visiting parents inland so no sailing opportunity anyway
tue 25/07 - good mobility in ankle and swelling reducing. no pain to walk etc, but tender still in some places.
wed 26/07 - good chance of sailing weather this weekend.
i know the sensible option is to rest my ankle yada yada yada...but dude - new board!!!!
pop quiz: what you would do?
also: why do the gods mock me?
Go for it! I came in to the shallows about 6 weeks ago in strong wind a bit fast & went to gybe, got thrown forward & landed on one leg in about a foot of water - 'SNAP', thought I broke my leg, but because it was freezing cold, wasn't game to look.
As it turned out, I did some decent ligament damage (still haven't checked, but it's still swollen)...but managed another couple of runs that day before I couldn't put weight on it any longer.
I've since jogged, rode my bike, sup'd and sailed (only once) without dramas...just strap it if you can. If you wait until it's better, you'll be out for months.
[legal notice] This information comes from a non-medical opinion and therefore I'll claim no responsibility if bad sh!t happens!
how old are you?
At my age I'd give it a bit longer, things take longer to heal as you age.
But if you're still in your 30s probably OK, but strap it and don't get too radical, (flicky spinny things, or big jumps etc)
The sensible option: Give me the new board, ill take it out for a few runs, and ill give ya a full report about it on my return!!!
Seriously if that was me, I would still sail. Ice that mutha everynight, get the blood in there. The weekend is still a few days away so youll be right by then 
your 3rd in line, its me 1st, then ill give it to Bristol, then when hes had his fill its yours
Trousers has given his ok on this 
You'll have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers first - I claim prima nocte! [}:)]
I know for me most of those joints injuries are helped a lot with ice, lotsa, often.
If the ankle isn't painful, tape it well and sail conservatively.
Ice the ankle afterwards.
Last time I sprained my ankle I couldn't sail for two weeks, but there were still some twinges for six months, so if you wait until you're completely pain free that could be a long time.
I fell and rolled my ankle over recently. Very painful at the time of injury bruising and a lot of swelling. I was on crutches for 3 days but then ok so maybe it won't take too long to mend.
Ankles can be funny. When I did mine a physio and a doc said just rest a week then we'll get you moving on it. I didn't liek it, went for an MRI and the end result was 8 weeks in a boot (immobilised) and 3 months physio before sailing.
That scares me now cos going of first advice i probably would have destroyed it totally.
If you can walk on it with only the most minor discomfort then I'd say strap and sail carefully.
But if it still hurts after 8 days (like can't walk briskly on even ground) go get xrays and MRI
Just wanted to put my 2c in here, I would advise against strapping ankle as this can move your weak point from your ankle to your knee. I have had 6 knee opps - take the ankle pain anyday imo.
I have had countless rolled ankles from basketball and found that sailing the next day was quite beneficial. If there is no structural damage then the swelling is the most discomforting aspect, getting a bit of mobility and being surrounded by cool water should help recoverey as the board is acting like a wobble/balance board (common ankle recovery tool)...well it did for me.
The hardest part was hobbling down to the water.
"Sail carefully",,,,wtf - why bother, that would guarantee stacking it.
Get out there.
AB...
Give it a go but if the ankle really hurts when windsurfing you should finish. Windsurfing isn't too hard on the ankles unless you are into freestyle or catapults is it?
