Re: [Paddlewise] PFDs in surf - watch for rip tides!

Ok, I'm on my soapbox again!  I apologize for being so gabby.  I
generally don't have much to add substantively to this group.  However,
I really do know about the ocean surf, so please excuse my preaching ...

  Phil is describing a classic rip tide.  And Phil, please excuse me,
but you did exactly the wrong thing.  You "clawed" your way back in with
your knife, but probably expended must of your strength and energy in
the process.

  First let me explain what a rip is.  It is a kind of hole or ditch in
the sand where the water continually re-circulates back to sea.  It is
very strong - usually you can't swim against it.  It feels like an
outgoing escalator.  They are very easy to see from shore.  They have a
muddy appearance caused by the kicked up, recirculating sand.  

  Rips are generally no more than 50 feet across, although I've seen
giant rips almost a block long.  The procedure for escaping a rip's jaws
is simple.  Just swim parallel to shore until you feel the pull of the
rip dissipate.  If you are a strong swimmer, you can cut diagnally
through a rip.  As guards, we would intentionally swim out in a rip -
just like taking an outgoing escalator!  Rips are great as long as you
are going out!

  So folks if you are in the ocean (or even if you are in your kayak)
and you are not making forward progress, try swimming parallel to shore
for a while, and then try again.

 - Scott

Phil wrote:

Anyway, on that day, some weird conjunction of wind and wave
> meant that I got caught being endlessly "cycled" a few hundred feet
> offshore. The incoming wave would throw me forward a bit, then the ebb
> would take me back to where I had been.
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************