Scott wrote... > As a former Ocean City, Md. beach lifeguard, I want to stress that you >HAVE to respect the Ocean. I've seen alot of dislocated shoulders >connected to idiots trying to outrun a big wave! I spend 2 days on a beach before I cold get out, the waves were way over myy skills. But I was on a great little tropical beach with bananas and lemons. _at_ days later 2 fissherpoeple walked by and one raced back over the hills [ about 15 kms] and came back with a fishing boat to take me away... > This is the key to getting through the surf: keep you eyes on the >waves, NOT the shore. That's why I go in backwards, ready to tackle the waves... > When a big wave actually is hitting, I am ready to punch through the waves as if I am going out, but as I get on top of the wave, i can stop paddling and syart backpaddling till the next big one... > Once the wave passes, I am then ready to back paddle to shore, the water also helps take me to shore. This way I found that i can control my speed towards shore and be in control of the boat. > However, I have a real fearof either going out, or coming in through big >breakers. Am >I the onlyone with this fear? My fear is that a wave will >send me end over end, >and my spine will snap like a twig. That is why I was glad to spend time on my deserted beach, I am ready to stay on them beaches for a real long time not to go out and risk it ... That beach was very narrow, just in from a big rocky cliff headland, sticking out into the south china sea, the water was bouncing, rebounding,and jumping all over with monster breakers to boot...not my idea...still wonder how I got into shore at all, must of been fear and terror of the sea at the time... I sure learned lots on thet journey...This was my first year at it as well... Have fun out there 3 weks till Sai Gon Sylvio Lamarche Wycliffe gardens & other exotic locales around the globe *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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