Re: [Paddlewise] Respecting the Sea - a Response to Chris' story

Chris wrote a good article on the power of the surf.  However, at the risk
of preaching, I think the better course of action would have been not to
have gone out - even to test the current.

I know a bit about ocean currents.  I spent every summer growing up at the
beach, and I was an ocean life guard for several seasons in Ocean City,
Md. - one of the toughest beach patrols on the East Coast.  You can easily
see a nasty ocean current.  Another alternative to testing it with your body
is to throw a leaf or some grass out, and see how it moves.   Chris mentions
a sea wall - these can be particularly nasty.  In O.C., we have a number of
moronic jetties and rock piles (I say moronic because they were intended to
add sand to the beach - however they accomplish this merely by robbing sand
from one side and giving it to the other!).

Jetties, rock piles and sea walls can be deadly in rough weather.  We
lifeguards were actually taught to take the tourists we were saving and to
cushion ourselves with their bodies if we were thrown againt the rocks.
Why?  Because the city had to pay for the time we took off with cuts and
bruises, so better (in their thinking) to let the tourists absorb them!
The lesson here is that one should always respect the ocean.  It can kill
even a good swimmer.  There were times I had to go out in storm conditions
(ie. 7-9 foot seas) to make rescues, and I didn't enjoy doing it!  Under
such conditions, the waves are relentless, and you don't have a chance to
dive under them.  Sometimes you can't even tell which way shore is when you
are out there in such conditions!

So folks, when in doubt, don't go out!  Not trying to pick on Chris, but if
you are sucked out into really nasty stuff, your shoes are going to be your
last concern!  If you are going out in such conditions, DON'T LAUNCH near
sea walls, jetties or rock piles.  If you approach them when you are out in
the sea, give them a wide berth!

Finally, if you are sucked out to sea, just try to relax!  I know this
sounds funny, but the rip tides will wear off as you get further out, and
then you can swim back to shore - but only after swimming parallel to get
outside the zone of the rip tide.    As a guard, I would intentionally swim
into a rip tide - it was like an escalator to get out to sea faster!

Happy sea paddling!   Just respect mother nature, she is much stronger and
wilier than we are!


- Scott

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