Never is it silly to be on the water - over your head, maybe, but that's only because you are in the trough for those shadowy moments when the sea's a running big. Now big surf, that's different. Surf that breaks and washes across a dangerous shelf, cliff bases, while not silly, can be considered suicidal. Surf full of logs can also be a game of Russian roulette. Not sure if that is a silly activity, but I do know what the results can be - like a silly knock to your noggin (don't ask). I'm lucky here on the BC coast: lots of indents and inlets to escape, though the remnant swell at the end of these inlets on a big day can make both launching and landing an interesting proposition, with a little trickery needed to find entry and egress sweet spots. As it stands, the worst surf injuries I've witnessed and heard about were in relatively low surf values where occupants either disgorged or shoulder-extended to landward, both with sorry consequences - why yes, that was silly. The last time my souse nagged me, calling me a "silly maun" (her way of saying 'silly man' exactly) for repeatedly going out on the water at times when the authorities were imploring boaters to stay ashore or in a safe harbour or had assumed everyone was safe at home in bed at night, I countered back that a life lived in secluded safety was not a life lived at all; that a life without risk was a life without reward. She said a life lived to live another day was a life left to live. She won and my Nordy lives no more. So, I've given up the big sea for now while she fights her own big "C", I still try to figure out what is silly in life and what isn't, but can't stop thinking that I still want to "go big or go home", but do agree the to go big or go home -- and not make it home, is silly. And I suppose there are days when I think it's silly not to be on the water. Doug Lloyd Duane said: Craig, I have Friday off and plan to drive along the coast, drink coffee, have lunch, and check out the waves and storm damage. The National Weather Service forecast shows 15-20 foot surf, but the swell is shown as 8-10 feet in the inner waters, so I'm thinking the surf won't be very spectacular. I supposed Doug Lloyd would go for a paddle in this storm, but the water is polluted from all the urban run-off. Plus, the lifeguards and harbor patrol wouldn't be happy about it. There's no sense stressing them out, not to mention sometimes it's just silly to be on the water. Duane Southern California *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jan 21 2010 - 18:38:20 PST
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