Re: [Paddlewise] waves in california

> Question to those who know about these things better than I: Would it be of
> any help, safety wise, if the paddler teathered himself to the kayak like
> board surfers do with their boards. Or would it be even more dangerous for the
> paddler himself. Maybe get a leg yanked off or something. Surfers don't even
> wear helmets. Why don't they get beaned more often by the surfboads teathered
> to them?

   I grew up in Corona del Mar, which is the community on the opposite 
side of the harbor entrance to the Wedge.  On a good day in the 
summertime my usual routine was to grab a swimsuit and a pair of fins 
and walk down to the harbor entrance, then swim across to the other side 
trying to avoid the boat traffic. Of course this was illegal, and 
probably not the smartest thing to do, but what did I know about being 
smart - I was there to body surf the Wedge. Once on the other side I 
would meet up with friends and surf all day, at the end of which I would 
usually bum a ride back home again rather then try to swim back across 
the harbor.
   In those days hard boards were not allowed at the Wedge. It was a 
body surfing wave, and introducing boards was just too risky to the 
swimmers - this was before board leashes became the norm. As I have 
discussed on this list in the past, for someone who is skilled at 
swimming in the surf, wearing flotation, like a pfd, creates more 
problems then  it solves. And while I have known countless surfers who 
needed to get wounds stitched up as a result of getting hit by a board 
(many times their own), I have never known a board or body surfer to 
wear a helmet. Maybe they should - I don't know. I do know it's never 
going to happen. Of course many on the list know me as the guy who 
thinks that pfd's and helmets are not all they are cracked up to be in 
kayaking either. But that's neither here nor there right now.
   Your typical surfboard is very light, and creates much less 
resistance being pulled through the water then one would think. And 
since they are usually attached to the swimmer by a leash they are not 
prone to flying totally out of control in the surf. Compare that to the 
kayaker I personally know who got tangled in their boat-to-paddle leash 
in the surf and was dragged into shore collecting numerous scrapes and 
contusions along the way. It was a dangerous situation for this paddler 
to be in, and would have been a dangerous situation for any swimmers 
that might have been in the path of the runaway kayak.

   On a side note I was down in Carlsbad spending a weekend with my wife 
just as the surf began to pick up. My wife wanted to get wet in the 
ocean, so I went down to the water with her. She got her hair wet and 
went back up to the sand. I had to at least try to body surf some of 
these waves which were running a very consistent six foot. The only 
problem was, I didn't have any fins. Not to be deterred I started with 
some of the smaller waves closer to shore, but  was not able to get up 
enough speed with bare feet to get on them. So I thought maybe I could 
use gravity to my advantage and at least drop down the face of some of 
the larger waves. I tried several times, but it turned out to be a 
pretty futile attempt. Eventually I gave up, and when I turned to start 
working my way back into shore I found a young lifeguard about fifty 
feet away trying to get my attention. Suddenly it hit me - the lifeguard 
was apparently so impressed by the total awesomeness of my body surfing 
abilities he felt he needed to come out and rescue me! OMG! I told him I 
was OK, and made it in without his assistance.
   I figured out two things on this day. One, the next time I'm bringing 
fins. And two, my days at the Wedge are definitely over :-)

Scott
So.Cal.
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************