Horror at the beach

a reply to: research100

Good video clip, Research. The thing that strikes me about looking for visual clues is that it's often calm water that contains the current. It's the apparent break between the waves. I'll definitely look for rip currents from now on, but should note that I won't count on the visual clues, especially when the water is at eye-level.

I liked the way that the Canadians pronounce, "out" in the video.

One final and very creepy note: I just read that a man who was my exact age, who came from where I live (San Francisco) drowned in a rip current at that exact spot five years ago. Source

Now I really have some heebie jeebies!

originally posted by: graceunderpressure

originally posted by: Char-Lee
a reply to: graceunderpressure
The very same thing happened to me in Hawaii...I was saved by a pig.

Charlee, your story is simply amazing!!! That pig was a godsend, and you were so smart to follow its example. Wow. 'Glad you made it out OK. People who have experienced this type of ordeal know just how helpless and small you feel in a big ocean.

Thanks what I forgot to say, is that I had become exhausted, I had never swam to the point where I can't swim anymore before, that alone is terrifying. Still you and i have learned a life lesson we will never forget and can hopefully use to help other also.

a reply to: graceunderpressure

Last summer here on the West Coast CA a family of tourists was playing and walking on logs in the surf, a sneaker wave came in and moved the log killing one of them. We have people killed here pretty much every year even though there is signs.

The thing is who knows what a sneaker wave is until you see one for the first time. I lived here for years before the first time i understood! i was walking the beach one minute along the water and suddenly I was waist deep a sudden big wave rolled in and I could have been pulled out.

I don't walk close to the water on certain beaches anymore, others are very gradual in depth and safer but it was actually the safest one that took the person with the log last summer.

Bad luck weekend at the beach for ATSers ... you had your frightening near drowning experience .... I got impaled by a beach umbrella and ended up in the hospital ... sand all through the hole in my leg. Dang beach umbrellas are deadly when the wind picks them up. I freak'n got staked like a vampire ... fat wooden pointed stake.

One summer afternoon on the Texas coast, I was such a total idiot that I was riding on an inflatable raft at the beach, at low tide. Friends were playing out on an exposed rise only visible at low tide. Thing was, they were further out, on solid .... sand, further out than I was. Behind me, up the beach, here was a row of 6 lifeguard towers, maybe a hundred yards apart, down the length of the beach. I was between the two middle towers, out in waist-deep water.

I was smoking a cigar (!) and lying on the air raft with my eyes closed. I guess I dozed off. I woke up because my hand got hot--the cigar had burned down to a nub.

I freaked out and rolled off the raft,. Into calm but icy cold water. After an extended battle I got back up on the raft. The raft had a hole in one compartment, when the coals from my cigar must have melted it. Looking up, I could see a line of land on the horizon. I paddled for what seemed like an eternity, but made steady progress. I kept freaking out about the scene in "Jaws" that is filmed from below the waves, where the kids on rafts look like sea turtles to the shark...

I finally beached the raft in the sand at sundown, exhausted. walking up the beach, the land behind it was undeveloped. But I could see the last of the 6 life-guard towers in the distance. It looked like a tiny white speck on the horizon, dimming quickly in the dying sunset. I walked for another hour before I got back to my group. I had the sunburn of a lifetime. Never told anyone what really happened.

-Don't fall asleep in the ocean
-Don't fall asleep while smoking
-Don't depend on other people to keep track of you, if they are there to have fun.

I too know how it feels. When I was about 16 I went to the Dominican Republic on a vacation and on that trip we had a dune buggy ride planned which ended at us going to a secret secluded beach with the tour guide. We get to the beach and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, but the whole time there and before they were pretty adamant about not going to far out or you'll be "swept out to Cuba" as they kept calling it.

So fast forward a little, my friend and I are in the water, just like you guys, having fun of course i'm used to the cold Atlantic so this is a treat. Then I turn around and I am suddenly way farther out than I was before (my friend was about 10 feet behind me and neither of us had rafts or inflatables.) Like you said, there was no pulling or ripping sensation, I was just in an ok range and then suddenly I was way too far for even my good. So I start yelling to the guides that I am in a little trouble, which I think is clear. They don't do anything besides motion for me to come in, and obviously I would if I could but that is the problem I'm having, I just keep getting sucked out.

I realized it was pretty much up to me now, my friend had gotten lucky and was released from the currents grip and was about 30 feet behind me now much closer to the shore. In these scenarios like you said every instinct tells you to swim forward and hard. I didn't have this moment though, I was lucky and I don't even know why. Instinct told me to lay on my back, so I did. Once you're floating on your back you are even less in control, but you also can utilize each waves natural force to use to your advantage. I got on my side, sidestroking when each wave would roll towards the shore, almost the same concept as body surfing except you still need to exert force. You mentioned this, and it is the most important part if you find yourself caught in one of these; swim diagonally/horizontally towards the shore. You have a greater chance of leaving the current and it is the only way you will find you are able to make any progress, anything else would be just a waste of energy.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
Bad luck weekend at the beach for ATSers ... you had your frightening near drowning experience .... I got impaled by a beach umbrella and ended up in the hospital ... sand all through the hole in my leg. Dang beach umbrellas are deadly when the wind picks them up. I freak'n got staked like a vampire ... fat wooden pointed stake.

Oh dear heavens, Flyers! I just revisited the thread and saw this. How terrible!! And I thought having sand in my swimsuit crotch was bad. Just kidding, I hope you're OK, and I'm very, very glad it hit your leg and not your torso. The beach can be a scary place.

Swords and Tovenar, welcome to the survivors' club. A web search for "rip current deaths" will show you just how lucky we all are, but I think we already know.

a reply to: Char-Lee
Char-Lee, I remember that story from the news. There was also the woman who drowned trying to rescue her dog. So awful.

When I first moved to San Francisco, we went to a perch high atop a seaside cliff near the Sutro Baths to watch the Queen Mary sail into the SF harbor. While sitting there, hundreds of feet above the shoreline, a wave came up and completely drenched me from head-to-toe, while my boyfriend, sitting right beside me was completely dry. It was the strangest thing! Since then, I keep a close eye on the waves at Pacifica, Rockaway and points north where we sometimes still walk. Maybe I pissed off Poseidon somehow in another life.

a reply to: graceunderpressure
I've been stuck in bed ... day #5 ... leg propped up and on infection watch. My leg is a strange yellow-glow color. I have a doctors check tomorrow. Hope it's just the mega antibiotics in bruises or something and not infection ... I tell ya', my arms are really tired. I hobble on crutches and my arms aren't used to the work. All the neighbors are saying it's a freak'n strange thing to happen ... impaled by a breach umbrella. I'm really pissed that it made me miss the ThunderBirds Airshow. I was soooo looking forward to it! ARGH!

a reply to: FlyersFan
Oh, how awful dear Flyers! My heart goes out to you. Crutches are no fun, nor is a leg injury. Your incident certainly qualifies as a bizarre accident in my book. I hope your follow-up appointment reveals that it's still on the mend and not infected. The Thunderbirds...sigh...I'd be miffed at missing that one, too. Hugs to you, and I'm glad you're still with us.

a reply to: swordsandpens

Thats crazy that you say that was just going to post my adventure while in DR where were you. Grace that had to be terrifying with a little one around as it gave me a heart attack and i was alone So im in the DR Punta Cana to be exact and theres a ship wreck about a mile from our resort that we decide to walk to and check it out (didnt look that far with zoom on the video camera). So we get about half way there and are on fire from no shade and drinking from the minute we wake up and the water looks great.

I set the cooler down and notice some roped off areas not far from where we are. I run fast as hell and dive right in what a relief it is until i notice how far out i was. Anyways it wasnt to deep so i have to get on all fours which puts me underwater a bit and crawl back to shore. I later found out that area was blocked off because of rip currents my dumba88 thought it was safe. Nothing like your ordeal but scary enough.

Another thing while on the same trip which almost got me killed again was fighting with the girl and jumping off of the booze cruz and swimming back to shore while drunk, took about an hour to get to shore and when i finally did i was miles from my resort. i think the sea wanted me badly that week. i respect the water a lot more now, were nothing at all compared to what it can do to us.