RE: Rip Tides and Ocean Safety (or how I nearly drowned/got eaten

From: Stephen Hiley (SHiley@WSGC.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Fri Aug 13 1999 - 15:48:11 PDT 

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From: Stephen Hiley <SHiley@WSGC.com-DeleteThis>
To: "'wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis'" <wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: RE: Rip Tides and Ocean Safety (or how I nearly drowned/got eaten
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 15:48:11 -0700
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With these harrowing tales in mind, is there some rule of thumb as to when
it is safer worthwhile to go out at Waddell (while still being worthwhile
conditions)? Buoy data - swell size, timing? Tide - high/low,
rising/falling.

Are there better places that people would recommend for neophyte wave
sailors like myself? Is Davenport more or less dangerous?

I am a pretty experienced sailor, but new to waves. I did my first surf
sailing off Kanaha in Maui this past June and had a great time in 3ft surf
-- and also got rinsed and ripped a sail in the process. It is easy to see
how one can get into trouble out there even when things don't look so tough.

> ----------
> From: Francois Jouaux[SMTP:fjouaux@apple.com-DeleteThis]
> Reply To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
> Sent: Friday, August 13, 1999 2:39 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: Re: RE: Rip Tides and Ocean Safety (or how I nearly
> drowned/got eaten
>
> >I say body surf in. If you get a wave right and can stay on it for a bit
> >you can make a lot of forward progress. Otherwise it's going to be
> pretty
> >hard to outswim the rip.
>
> And wear a life jacket. Your gear goes back to shore before you
> because of the volume that gets carried in the surf. Plus a life
> jacket keeps your head out of the water without any effort.
> I agree that a surfer should not wear a life jacket as he is tied to
> his board, and he can duck dive by holding it correctly. Wearing a
> life jacket when swimming in large waves will prevent you from
> effectively diving deeper, but unless you are trying to swim out, it
> can only help bringing you back to shore.
>
> -Francois, who has not sailed Waddell since his own rip tide experience...
>

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