- Jul 29, 2014
- 22,371
- 23,767
Respect the Ocean. Look at your surroundings for bearings and notice landmarks on the beach and places where waves are breaking and where they are not breaking. You can't always see a rip but a lot of times they are obvious IF you take the time before blindly walking/floating out from the Beach. As a surfer we look for them to help us get through the breaking waves closer to the beach and to where the set waves break on the outside during bigger swells.
I've spent close to 50 years surfing and fishing the waters from Ponce Inlet to Sebastian Inlet and can tell you I've seen sh!t happen to people that were totally unaware of their surrounding......that said I've also been humbled by the sea when trying to run through the Inlets during an outgoing tide in a 16 foot flats skiff when I didn't pay attention to the times of the outgoing tides....I've also had my surfboard leash broke in double overhead Hurricane surf north of Sebastian Inlet and held down by a wave that rolled and twisted me to the point where I didn't know which way was up, swam to the bottom and got a face full of sand before barely making it back to the surface....stuck in the trough for about 10 minutes(seemed like an hour) and then tossed on the beach right next to my broken surfboard....I'm a strong swimmer and was in the fittest shape of my life or very near it.
Moral of the story is if you're not sure or in an unfamiliar beach/river/inlet, know before you go.... Be safe this holiday and summer...
I've spent close to 50 years surfing and fishing the waters from Ponce Inlet to Sebastian Inlet and can tell you I've seen sh!t happen to people that were totally unaware of their surrounding......that said I've also been humbled by the sea when trying to run through the Inlets during an outgoing tide in a 16 foot flats skiff when I didn't pay attention to the times of the outgoing tides....I've also had my surfboard leash broke in double overhead Hurricane surf north of Sebastian Inlet and held down by a wave that rolled and twisted me to the point where I didn't know which way was up, swam to the bottom and got a face full of sand before barely making it back to the surface....stuck in the trough for about 10 minutes(seemed like an hour) and then tossed on the beach right next to my broken surfboard....I'm a strong swimmer and was in the fittest shape of my life or very near it.
Moral of the story is if you're not sure or in an unfamiliar beach/river/inlet, know before you go.... Be safe this holiday and summer...