HOW STUPID DO WE NEED TO BE?

[Smegger]

Condolances to you Rufus for your loss.

 

I would like to say that I am also sick of hearing about "Freak Waves"

There's no such thing .... its just a wave that foolish people fail to notice due to ******* about and not paying attention.

The sea should not be feared or laughed at but respected .... too many anglers and people are lost through foolishness or lack of attention.

I have lost friends and it wasn't the seas fault, it only does what it has and will always do.

[spasor]

Just as well I`ve spent a day at work. Why people have no `fear` or `respect` for the forces of mother nature completely leaves me gob-smacked!!!

Re the father and daughter that were walking along the sea front at Lyme Regis? They weren`t!

I happen to know that area!! They were playing dodge the waves ( or chicken) on a path that leads down to the harbour. Guess who was holding the camera?

As Rikkie has stated. We were fishing in Sandwich bay on Saturday night. The bay was full of ships sheltering from the storm and we were the last to stop fishing. When we stopped it was because of the high winds and driving rain. Not because we were in danger from the waves. If you leave it that late, then you`re asking for trouble!!

Nature can be bountiful or merciless. Without a shread of conscience seperating the two extremes. There`s nothing whimpish about being safe. You just get to fight or fish another day.

Several of us in this group know only too well what happens when you take the slightest risk!

:confused: Paul. :confused:

And I hope this will be the last time that I post this message. After having posted it less than a year ago.

[chevin]

rufus:

Tragedy is, that it is quite possible to survive a rip tide. You just have to go with it, float out until the power dissipates and then swim around it and back to the beach. If you struggle you lose.

Sorry to hear about your brother Rufus, a tragedy indeed.

 

It is true that the best way to deal with a rip is to go with it, I know that and as a holder of the RLSS Sub Aqua Bronze I should be more aware of it than most. However, I got caught in a rip a few years ago and it is one of the most terrifying experiences I have ever had. And I was wearing fins! I got out of it by swimming diagonally across it, but I was a very frightened man for quite some time. More recently, while holidaying in the Maldives, I rescued a woman who was caught in a rip. Again I was wearing fins, had I not been, that woman would have been gone! Anyone contemplating holidays there should be aware that there are horrendous rips among the islands but that they are not publicised.

 

I cannot subscribe to the suggestion that the guy who lost his life while trying to rescue others was an idiot. When action becomes necessary in emergencies there is little time to evaluate the reason for the situation. If there was, very few people would put them selves in a dangerous situation voluntarily. Most go into that situation simply because they see that there is a job to be done, they really don't accept the fact that they might be going into extreme danger. I once retrieved a diver who had run out of air and was so over weighted he could not get to the surface. I could have dropped his weights, but the state he was in he would have probably held his breath and died of a bara trauma as he surfaced. I went to him and gave him my reg so that he could breathe to the surface while I did a free ascent. I had to be stupid to do that, but I never thought of it at the time. However, when I found that he had no contents gauge, I was all ready to kill him!

 

Thankfully, in my part of the world hypothermia is not an immdediate problem but I know that if I was holidaying in the UK, there would be no way that I could go into the ocean during the winter and survive more than a couple of minutes. I think that I could keep that in mind as long as family or close friends were not involved.

[chevin]

Another danger for people holidaying in the tropics comes from shells. A few years ago we went to Langkawi Island in the Andaman Sea, and when I was snorkeling off the hotel beach I was astonished to see thousands upon thousands of large cone shells - all of them containing their owners. If you pick one of them up wrongly the shell fish is quite capable of hitting you with a lance type of spike which carries a toxin that can prove to be fatal. I went back to the hotel and told them that they should warn people about the shells, but they wouldn't even listen to me. Even empty shells in the tropics should be treated with respect because they can contain blue ringed octopii. The bite from them is fatal unless constant CPR is adminstered until proper treatment given.

[Mavrik]

The IDIOT and the PRATT in all this is the guy who was rescued who couldnt even be bothered to turn up at the inquest, he could have at least had the decency to turn up, after all apparently so im told it wasnt the first time those two people had done that (gone into the sea while arguing and pi**ed up I mean)

[Ian Bass]

Thanks for the replies chaps. I have enjoyed reading them. Just to prove a point last monday I fished in my usual spot and a gang of teenagers came down. I immeadiatly thought "Here we go loads of aggro". However they were interested in what I was doing. The lads were kicking a ball about which went into the sea. Without hesitation 3 lads went down the steps to retrive it. I tried to warn them of the dangers but I got the torrent of abuse I expected. The water was fairly rough so I let them get on with it. Thankfully they all got away. I did try to explain to them I was not being an 'old fart' and they saw my point of view BUT it could have been to late! I tell you your an 'whinging old git'( I'm only 43 ) if you tell them the dangers but critisised by the authorities if you do nothing and one of the 'little darlings' drowns :mad:

[Jeff S]

Hello everyone! Rufus again sorry to hear of your loss.

 

Having just been released from the military and being deployed to areas known for their riptides, we were constantly “briefed” about them. Swim parallel to the shoreline as it will eventually get you out of the rip. Most riptides happen when wave action comes in at angles to the shore. When two or more arrive simultaneously at opposite angles, they tend to create a funnel effect, and drag everything with it out to sea. I would much rather try to swim a half mile out of one than ride it out at a mile or more. Most people lose their lives because they don’t know what to do while they are in one and try to swim against it.

I totally agree with not simply standing by while someone is in need of assistance. You do have to make that split second decision, should I or shouldn’t I? Ultimately it is your own decision whether right or wrong. Most times it turns out right, but the sea should not to be taken lightly.

While fishing in the S. Atlantic, my friends, and I had been fishing for grouper, shark, and tuna. The tide was out, on a relatively calm sea as the wind was blowing offshore, but while departing the area I decided to take the lazy way out. Several sets of waves arrived some 30 feet above the rest. It missed and I learned a hard lesson. I laughed about it after, as my friends were about 20 feet above me and wet, while I avoided it totally. Either way always keep a wary eye. I never saw it coming.