dumpsterDiver
Banned
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Glad you are ok.
This reminds me of some snorkeling I did with my wife on our honeymoon in Nova Scotia. The seas were too rough to think about entering or existing with scuba gear so we went snorkeling. We had fun snorkeling and even played with the tourists at this scenic light house point by opening a lost lobster trap at 30 feet and throwing two live cod fish up on the rocks (I was telling that there were so many fish swimming around down there that I could just catch them with my 7 mm mittens).
When it was time to exist, I had trouble finding a good exit. It is much easier to jump off a rock into a receding wave than to make an exit without getting bashed into the rocks, especially when the visibility is about zero due to the foam and bubbles. I found a decent rock, timed a swell and hoped up on a rock which was about 4-5 feet above sea level between waves. (The seaward face of this rock was nearly vertical).
I stood up and told my new bride to wait for a wave and do the same thing I did, sorta like a belly slide and then a leap which needs to be timed perectly with the wave sets. What I hadn't noticed from my rocky perch, was that behind me, on the landward side of the flat rock I was standing on, the edge just fell away about 4 feet down into a giant crack about 8 feet long and 2-2.5 feet wide.
Within less than a minute she selected a big wave and attempted the exist manuever. However the wave she rode (sorta like a body surf) was larger than the one I had used and she washed up on the rock, but before I could grab her, the wave (which was about 18 inches deep on top of the rock) just carried her right over the rock and washed her head first into the large crack that was on the landward side of the "platform" rock upon which I stood. She completely disappeared! Not even her fins were sticking out and the crack was completely filled with foam and bubbles and surging water.
I had no idea how deep the crack was, but it was obviously not shallow. I'll never forget that my immediate thoughts were directed at how pissed her mom would be for killing her on the honeymoon. My next thoughts were about how I feared that she had smashed her face and might now be very forcibly wedged headfirst deep into this crevice and might be really stuck. Remember this is 44 degree water and she was holding her breath.
I thought about jumping into the swirling, foam covered crevice and try to feel around for her body, but decided that I should try to use my training to think before I acted. I waited about 10 or 15 seconds for the bubbles to clear a little and then she miraculously popped up, head first and laughing! I grabbed her arm and practically threw her up on the rock with me. All she could say was "did you see that?"
Apparently she never became completely disoriented and the crack opened up enough for her to completely turn around and just swim up when the wave stopped rushing over the rock and into the "crack".
This reminds me of some snorkeling I did with my wife on our honeymoon in Nova Scotia. The seas were too rough to think about entering or existing with scuba gear so we went snorkeling. We had fun snorkeling and even played with the tourists at this scenic light house point by opening a lost lobster trap at 30 feet and throwing two live cod fish up on the rocks (I was telling that there were so many fish swimming around down there that I could just catch them with my 7 mm mittens).
When it was time to exist, I had trouble finding a good exit. It is much easier to jump off a rock into a receding wave than to make an exit without getting bashed into the rocks, especially when the visibility is about zero due to the foam and bubbles. I found a decent rock, timed a swell and hoped up on a rock which was about 4-5 feet above sea level between waves. (The seaward face of this rock was nearly vertical).
I stood up and told my new bride to wait for a wave and do the same thing I did, sorta like a belly slide and then a leap which needs to be timed perectly with the wave sets. What I hadn't noticed from my rocky perch, was that behind me, on the landward side of the flat rock I was standing on, the edge just fell away about 4 feet down into a giant crack about 8 feet long and 2-2.5 feet wide.
Within less than a minute she selected a big wave and attempted the exist manuever. However the wave she rode (sorta like a body surf) was larger than the one I had used and she washed up on the rock, but before I could grab her, the wave (which was about 18 inches deep on top of the rock) just carried her right over the rock and washed her head first into the large crack that was on the landward side of the "platform" rock upon which I stood. She completely disappeared! Not even her fins were sticking out and the crack was completely filled with foam and bubbles and surging water.
I had no idea how deep the crack was, but it was obviously not shallow. I'll never forget that my immediate thoughts were directed at how pissed her mom would be for killing her on the honeymoon. My next thoughts were about how I feared that she had smashed her face and might now be very forcibly wedged headfirst deep into this crevice and might be really stuck. Remember this is 44 degree water and she was holding her breath.
I thought about jumping into the swirling, foam covered crevice and try to feel around for her body, but decided that I should try to use my training to think before I acted. I waited about 10 or 15 seconds for the bubbles to clear a little and then she miraculously popped up, head first and laughing! I grabbed her arm and practically threw her up on the rock with me. All she could say was "did you see that?"
Apparently she never became completely disoriented and the crack opened up enough for her to completely turn around and just swim up when the wave stopped rushing over the rock and into the "crack".
Wow, what a honeymoon....so glad it turned out just a great story....whew!
