Re: A day in the life of a windsurfer - survival story

From: don brennen (windguy@jps.net-DeleteThis)
Date: Sun Apr 12 1998 - 19:30:04 PDT


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Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1998 19:30:04 -0700
To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis
From: don brennen <windguy@jps.net-DeleteThis>
Subject: Re: A day in the life of a windsurfer - survival story
Cc: andreab@jps.net-DeleteThis
In-Reply-To: <m0yNJuf-0000CaC@megami.veritas.com-DeleteThis>
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Sorry to come in late on this thread. I believe the greatest value of this
listserver are discussions just like this. Nobody wants to put themselves
through an experience such as Carlos's. But let's face it, if you're in
this sport for the long haul, it's just a matter of time. In my years in
this sport, I've broken every piece of the equation (including a (new)
board in half off the East Cape of Baja). So yeah, I've got a few stories
to tell. But that's not my point.

My point is that in rescue situations, along with the usual safety stuff,
the ability to communicate is key. The ability to communicate with many
sailors at the same site, on and off the water would be extremely
beneficial in resolving any rescue/equipment breakdown situation. I never
jumped on the VHF bandwagon primarily due to their cost and limited use.
However I'd love to hear the pros and cons from VHF users.

This winter I purchased a couple "Motorola Talkabouts" (retail $100 to $150
each) for snowboarding and mountain biking. They work great and if there's
a few other sailors monitoring the same channel we've got our communication
problem solved. They advertise a two mile range but I've got personal
experience with reception up to 7 miles (in uninterrupted line of site,
such as on the water). Motorola sells an optional waterproof bag plus
there's others. Any opinions on waterproof bags?

Any other 3rd Ave sailors have Talkabouts? Let's get something going, get
a waterproof bag, agree on a channel and code to monitor, and we're up and
running. I'll suggest channel 8 code 1 (for Channel mark 8A). Another
thing I thought of doing was cable locking one talkabout to the back of my
van, carrying the other. Then if I got in trouble or if someone wanted to
know the conditions in the channel just "press to talk". Just think of the
possibilities.

Don

At 09:27 AM 4/9/98 -0700, you wrote:
>
>
> I mostly wrote this up for myself because I had to get it out of
> my head. I thought putting it down on paper would help, and I think
> it has. A few close friends have read this story and have asked me to
> share it with our fellow Bay Area windsurfers.
>
> This is for my 3rd Ave friends and all those sailors that may find
> themselves, from time to time, in desparate situations...
>
>
>March 28, 1998
>3rd Ave, Bay Area, San Francisco
>
>Forecast looks good; the weatherman is calling for 20 to 30 knot trade winds
>on the Coast. I can't get the surf info from the Internet, but I've got this
>new wave board and the waves are calling. Drove to Santa Cruz, Davenport
looks
>ok, about a 5.2 would do, the waves are kinda mushy and disorganized, not
very
>big. One guy is out; waves don't look so good. Kept going to Waddell, the
same
>thing there. The waves are coming at 5 or 6 second intervals. Not too good.
>One guy is out and having trouble in the inside. It is unusually cold this
>weekend, and I've been fighting this cold. Not good. The Bay is supposed to
>have a strong ebb this afternoon. Small crafts have been posted for the
entire
>area. I think I'm going to 3rd.
>
>What a great day! It's only about 1:30pm and the weather is already 4.7.
>Perfect ebb and wind. Brand new wave board! The swell is big out in the
>channel, great for jumping and slashing around. Harry, a friend of ours had
>gone down with a broken mast. What a pain? He'll have to paddle his board
>all the way back. We helped bring his rig back to shore, then it was time
to go
>back and look for him, but first, had to go down to my 4.2. The wind was
>whipping big time. I love that sail and this was a great opportunity to
use it.
>I sailed back out and looked for Harry all afternoon. No luck. The Cost
Guard
>helicopter was above me the whole time. Looking for Harry I thought. Where
is
>he? He must have made it to shore already. Oh well, I'll keep sailing, this
>is too much fun to stop!
>
>Around 4:00pm I decided I had had enough and headed back in to the shallow
>area. The wind was very good there; the water was flat. Perfect to practice
>some high wind tricks. Great! Did that for about 1/2 hour, until I decided
>was time to call it quits. Had invited a couple of friends for dinner and I
>was getting tired. This was a good time to stop. Hey! There is Mike! Where
>have you been dude!? I've been looking all over for you, he yelled. Looking
>for Harry I replied. I was sailing up wind, oh well I'm done. No, no he
>says, the swells are big out in the channel, one more run dude? Let's go!
>Ok I said, let's go!
>
>We were sailing along, cruising towards the channel marker. When we got
there
>the swell was big, the wind very strong, great jumps and just all out fun. I
>took a big jump and as I approached the landing, nose first, something was
>wrong. Wham! Crash. Came out of the water, laughing hard, yelled at Mike and
>cheered him on. As he went by, I notice the board was loose! It had
separated
>from my sail. Shit! For a fraction of a second I thought, ok Mike can get it
>for me, then a big swell came from behind and the board took off. Damn, as I
>see it accelerate down the swell I find myself, in disbelief, watching it
go,
>floating in the water holding nothing but my sail. Mike!, Mike!, Mikey, my
>board, my board!, get my board! Mike! He realizes what happened and attempts
>to go after it. He is way overpowered and can't sail downwind. Slam! Try
>another waterstart Slam! The board is far now, cruising along, shit! What
am I
>going to do? Mike takes off after it, the swells are big. He soon
disappears,
>can't see him anymore, he is gone, he is gone! My blood is rushing; my heart
>is pounding. I'm fucked! What am I going to do? The sail is sinking, ok
>I'll try to keep it afloat until Mike comes back. This is hard, very hard.
>I'll just float until Mike comes back, Mike, Mike, Oh God Mikey, you have
>to come back, where are you Mike, come back, come back...
>
>The coast guard helicopter has been flying around searching for Harry and
>other sailors, I see it! It is coming, it's coming, wave damn it, wave,
>here!, here!, over here! I'm over here! Shit the helicopter is about 200
>yards away, it can't see me, wave, wave. I'm here! Over here! Nothing,
>it's gone! it's gone! I see the helicopter fly by, I'm thinking it
>will come back, but this time it does not, it is gone! There, way over
there,
>almost by Cayote Point. God, it is gone, it is not coming back!
>
>Kick hard, keep kicking, hold the sail, keep it afloat. The swell is
pounding,
>the wind is ripping. Fuck, this is not easy. This is a great sail; I don't
>want to go let go of it yet. Mike will get the coast guard and come after
me.
>I'll just wait a while and he'll be back. God is cold, keep kicking,
>stay afloat God Damn it! Panic settles in, I'm fucked, I'm really fucked.
>Oh God help me, help me please. I don't want to die today, not today, not
>like this! Mike, somebody, Mikey, where are you? Maybe another sailor,
nobody
>is around. The swell is pounding, keep afloat. Shit! I'm taking too much
>water... I have to relax, calm down. I'm not going to die today, I can't
>die today. Mike went down wind after my board, the tide is changing. I was
>looking for Harry all day and couldn't find him. How in the world is he
>going to find me? Oh shit, I'm alone, he is not coming back, he is not going
>to find me, how could he? There is no way, I'm fucked! I'm cold, Ok calm
>down, calm down. I got to go for it, I got to swim. Land is far, very far,
>about 4 miles, but what can I do? I'm alone, Mike is not going to find me.
>I got to go for it.
>
>I said my good-byes to the sail and let it go. Start swimming; paddle nice
and
>easy, conserve energy as much as I can. This is going to be a long day! The
>swell is pounding, can't freestyle, I'm taking too much water, I'm
>getting trashed by the swell and the wind. Splashed around, man handled.
>I'm tired already, I'm cold, my legs are starting to cramp! Ok, let's
>try backstroke, this is better, but can't kick anymore, my calves are
>cramping bad, no matter, kick anyway, long easy backstrokes. I'm cold;
>I'm taking too much water. I'm going to die! Keep going, keep going!
>
>At least one hour has passed since I lost the board, I'm making little
>progress, Mike, Mikey where are you? I can't go anymore, my arms are
>cramping bad, my legs can't move, I'm going to sink, I'm going to
>sink to the bottom of the Bay! My baby, I can't leave her, I can't loose
>her, she needs me! She is going to cry, I'll miss her. What's going to
>happen now? Oh baby I don't want to leave you, not yet. You'll be so sad,
>Oh God, No, No, oh God, don't let me die. Oh men, there is no hope.
>I AM GOING TO DIE! Can't swim anymore, just try to stay afloat and wait,
>wait for the inevitable. Silence, complete silence. Can't feel my body
>anymore, can't move anymore, I'm going under... Silence... Complete
Silence...
>
>Could this be possible! There is someone coming, a sailor, a red sail, Oh
God,
>is Mike, Mike, Mikey! Over here! Oh God, over here, over here! I'm here,
>please God, over here, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here! I can't
>believe it; Mike sailed right up to me! how did he find me? This is not
>possible, how did he find me? Mike, over here, over here. Are you ok? He
asked.
>No dude! Come over, help me, help me, help! I grabbed his board and
breathed a
>sigh of relief, I could finally stay afloat without working so hard, I was
>saved, I put my head down on the board and I thought to myself "I am not
>going to die today, not today", Sigh.
>
>Mike said he handed my board over to another sailor, he also told the coast
>guard boat to come over right away. Let's just paddle to stay warm he said,
>until the coast guard gets here. Keep paddling, keep paddling. Oh Mike thank
>god you are here! That was close, that was very close. I'm not going to die
>today. You came dude! You came! Keep paddling, keep paddling.
>
>Another hour past, and nothing! No coast guard in sight. The sun is starting
>to set. Mike is worried now. The coast guard is not coming! Where are those
>fuckers? He is yelling out of the top of his lungs. I told them you were
>swimming with no board, with nothing! Where are they? Where are they? It is
>going to get dark soon. We've got to make it to shore. Mike says, he'll
>swim. I'm supposed to sail the thing and keep an eye on each other. Mike
>starts swimming. I'm trying to waterstart. The wind is still strong, the
>swell is pounding. I put my foot up on the board and my whole body cramps!
Oh
>shit! Can't waterstart like this? No matter, keep trying, keep trying. I get
>up, I sail a few yards, I fall, I waterstart again, cramps everywhere,
sail a
>few yards, fall. Mike is swimming, the sun is setting. I'm cold; I'm very
>cold! This is not good. This is going to take a long time. A very long time.
>Land is still more than a couple of miles away. I'm very cold, I'm
>starting to shiver, I can't control it very well. Take a break, calm down,
>calm down. Ok, waterstar again and keep going. It's getting dark, I can see
>rain coming, the weather is changing. Oh shit the wind shifts. It's blowing
>offshore now! Fuck! It's cold, it's cold. Maybe "I'm going to die
>after all!" Mike is yelling, keep going he says, I'll swim, you paddle.
>I can't Mike, I can't, I can't move, I'm cold. It is getting dark;
>it's getting dark. We are fucked! Silence, complete silence...
>
>Carlos! Carlos! The Coast Guard! The Coast Guard! They are coming, they are
>coming! Those fuckers, they are coming! The boat nears; they are not close
>enough so it looks like they want to circle. I yelled, NO, NO! You have to
get
>me out of here! Get me out! They see me, they realize I'm in trouble.
>Immediately they throw a line, I swim to it and I grab it with all my
might, I
>ain't letting go of this shit. They drag me quick, I'm bouncing all over
>the place, body drag, the water is cold, I don't care, I ain't letting
>go, no way I'm not letting go. I get to the boat; they pull me out of the
>water. I can't move a muscle. They throw me over the railing, my face goes
>flat on the ground, I'm staring at the ground, ropes, life bests, yellow dog
>with life preserver jacket! I must be really fucked! I stay there, I can't
move.
>Three or four guys pull me up. This guy is bad, this guy is bad, they yell.
>Take him down, take him down! They drag me inside the boat. Take your
wetsuit
>off. Got to get you warm, What's your name? How long have you been out
>there? What's your name? What's your name? Take the wetsuit off; warm
>blankets, warm plastic bags. Don't go to sleep, stay with us! Stay with us!
>What's your name? What foot am I touching? What hand? What's your name?
>The shivering starts, my whole body, I can't stop, out of control. My mind
>wonders off, I feel I'm watching someone else shiver, don't feel
>anything, don't see anything? Stay with us! Stay with us! Don't go to
>sleep! What's your name? Stay still, we need to get you on an IV. Here it
>goes. We are going to the hospital, stay with us sir, stay with us! I'm
>shivering, I can't stop. The boat is bouncing, we are cruising now. We are
>going, we are going. Shit! "I'm not going to die today!"
>
>
>They kept me under observation for hours, dry blankets. They shot hot air
under
>them. Constant flow of nice hot air. Oh men! That was wonderful. I was
warming
>up; I could feel my body. It took awhile to thaw out, but it was warm, it
was
>nice cozy warm. I made it. I made it. I will live to see another day! What a
>day, what a tough day at the office!
>
>Things I learned:
>
>- Life is precious, every minute counts! Life is not predictable. One day,
> without knowing, we may wake up to see our last day. Enjoy it while you
can...
>
>- Sail with a buddy. He may save your life. I would not be writing this
story
> if Mike hadn't been there. Thank you buddy. From this moment on, until the
> day I die, beers are on me!
>
>- Hold on to your board. No matter what happens. Your board is your life!
>
>- Check your equipment. I had about $1000 worth of rig, $1300 board, yet a
$20
> part may have failed of which we think a pin (probably a couple of dollars
> worth) almost kill me!
>
>- Have a safety/rescue kit. Extra toe line, strobe light, flares, whistle,
> something! They may come in handy
>
>Unbelievably, my sail washed out to shore the next day! The luff sleeve is
a bit
>torn, but repairable. The rest of it looks in perfect condition!
>
>Two days later I got up on a helicopter looking for my board, which
apparently
>was left on the water by the "unknown" sailor who took it. We combed the
>entire South Bay looking for it. Nothing! Oh Well, the ride was fun. Time to
>get another one.
>
>I'm doing ok, my whole body is still very sore, and occasionally I get
>cramps in my upper back and thighs. My legs at the back of my knees are
>bruised badly from kicking for so long in a wetsuit. My calves are shred to
>pieces from all the cramps, I'm sure. I have problems standing up in the
>mornings. I believe I have pulled/torn a few muscles, but I will be ok. My
>mind seems to drift into intense thought, flashbacks, pictures come and go
and
>can't seem to stop it. I figured I needed to write all this up hoping I will
>put it to rest. I believe I'm having some post-survival mental shock, or
>whatever the medical terminology is.
>
>I'll be back on the water soon. I think I'll stick to waves though. They
>are much safer...
>
>
>
> -- Carlos --
>
>



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