Another Snorkeling Adventure

Yesterday, I was adventurous.

Saturday morning Pascal, Samantha, and I went on another grand snorkeling adventure with the 3R's program (see a previous blog entry for full details).  This was my third time, Sam's second time, and Pascal's first time to participate.  I'm now getting to the point where I recognize many of the other participants, and the president of the San Diego Council of Divers asks me every time, "We haven't scared you off yet?"  to which I always reply, "Nope, not yet!"  

Looking scared?  Not us!

The first and second timer

Ready to take on the ocean!

Samantha and I were partners; Pascal was paired with a random guy, who ended up being a rather useless partner.  

We entered the water at Hospital Point, which is a rocky reef bed, so entering the water involved a very graceful period of dragging ourselves along the rock covered ground being hit by tiny waves in the face.  After that oh-so-dignified entry, we swam into the rip current (which felt a lot like just swimming really hard through the surf) to get past the breaking waves.  After a quick check (and by quick I mean much too fast to get a chance to catch our breath) to make sure we were "all clear", we then swam north past the rip current and swam between the breaking waves and the rip current to get back to shore.  It was harder than it sounded!  For most of the time it felt like I was making no progress except for making my legs and lungs really tired, and then all of a sudden a wave would come and I would jump forward about 10 feet.  The whole crew finally made it to shore through an equally dignified combination of rolling, tumbling, and dragging ourselves across the rocks.  No wonder my wetsuit is starting to develop some wear and tear!  That was the first bout of snorkeling. 

The second round began, again in a rip tide.  This time, on the way out, while diving underneath a wave to avoid being tossed around, I came up expecting to take a gulp of air and instead took a nice big gulp of sea water.  It was not as delightful as it sounds.  Pascal told me, "Well at least ocean water is nice and clean!"  Ha!  Once we swam past the breaking waves, we had to continue swimming until we reached the kelp beds (which seemed much closer when we were on shore than when we were actually in the water).  Sam and I have figured out that following close by the lifeguard is the best tactic because 1) if we get in trouble, we'll be saved first, and 2) we can take breaks while waiting for the others to catch up.  So, after a brief break, we swam back to the edge of the rip current and the breaking waves and, after the usual wave pounding, made it back to the shore.  At this point we were all a bit beaten and out of breath.  


Then, instead of being done, there was a third optional section where we would take a "leisurely" snorkeling swim to "Wipe-Out Beach".  


Sam looked at me and said, "I can take it or leave it."  
I said, "Let's go!"
Sam said, "Okay!"


And we did.  (Pascal, see how I didn't mention how even though you can run marathons, you didn't do the third part because of a leg cramp?  Wasn't that nice of me?)  


Samantha and I quickly realized that though we were promised a leisurely snorkel, we had been lied to.  I don't know why we believed them.  Our entrance into the water demonstrated that.  Instead of having sand to walk on part way into the water, we entered the water directly on the reef.  This meant that the waves were already breaking on rocks (not sand) and that it was a true human vs. ocean experience to get past them to reach the "leisurely" snorkeling.  At one point, Sam was a ways ahead, I was moving through the water and realized that the wave in front of me was quickly turning into a giant wave, and there was no where for me to dive under it (like we had been taught to do).  That was the first time I felt like a wave really would pick me up and send me flying in whatever direction in wanted.  Luckily, I just swallowed a mouthful of water and was still pointing in the correct direction when I came up for air.  Then, the second wave hit, and the same thing happened.  After what seemed like an eternity of kicking and not moving much, I finally made it past the breaking waves into the calmer water.  Another realization of this experience was that I discovered why they have you pick a partner/ buddy and only ONE partner/ buddy since it is difficult to keep track of yourself in the water, let alone one other person.  


The swim toward "Wipe-Out Beach" in reality was not bad.  I was actually able to put on my mask and snorkel and look under water for the first time!  I saw a lot of eel grass, a few Garibaldi, and some other small fish.  Sam paid attention to instructions above water and so I just followed where she went. 


As we moved toward the beach, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of breaking waves.  And then.... 

We found out that "Wipe-Out Beach" is not an over exaggeration.  While the beach is sandy and looks like a nice place to exit the water, it is impossible to see that the shore drops off at a steep slope creating ideal conditions for really powerful and really large waves.  This meant that even though we were trying to ride waves in, the receding water kept us trapped in the break-zone.  One of the lifeguards stood there yelling, "Move, move, move!  Get out, get out, get out!" while I lay in the water at his feet trying to both move and get out, rather unsuccessfully.  It was at this point that I looked at him and said, "I don't think you know the meaning of the word 'leisurely'.  To which he just laughed!  (If I were in his position, I would have too!)


I finally managed to get close enough to the shore to push myself backwards with my hands and butt, and crab-walked myself up the shore with flippers on. I didn't feel quite so ungraceful as I watched the water picking up and spitting out several of our fellow snorkelers.  


And then, covered in salty water, sand, and with liberal amounts of snot running down our noses, we were done.  


Another 3R's conquered, or (at the very least) survived.  

Survivors!