You get lemons, you make lemonade! Subtropical Storm Alberto did a number on our weekend, rain, high winds, rough seas. So what do you do? Grab the cheap fins and go body surfing. It was awesome, waves were big enough that you could have some fun rides. There was a smoking beach rip that would whip you right down the beach but worth it. Went out yesterday and today, odd though, I was the only one in the water both days as far as I could see?

Wha hahahahaha, all you need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and you re fine.


Rock on.

Did you have someone there to hold your beer while you risked your life? I'm looking forward to the YouTube video.

Jim

"Only one in the water", it's a real puzzler.

When I first got my sailboat, I was puzzled once when 20 or so boats were coming in and I was the only one going out. When the storm hit, it tore my kevlar main and I found out my Atomic Four had just enough power to keep me pointed into the wind and waves, but not enough to get me back into Monroe Harbor. I waited out the storm with the Shedd Aquarium to my left for 45 minutes thinking to myself I found the reason I was the only one heading out. Thankfully, I didn't run out of gas.

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Originally posted by trapper189:
"Only one in the water", it's a real puzzler.

When I first got my sailboat, I was puzzled once when 20 or so boats were coming in and I was the only one going out. When the storm hit, it tore my kevlar main and I found out my Atomic Four had just enough power to keep me pointed into the wind and waves, but not enough to get me back into Monroe Harbor. I waited out the storm with the Shedd Aquarium to my left for 45 minutes thinking to myself I found the reason I was the only one heading out. Thankfully, I didn't run out of gas.

I had a very similar experience just south of yours. Mine was at Burnham.

Gulf shores Alabama isn’t known for large waves, except when there is a tropical storm or a hurricane. We used to body surf the waves whenever there was a storm, main problem is that the waves break close to the beach so after your ride you end up skidding across the sand, so we wore jeans and a sweatshirt. After a while they get pretty torn up. After one trip I was at work (in a pharmacy) and moving slow due to abrasions on my legs and arms, local doctor came in and asked me what my problem was, when I told him the told me that since he was the coroner for the county that if he had to autopsy me after body surfing a storm surge that he would cut me every which way, I said ok, but I would be dead and it wouldn’t bother me.

Yeah..getting in the gulf with double red flag conditions is not very smart. The body count from Gulf Shores to Destin goes really high with a season full of small tropical storms. Rip currents are deadly to even the best of swimmers if they don’t know how to handle a rip current.

If the locals, which know how to handle the gulf rip currents don’t enter the water, that should be your hint.

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Originally posted by smithnsig:.... Rip currents are deadly to even the best of swimmers if they don’t know how to handle a rip current.....

That is the key, knowing how to deal with rip currents and more so, not panicking. Also, knowing how to swim, which would seem obvious.

People don't realize that they can float for a very long time, no rush and sooner for later you will hit the beach. Especially in our area, we don't have those way off shore sandbars that create the "bad" rips, our area is more of a beach rip. But, people still panic and still drown. Plus, rips are very easy to spot, just that most don't know what to look for.

I sense the headline now:

"Florida Man...."

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Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

rips are very easy to spot, just that most don't know what to look for.

Are you just looking for the water that's moving away from shore, or is there more to it?

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Originally posted by radioman:

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

rips are very easy to spot, just that most don't know what to look for.

Are you just looking for the water that's moving away from shore, or is there more to it?

Really a few things depending on the conditions. How the waves are breaking, movement (as you said), and knowing local bottom, reefs, sand bars. Local knowledge.

If you know that there is a sand bar 30 yards off shore, then you will know how long your ride will be if you get stuck in that rip.