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September 23, 2004 -
Surf not so good - but - The Emergency Rooms Were Busy -

Happy B-Day Eric!


It's pretty amazing that more people are not injured in the shorebreak between Greg Brady Reef [Wipeout Beach] and Lobster Lounge [The Rock] than they are, or even more amazing is that there are not more rescues in that stretch of beach.

The Shores was decent on Saturday, the 18th, so I didn't surf Wind**Sea until Sunday afternoon, the 19th.

In a span of about an hour, Dale and I rescued about 10 people from the rip at Wind**Sea. I think that the lifeguards at Wind**Sea depend on the surfers between The Rock and Little Point to help them drag swimmers out of the rips.

There is no way in hell that a couple of lifeguards, on that stretch of beach, could ever perform all of the rescues necessary.

Anyway, I hope last weekend's rescues added a few points into my Karma Bank.

This is last weekend's body count:

By Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Lifeguards warn against 'body whomping'

Three beach-goers suffer spinal injuries

September 22, 2004

"Three beach-goers lured into heavy surf by 70-degree-plus water temperatures suffered spinal injuries over the weekend in La Jolla, prompting San Diego lifeguards to caution against "body whomping" in shallow water.

"Folks need to exercise caution," said lifeguard Sgt. Dave Rains. "Nature can be unforgiving." At least once every summer someone turns up in the surf with a broken neck, Rains said, but three spinal injuries in one weekend is unusual.

Injuries can occur when waders entering the ocean misjudge the depth and dive head-first. Accidents also happen when inexperienced bodysurfers are thrown by a wave head-first into the sand.

And then there's "body whomping," a crude form of bodysurfing in which a wader standing in shallow water leaps forward to catch the shore break, a wave that breaks at the water's edge.

"When the surf is up, there's a lot of experienced people in the water who make it look easy," Rains said. "The solid 3-to 4-foot surf in the last couple of days has compounded the shore break, which, along the steep beaches in La Jolla area, breaks top-to-bottom."

On Saturday, a 21-year-old man who was pummeled by a wave in the shore break at Windansea Beach told lifeguards he heard a pop in his neck when he hit the bottom. The man, who was bleeding from his forehead, was taken to a local hospital.

On Sunday, a 65-year-old man also was hospitalized after suffering a similar neck injury at Windansea while wading in shallow water. The man was able to walk ashore but complained of pain in his neck and tingling in his arm.

Also Sunday, lifeguards saw a 16-year-old boy lying face down and limp in the water at Wipeout Beach south of Children's Pool. Lifeguards reached him before he inhaled any water. The teen was taken to a hospital, where X-rays confirmed he had broken his neck."

BA

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