Posted By: northsea junkie
I nearly drowned today. Merry Christmas! - 12/24/13 02:24 PM
It was a very, very close call today.
Windgusts over 40 knots and windsurfing in a wrong and strong current.
One time I fell, tried to restart again but, while hooked-in, I was drawn to a breakwater (jettie) which had a standing-pole at the end (for warning boats and swimmers).
Within one second I felt myself completely tied to this pole. Something was pulling me down and I couldn't move again.
With my head underwater and my feet didn't have any ground because the current was pulling my legs horizontal.
So,the clock started ticking at that moment. I started wrestling but nothing seemed to help. After half a minute I realised that I was going to drown and my mind said that this was the solution: let it go.
Then my wife came in my thoughts and I decided to fight the rest of this minute.
I made a swing with my legs around the pole and finally I had ground (stones) beyond my feets. So I tried to push myself up and that didn't succeed either at first.
They say that in a real emergency situation, people can have enormous incredible force. I can prove now that this is true. I managed to push myself only my head above the waves. Where I immediatly had to learn not to breath in when the incoming waves were overflooding my head.
To make a long story short: I made it. Could return with surfboard, had to sacrifice my rigg. And I teared one of my upperleg muscles.
In hindsight:
In wintertime I don´t wear my legknife with windsurfing because there are no swimming lines then. But even if I had one, I don´t think it would have helped me. First it was questionary if I could have reached the knife. Second I had no feeling what was up or down, I was completely disorientated.
This makes me wonder if my legknife, which I wear always on my cat, is really an emergency-aid. It could be ofcourse but I know now that there are circumstances in which it is useless. Beside that, you don't start stabbing your knive close to your body when you are disorientated.
Second, later I found out that my leash line appeared to be the wrong-doer. I think this line (which I always use because I can't swimm anymore) was one of the reasons I was hold down.
I use this line already more than 20 years with windsurfing because of my torn shoulderlabrums and I will not surf without it. Even with catsailing, especially in wintertime, I use such a line.
But it makes me wonder....
The leashline, which I could break off, was fixed to my board via a strap made of a piece of a car-belt. See the picture beneath:
Did I have so much "death-force" or was I helped by the gods with the rip-off ??
Windgusts over 40 knots and windsurfing in a wrong and strong current.
One time I fell, tried to restart again but, while hooked-in, I was drawn to a breakwater (jettie) which had a standing-pole at the end (for warning boats and swimmers).
Within one second I felt myself completely tied to this pole. Something was pulling me down and I couldn't move again.
With my head underwater and my feet didn't have any ground because the current was pulling my legs horizontal.
So,the clock started ticking at that moment. I started wrestling but nothing seemed to help. After half a minute I realised that I was going to drown and my mind said that this was the solution: let it go.
Then my wife came in my thoughts and I decided to fight the rest of this minute.
I made a swing with my legs around the pole and finally I had ground (stones) beyond my feets. So I tried to push myself up and that didn't succeed either at first.
They say that in a real emergency situation, people can have enormous incredible force. I can prove now that this is true. I managed to push myself only my head above the waves. Where I immediatly had to learn not to breath in when the incoming waves were overflooding my head.
To make a long story short: I made it. Could return with surfboard, had to sacrifice my rigg. And I teared one of my upperleg muscles.
In hindsight:
In wintertime I don´t wear my legknife with windsurfing because there are no swimming lines then. But even if I had one, I don´t think it would have helped me. First it was questionary if I could have reached the knife. Second I had no feeling what was up or down, I was completely disorientated.
This makes me wonder if my legknife, which I wear always on my cat, is really an emergency-aid. It could be ofcourse but I know now that there are circumstances in which it is useless. Beside that, you don't start stabbing your knive close to your body when you are disorientated.
Second, later I found out that my leash line appeared to be the wrong-doer. I think this line (which I always use because I can't swimm anymore) was one of the reasons I was hold down.
I use this line already more than 20 years with windsurfing because of my torn shoulderlabrums and I will not surf without it. Even with catsailing, especially in wintertime, I use such a line.
But it makes me wonder....
The leashline, which I could break off, was fixed to my board via a strap made of a piece of a car-belt. See the picture beneath:
Did I have so much "death-force" or was I helped by the gods with the rip-off ??