Two tourists were lost in the ocean in the past two months. The circumstances were unclear but the usual reasons are swimming while drunk, swimming in rough waters and/or panic.
Unfortunately tourists who don't live on a coastal area are often unaware of hazardous conditions. It's just one big wet playground to them.
I like to pride myself on being savvy but that is not always the case.
Below is the view of Santa Cruz from the lookout point.
This closer shot gives a better idea of just how far out from shore the buoys are. Provided the conditions are good, it's a great swim. Some people do it almost every day. Will and I have done it a few times and quite a bit further I would never dream of doing it in choppy or windy conditions. That's just savvy. Right?
This is a good case of learning from my mistakes. It was about 7:20 in the evening. I thought it got dark around 8. Will suggested a quick run out to the buoys and back but he was just kidding. He started off to do the length of the beach and I thought he was just intent on getting a good workout. He has become quite a fast swimmer. He could leave me way behind any time but he slacks off and waits for me a lot of the time because he's a strong believer in the buddy system. I appreciate that. Not that I think either of us could save the other if something went horribly wrong but at least someone could explain why I wasn't showing up for work on Monday.
Off I went, figuring he would catch up in no time. He did but only after reaching his own destination and realizing what I was up to. Buddy to the watery end, he came after me. It was above and beyond of him but I would have hated explaining to his wife how his loyalty plus my stupidity had lured him to Davy Jones locker. I think we both reached the buoy at the same time but he might have beaten me again.
Sure enough, my timing was completely off. I felt like taking a floating breather but he insisted we had to go back immediately. He was right. We didn't get far before it turned pitch black out there and we ended up swimming most of the way back under the rising moon.
That's another common way of dying in the ocean; night swimming, which is usually only associated with drunk swimming. They're almost the same thing.
We made it back alive of course but if I had been watching us roll in from the sand, I would have thought "What a pair of idiots." In the future, I'll stick close to shore around twilight and so should everyone else.
