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Man against Mother Nature - - - too often man looses. Surfers, especially in that geography wear wetsuits which give some buoyancy, but not like a life jacket

Man against Mother Nature - - - too often man looses. Surfers, especially in that geography wear wetsuits which give some buoyancy, but not like a life jacket does, and I don't know any surfers who wear life jackets. I was a WSI, a life guard trainer back in college, still swim 5,200 yds a week which really is nothing compared to swim team, and I scuba dive down to the bottoms of our nearby lakes to set submersible pumps for a living (diving 41 years), my dive gear has a BC vest that can act as a life jacket (if) it is not damaged and (if) my regulator is functioning and (if) I have still have air in my tank and (if) I have not blacked out by like a boat hitting me, too many ifs, but I absolutely will not venture out onto surface of bodies of water on watercraft without wearing a life jacket for a whole host of reasons (surfboards are some sort of watercraft). I assume they were more or less "drowned" in the foam, unable to breathe, suffocated. The most professional solution for fighting most fires is foam which puts out fires by sort of drowning them too.

codezero 6y ago
I’ve been in foam that was similar to this (at least by description) and no pfd will have buoyancy that will float you out of it. It’s also less turbulent than the water, so if it were swimmable they would have done it. I expect they were in the surface of the water and engulfed in foam too dense to swim up through and disorienting enough that they couldn’t just head for shore in.
antoncohen 6y ago
Surfers can't use traditional life jackets. Partly because of the bulkiness. But also because surfers typically need to be able to go under the water. The surface of the water when a wave breaks is very turbulent and powerful, and the white water is similar to the foam in this story -- too much air to float, too much water to breath. Surfers duck dive (or bail their boards) to get under the white water. The same is true in a big barrels. If a surfer knows they won't make it, they will pin drop and try to get as deep into the water as possible. If they fall and stay on the surface of the water in a big barrel they will probably be swept over the falls and be driven down with crazy force. The buoyancy of a traditional life jackets wouldn't be good for surfers. What big wave surfers use is inflatable vests with CO2 cartridges[1][2]. They pull a tab to inflate, and another one to deflate. They have multiple CO2 cartridges, sometimes surfers will have to inflate to get to the surface, take a breath, deflate and dive back under water for the next wave, then inflate again, until a jet ski can rescue them. But inflatable vests aren't a thing normal surfers need, they are only for big waves in deep water (Mavericks, Jaws, etc.). There are also impact vests and wetsuits[3][4] that provide a more passive form of flotation, enough to raise an unconscious surfer to the surface. These are used in big waves, including ones in shallow water (Teahupoo, Pipeline). [1] https://www.quiksilver.com/highline-pro-airlift-vest/ https://www.quiksilver.com/highline-pro-airlift-vest/ [2] https://www.patagonia.com/psi-vest-purchasing/ https://www.patagonia.com/psi-vest-purchasing/ [3] https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-yulex-impact-wetsuit-vest/88472.html https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-yulex-impact-wetsuit-... [4] https://buellsurf.com/collections/job-collection/products/rb1-2mm-l-s-float-springsuit-mens-job-camo https://buellsurf.com/collections/job-collection/products/rb...

codezero 6y ago

I’ve been in foam that was similar to this (at least by description) and no pfd will have buoyancy that will float you out of it. It’s also less turbulent than the water, so if it were swimmable they would have done it. I expect they were in the surface of the water and engulfed in foam too dense to swim up through and disorienting enough that they couldn’t just head for shore in.

antoncohen 6y ago

Surfers can't use traditional life jackets. Partly because of the bulkiness. But also because surfers typically need to be able to go under the water. The surface of the water when a wave breaks is very turbulent and powerful, and the white water is similar to the foam in this story -- too much air to float, too much water to breath. Surfers duck dive (or bail their boards) to get under the white water. The same is true in a big barrels. If a surfer knows they won't make it, they will pin drop and try to get as deep into the water as possible. If they fall and stay on the surface of the water in a big barrel they will probably be swept over the falls and be driven down with crazy force. The buoyancy of a traditional life jackets wouldn't be good for surfers. What big wave surfers use is inflatable vests with CO2 cartridges[1][2]. They pull a tab to inflate, and another one to deflate. They have multiple CO2 cartridges, sometimes surfers will have to inflate to get to the surface, take a breath, deflate and dive back under water for the next wave, then inflate again, until a jet ski can rescue them. But inflatable vests aren't a thing normal surfers need, they are only for big waves in deep water (Mavericks, Jaws, etc.). There are also impact vests and wetsuits[3][4] that provide a more passive form of flotation, enough to raise an unconscious surfer to the surface. These are used in big waves, including ones in shallow water (Teahupoo, Pipeline). [1] https://www.quiksilver.com/highline-pro-airlift-vest/ https://www.quiksilver.com/highline-pro-airlift-vest/ [2] https://www.patagonia.com/psi-vest-purchasing/ https://www.patagonia.com/psi-vest-purchasing/ [3] https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-yulex-impact-wetsuit-vest/88472.html https://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-yulex-impact-wetsuit-... [4] https://buellsurf.com/collections/job-collection/products/rb1-2mm-l-s-float-springsuit-mens-job-camo https://buellsurf.com/collections/job-collection/products/rb...