09-09-2003, 12:38 AM
[cool]I remember the story of your tube surfing excursion at Cabrillo. You were guilty of having more guts than brains. I think you gained a better respect for what the surf can do to you in a tube, that day. Tubes ain't like body boards...or body surfin. There's a lot of flotation to hold you up where you can get hammered...until you get rolled over. And, the surf WILL give you a good tumble.
As bad as it was to lose some tackle, we all know it could have been worse. Let's be glad it wasn't. As I recall, you got some full waders too. A life vest could have saved you if you were separated from the tube and had full waders...by at least helping to keep your head above water until you got to shore or ditched the waders.
Accidents, by definition, are something we do not plan for. And that is the whole purpose of having a flotation vest. As we have pointed out for other items of gear on this forum...IT IS BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT.
It surprises me to hear of the casual inspection of the patrol boats on those vests. I had heard that they were pretty strict. Maybe some more than others, and some waters more than others. Now, if you hook up a big 4 cycle motor on the stern of your tube, be prepared to be the focus of a lot of attention...from everybody.
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As bad as it was to lose some tackle, we all know it could have been worse. Let's be glad it wasn't. As I recall, you got some full waders too. A life vest could have saved you if you were separated from the tube and had full waders...by at least helping to keep your head above water until you got to shore or ditched the waders.
Accidents, by definition, are something we do not plan for. And that is the whole purpose of having a flotation vest. As we have pointed out for other items of gear on this forum...IT IS BETTER TO HAVE IT AND NOT NEED IT, THAN TO NEED IT AND NOT HAVE IT.
It surprises me to hear of the casual inspection of the patrol boats on those vests. I had heard that they were pretty strict. Maybe some more than others, and some waters more than others. Now, if you hook up a big 4 cycle motor on the stern of your tube, be prepared to be the focus of a lot of attention...from everybody.
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