The tide was going out, due to moon phasing, and the tropical storms off shore. The weather was GORGEOUS. We had our body boards, and we were having great fun. The waves started tossing us together a bit, and by the time we got untangled, we realised we'd gotten pulled out quite a bit. I couldn't touch down, Osaka couldn't touch down, and we both got a bit panicked.
There was a very strong swimmer, a boy, who was floating with us, and when we realised no one on the beach could hear our calls for help, we asked him to swim back and get Pherret. In the mean time we concentrated on breathing, kicking, and trying to stay aboard the boards, moving as strongly as we could toward the shore. It was terrifying, and I hope never to have to repeat the experience, because by the time my feet hit sand I was dizzy and breathing HARD. Over oxygenated, dizzy from the exertion, and flooded with adrenaline.
It seriously, was the hardest I've EVER swam, and while it turned out okay, it was very scary. Osaka and I were both in a panic, and I was stumbling through the surf once I could put my feet down, gasping, asking for my inhalor because I couldn't see straight. We both made it back to shore, Pherret ended up being able to, with the help of a borrowed body board, help pull Osaka back to the shallower water where she could stand.
We sat in the surf, for awhile after that, trying to come down. We both felt embarrassed, because while neither of us are strong swimmers, we are both smarter than that. We got distracted when we got tangled, and ended up drifting too far out, while the tide was pulling out. It was scary, and embarrassing, and we both felt we knew better.
I now know, that when really pushed, I CAN swim much better than I thought I could. I think, I still prefer to play in the shallows.
That said, we had an AWESOME time once we came down from that scare, and I found a completely intact sand dollar, with my toes, in the sand. Afterwards, I went and got my hair cut, since it's been too long and it had gotten shaggy and unkempt.
