first time to Goa- a warning about the sea

TAZZ

2006-12-18 21:03:26

HI gracie
it was my first time to goa, i returned on friday.
im glad you enjoyed it as i did
the people the beaches the food the everything about goa was great.
but i do have somthing to say about the sea.
the first four days i spent at reggies shack on candolin beach the food was great the family who own it where really welcoming.
i did go in the sea there every day and it was ok,
on the fourth day we went to morijim beach as we were told it was quiet and no sellers etc etc.
when we got there we had a bit of breaky and i asked the shack holder if the sea was ok to swim in, as waves do come into the beach from different directions and i wanted to make sure it was safe.
anyway a bit later i went for a swim and you can walk out quite a bit untill it gets to your waist or just over.
then it goes shallow again so you can walk a bit further the gets deeper.
so i started to swim and float on your back etc for about ten mins.
then i realised that i was being drawn further out bye the current.
the beach was getting further away so i started to swim back.
but this is where i got in real trouble.
as i swam the current was dragging me back even more, i was swimming for at least ten mins to get back to shore, but it was if i hadnt moved and i was exausted and out of breath and the under current was pulling me down.
i was really panicking and i knew i was in real trouble, my chest was exausted with trying to swim back and my legs were so tired of trying to keep afloat.
i started to shout and wave to anyone who could see me but bye now i was getting pulled under, and swallowed quite a bit of see water.
everything was going through my mind i thought i was going to die my children at home my wife who was on the beach everything i was in a state of panic and there was nothing i could do.
there was a couple in the water and he saw me going under and my arms waving.
he swam out to me and got his arms around me as i was in no condition to keep afloat.
he managed to get me back to were my feet could touch the bottom and helped me get ashore.
i was finding it hard to breath and collapsed on the beach.
i was in such distress and shock it took me a long time to get back on my feet.
i was taken to a shack to rest and get my self right and i just broke down crying.
i was so lucky to be alive,
this guy left his girlfriend and risked is own life to save me.
and i dont even know his name or where he came from.
he saved my life and i will never forget him.
it was only the days after my wife told me she was using the camcorder at the time and thought i was waving at her and i was ok.
anyway it as made me think twice now and i have had many nightmares over the incident.
after a few days i was having breakfast in my hotel when i was told the same thing happend to another person who was at the same hotel.
the same beach not very far from where i was swimming.
six people went out to save him.
the week after i herd of a woman who was saved at the same beach same situation,
please please if you do go there and decide to go for a swim be very very carefull, and if you have children read this again and again then decide if you want them in the water.
the beach is lovely but beware the water.
apart from this incident the holiday was great the food was excelent the people are fantastic
got 671 photos and six cacorder tapes of the holiday
will definetly be back again next year i hope
sorry gracie to put this on your thread but when you said about morijim beach i had to warn people about it.
i hope you understand.
i dont want anyone else to go through what i went through or loose there life because nobody said anything.
i hope the mods read this and make it a sticky at the top for everyone to read.
just need now to find out how to upload photos for you all to see.
also some children at the mango house when i dropped a suitcase full of clothes off some christmass presents and six pencil sharpeners lol yep six
better six than non lol

Kath

2006-12-18 22:45:25

Blimey Tazz you had a very lucky escape there.

Well done to your rescuer.

Kath

Fiona

2006-12-19 03:21:50

That is such a frightening story. I had an incident elsewhere(Barbados actually) where I was caught in an undercurrent and appeared to be swimming backwards. I kept swimming towards the boat and going further and further away. It was really frightening especially as no-one noticed. Well done on your rescuer.

karan.kumar

2006-12-19 03:47:12

Hey
All thumbs up to you man you were lucky and brave enough to say you might go back again. There are people I know who are so afraid of water and hydrophbia kicks in. Hats off to your spirit and the rescuer. You have a strong heart man. As I was reading I thought to myself that you would end up not going to the place ever again. But it was the other way round.
Cheers to a New Life
Karan
OM NAMAH SHIVAY

PhilinGoa

2006-12-19 06:26:26

Truly a cautionary tale. In a way, the "calmer" beaches like Morjim can be MORE dangerous, as you can be lulled into a false sense of security. The bottom line of course is always "don't go out of your depth" but this is easy to forget at a beach like Morjim which appears so benign. It isn't, especially when the tide turns.

TAZZ

2006-12-19 07:24:15

thankyou for your replys
it was my first time, and i had read many reviews on the sea in goa and said to myself that i was not going in the sea.
but you know how it is when you get there and see the beautiful beaches, the waves the nice cool sea and others enjoying themselves, you seem to forget about the stories you have read.
and then you think they were over cautious writing them stories about the tragic deaths which have occured in the past etc. the curents underneath etc etc .
and here am i doing the same thing trying to tell you about my experience and to warn others of the dangers.
i am not trying to say dont go in the sea but be very cautious, like all your replys dont go out of your depth just because the beach is nice dont expect the sea to be the same.
and if you do have children please take them to the sea and watch over them.

mrstella

2006-12-19 08:39:01

Hi

That sounds very scary.

Just a bit of advice for anyone caught in this type of situation.

If you are caught in a current thats taking you out to sea or away from a boat etc do not swim towards the shoreline ie fighting the current as you WONT get back and you will drown unless someone saves you. Even with fins on you can only swim around 1-2 knots which is far slower then anything bit a mild current, without fins you will be under a knot.

What you need to do is to swim following the shoreline ie parellel to it, yes you will go further out to sea but you will not waste as much energy and you will swim out of the current where you will then be able to swim to the shore.

Also remember to stay calm, your body is bouyant in fact its very hard to drown unless you panic and dont control your breathing, providing of course you are not exhausted from swimming against the current for the last few hours. Try it next time you are in the sea/swimming pool just lay on your back and take short shallow breaths you wont sink (women tend to be a lot more bouyant then men so making it easier for them to stay afloat) if you find it easy in the pool it will be a lot easier in the sea due to the salt water making you more bouyant etc.

Regards

Peter

Feelthevibe

2006-12-19 11:05:14

Tazz did you stay at Renton Manor by chance? My friend got into difficulty whilst swimming, he got bad cramp and couldn`t get back in to shore and 6 fellas had to go rescue him, he too was very scared by the incident.

graciebluecat

2006-12-19 11:41:56

oh my god....thank god you got back ok.i would say all the sea in goa is strong, but my kids just went in the shallow end not to far in to swim or anything, but candolim we walked along the beach and all of a sudden the waves came in thick and fast early evening, and went all over us,nearly sucked us in and only walking on the sand. where as if kids go in the shallow morijim aswem and paolem they will be ok, but no no further under any circumstances !!.. :cry:

yummymummy

2006-12-19 15:02:00

Thanks for sharing this with us it brought tears to my eyes, as last april i experienced something similar, but this was at calangute beach, and ive had a few nightmares.
I do enjoy going in the sea, but i NEVER ever venture out past my waist

TAZZ

2006-12-19 15:27:27

yep thats the one feel the vibe neil,
i was at renton mannor and spoke to him over the incident.
we were two lucky guys.
mr stella gave some good advice earlier in the post and hes right in a way
i was trying so hard to get back to shore swimming five yards and being dragged back 15 yards, and the harder i tried just did nothing to get me closer to shore, it just made me out of breath and panic even more.
but reading what mrstella said makes some sense.
but at the time and that moment everything goes out the window and you just try to get back.
thx gracei for your reply didnt mean to start this topic on your page
but i thought it would be better if people new about morijim beach, as three lives were nealy lost in the space of my two weeks there.
as we all know who been to goa the waves look so inviting and fun to jump over, into or just let them hit you.
but the back current after the wave is very strong at all the beaches and at morijim i found out, and to a child it would be lethal.
and alls i can say is when i do return to goa is that go up to your waist and swim at that depth, and do not think that its ok and start to go further as that is when the current gets stronger and you might end up in trouble.
make sure your feet are firmly on the bottom.

Feelthevibe

2006-12-19 15:45:36

Vey lucky indeed by all accounts, he has recovered from it now, good swimmer Neil as well, so it goes to show you can`t be too careful .

yummymummy

2006-12-19 15:50:40

Ive got a story about how dangerous the sea can be,
it was a good few years ago when i was about 14, my mam was on calangute beach, so me and my dad decided to rent a canoe.
We got quite far out and we tipped over. We didnt have life jackets on or anything. I tried climbing back into the canoe whilst my dad held it, but i couldnt.
The waves were thrashing the canoe, so there was no chance either of us were going to get back in the thing.
I felt the current pulling me under, i was crying, thinking i was going to die.
So my dad started waving for help. A couple who were next to my mam came over and said 'i think your husband and daughter are in trouble', which my mam replied, no they're just waving, they're both very stronge swimmers'.
Luckily some lads got on a speed boat came out to rescue us.

The sea is so unpredictable, and it just goes to show that even stronge swimmers can get into trouble.

mrstella

2006-12-19 16:10:52

Yep tazz if you dont know whats happening panic sets in, but if you know before hand you know how to deal with the situation.

Also just a quick note, under currents have been mentioned many times about pulling people down, it wasnt it was the people panicing that was making them sink and not the current, if your far enough out to not be able to touch the floor then then generally theres no under current (only happens close to the shore) for example when you first go into the sea and the wave comes in and goes back out you can really feel it pulling at your ankles/lower leg but once you get out to your waste then you dont feel it as much and so on.

If you dont fight the current and dont panic you wont drown (well not straight away anyway), as tazz said in his post he was quite happy laying on his back etc for over ten mins, yet after ten mins of swimming against the current he was knackered and thats what nearly killed him. Rip currents are very narrow so swimming say 50 yards parallel to the shoreline and he/you would have been out the current and you could make your way back to the shore and a kingfisher.

Sorry if i am banging on a bit, but if it helps one person in this scary scenario then its worth banging on about.

mardon

2006-12-19 17:07:18

Mrstella thanks for the info that is very important reading!

That's an eye opening story. I too nearly died when on holiday in Spain. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. I my case it was huge waves pulling me out. I couldn't swim parallel to the shore. If I'd given I would have died. Know the feeling about collapsing on the shore. I think I fell asleep I was that exhausted!

mrstella

2006-12-19 18:27:48

mardon gets a gold star for being the first person to have problems with under current :wink:

it was the current that was pulling you out and the waves were actually trying to push you towards the beach, but because of the power of both working against each other and you stuck in the middle it causes major problems.

To deal with entries to the sea were there are large waves breaking is to dive just before the wave (larger the wave the deeper you try and dive) this stops the wave from pushing you back towards the beach and also allows the under current to take you out to sea, as i said before the under current loses strength the deeper it gets so dont worry about it taking you off to africa :lol:

you just keep repeating this until you are past the surf.

Obviously though dont do it so you impale your head on the ocean floor and to make sure that when you do it, its safe todo so. ie candolim is fine lots of sand and no rocks to smash your head in on.

Regards

Peter

ve94n

2006-12-20 11:08:59

first time to Goa- a warning about the sea

Good fortune returned you to land, Tazz - and very well done to your rescuers. We were in Goa in Jan 06, and we ventured onto Morjim (amongst others) but the difference is NEITHER of us can swim, so we went in ankle deep ....and no further !! We're returning in Jan 07.

I noticed you stayed at Renton Manor, Tazz - is John still there? He was very helpful on our stay there.

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