[Steve Van Doorn]

said, "I almost drowned on a beach on the Big Island. Saved miraculously. I could never swim in any waves at all after that. Had to be flat ocean."

I was 12 years old I think. My dad wanted me to go snorkeling at Zuma beach with a storm coming in. The waves where ten feet which is rare on that beach. We went with a half dozen ex-Seal. We borrowed the weight belt of the biggest guy for me to use. My dad took off 5 pounds calculating how much I had on was 20 pounds with only the top for a neoprene wetsuit.

Off i went into the surf with my twenty pound weight belt and surf that was 10 feet high. You can image how that went.

I drank and sucked in a lot of sea water. No one came to save me. Years later I leaned to scuba dive. face your fears.

[little jeremiah]

I moved away from HI years ago and no way is the Oregon or northern CA ocean water fit for swimming (FREEZING!) or I’d probably be swimming again now.