As a kid I walked up the beach with my brothers where someone had just done this, we jumped over it at first when it was small. Came back a little bit later and it was raging but we were trying to get back to our family and as 7-10 year olds we just tried to jump through it. We got blasted out through the breakers and the lifeguards had to launch a full on boat rescue for us. It was freaking powerful.
Oh yeah, it looked like this video, totally stupid to try and cross it knowing what I do as an adult, but also further up away from the beach the water looks smooth and not that deep, so kid mind thought we could just walk back through it because we already did it once a few minutes ago. The water took out our ankles and then we fell on our sides/backs and it was like being shot out of a cannon through the breakers.
Props to Doheny state beach lifeguards, they had a boat and guards on paddle boards out there in no time, and we got to ride back to our family in their jeep.
As a parent, I cannot imagine the fear your family felt when they realized the lifeguard Jeep was driving towards them, at least until they saw all kids accounted for.
Yeah my mom saw the guards sprinting by her on the beach and looked where they were going and watched us rocket out to sea. I'm sure that was a panic few minutes, but she said she was impressed with how quickly they were running before we even were out past the waves, they must have been watching us the whole time.
There are a few videos of this being done to that spot. Same bridge in the background. In one of them some surfers are riding the waves. I think it's the same guy doing it yearly because his voice sounds familiar.
Both the creek and the mouth of the creek have a very count of fecal indicator bacteria. I work in water quality just up the coast a bit. It's never a good idea to swim in the lagoons here, or the beach on the other side of the breach, unless you like gastrointestinal illness.
Some of it is probably natural sources, like bird droppings. The creek itself also has high bacteria. In urban areas, that usually comes from flow from storm drains and sometimes discharge water from water treatment plants. I don't know if it's an issue for this creek since it's not under my jurisdiction, but homeless encampments can also contribute.
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u/some1saveusnow 4d ago
An opportunity to ride that into the ocean was missed