Lost at Sea

Just saw on the news that 4 people were washed out at Wrights Beach just north of Bodega, 2 saved and in hospital 2 still missing.

Found this on a news link:

One Drowned, One Missing In Sonoma County

Nov. 20 - KGO - One person has drowned, and another is still missing in Sonoma County.

Deputies say four people, all dressed in street clothes, were swept out to sea from Wrights Beach north of Bodega Bay. Two were rescued, but one drowned. The fourth, a teenage girl, is still missing.

We don't know the ages of the other three.

Stay tuned to ABC7 for more details as they become available.

Dang that sucks

I was out there all weekend. Was driving along the Sonoma Coast on Sunday and saw some waves that really came out of no-where.

long period swell.

big waits between sets.

fast powerful waves.

gentle out at sea, potentially bad at the launch.

don't turn your back on it.

don't let your kids play at the edge of it.

I don't know the story, but I could believe it was just pure
ignorance and an underestimation of the danger of the nor
cal ocean that led to this accident.

I know I'm a broken record on this one, but here you have it.

While ab diving on Saturday I was constintantly looking back at the sets. Being on a float I my only concern was where I was in relation to the rocks. Every once in a while a monster wave would approach, seemingly out of nowhere. Looked awesome from my vantage point. I am sure this is the kind that got these people. Lots of water and lots of power from what had previously been nothing.
You cannot drive this point home enough...respect the sea....keep your eyes and ears open.....you are no match for the ocean.

I took the  boat and dropped my friend off to get abs near shore. Got close he jumped, I backed out. When it was time to pick him up I made him come further out because the near shore swell was larger. I watched the surf pounding on cliffs all day and was surprised at how big it was, since the ocean was as calm as it gets. We were a few miles north of Wrights Beach.

Once while windsurfing at the southern jetty of the Columbia River my buddy and I were standing near the jetty and the beach waiting for wind. This old couple waded into the water and the first wave washed in and the current from the receding wave was too much for them. My friend and I had to help them up and get them back up the beach.

People don't  get it, you need to watch the beach for awhile before you do anything in the water.