Riptide

I travel to Puerta Vallarta later this month. One of the most important things I want to do is to spend a day sailing. I didn't get to do this on my last trip.

Not only do I want to learn more about sailing but I want to learn more about those who sail and how they learn to navigate the water. I'm especially interested in learning more about "riptides".

Here are some characteristics of riptides:

"Riptides occur when two opposing currents meet; it is a natural collision of opposites. These currents create a swirling action that form channels. When a wave recedes, water rushes through that outgoing channel with great power and speed. If you love the ocean, you quickly learn that riptides are to be respected because they can drag even the strongest swimmer out past the breakers in a heartbeat. The natural impulse is to swim as hard as you can back toward the shore. But when you are caught in a riptide this the worse thing you can do. You cannot overpower this natural force. Even competent swimmers drown by trying to fight the force of moving water that is taking them out to sea.

Instead, a riptide demands surrender. If you simply float, taking care only to keep your head above water, the riptide will take you out about fifteen hundred feet or so, and only then can you begin to swim parallel to the shore and find your way back. We are used to being in control of our lives, but a riptide teaches that sometimes it is necessary to "go with the flow." Not knowing where you will end up and feeling helpless in the face of the power of forces that are much stronger than you are terrifying experiences. Surviving a riptide demands trust in your ability to keep your head above the water and trust in the natural force of the event to take you only so far away from shore." (From, "Awakening at Midlife" Kathleen A Brehony)

He or she who has ears to ear...