Catch a Wave

Chris Nel (shown at right) and Tom Gogola are but two of among a handful of survivors who used their surfboards to survive the tsunami that devastated the Samoan Islands last week. Their story seems extrordinary and is even more so when one considers that rather than seeking perceived safety by rushing back towards land, Nel and Gogola likely survived because they paddled farther out to sea. Not on the surface it seems a bit backwards to go paddling out farther to see considering that's where the wave was coming from but the rationale to the surfers was that the wave would crest and crash on land rather than at sea so they would be much safer out there. To think of it a different way, if you've ever been to the beach you'll recall that waves will crest closer to land while if you swim farther out to sea you'll find yourself simply going up and down as the wave passes by. Nel and Gogola spent a few hours on the water before paddling towards shore once it was clear that the surge had ended. Reports indicated that those who attempted to paddle ashore ended up being thrown into the jungle as the massive 20 foot wave hit land.

But staying away from shore during a storm is also the reason why Navy vessels will often put to sea rather than staying tied up to the dock during a major storm or hurricane. Now most people around have probably never been at the beach when a major storm hits and so we don't often realize that it's rougher closer in to shore than it is farther out to sea. For most of us, our vision of what a storm at sea is like comes from films like "The Perfect Storm" or "The Poseidon Adventure". And while those depictions of ocean conditions is relatively correct, imagine what it would be like in similar water closer to the shore. That is how the docks and beaches are and that's why it was a good prescence of mind that sent Nel and Gogola farther out to sea to wait out the inevitable surge on shore.

Their descriptions of what happened last Wednesday morning is one of the first accounts that I have read of someone actually being there and seeing the tsunami hit. Nel, Gogola and the other surfers were out early that day to catch some of the morning's waves when they realized that something odd was happening. Nel felt the tremor while he was on the water. Being from New Zealand the sensation of actually feeling an underwater earthquake was not a new one but then within a short time they realized that something had gone terribly wrong. The water 'turned glassy' which means that it became eeriely calm due to the fact that it was no longer churning back and forth in a normal manner. They also noted that the current increased after a few minutes pulling them faster out to sea.

Looking back towards shore they saw that the water on the reef-bed had dried up and cleared up as the water got pulled farther away from shore as the incoming wave built itself up more and more. A short time later they began to see water spurts as the water hit shore and then quickly moved farther inland. Once they realized that the waves had passed they attempted to come closer to shore and get back on land. While making their way they were passed by trees that had been uprooted from land and were carried out to sea. After 45 minutes of continued effort they finally managed to get ashore where they found that the camp that they were staying at on the beach had been completely destroyed and save for a few clothes they had lost everything. Using tools such as Facebook and e-mail they managed to get in touch with their family and let them know that they were all right but they certainly came away with a unique experience in surviving a terrible catastrophe.