Want to try the Sport of Kings? Scottish hero says, "Don't!"
Surfing has a new mascot and his name is Rip Current Rory! The young hero from Scotland who was caught in a rip current and pulled all the way to Ireland is back in the news today with advice for any person thinking about trying out the Sport of Kings this summer.
Don’t!
He returned to Campbeltown, Scotland today, where his horror began, in order to retrieve his surfboard and thank the Coast Guard team that saved his life but he also shared his pointers for the best way to “enjoy” the surf. Shall we read?
Please, see my story not as a horror, but one that could learned from.
Despite having the correct equipment – a 5mm thickness wetsuit, with a 2mm thickness torso vest, along with gloves, hood and boots – there were other things I could have done to prevent this escalating to the point it did:
A) Do not go surfing alone. It was unnecessary risk. If I had been surfing with another person, or ideally a group, the coastguard would have been notified much earlier that I was in trouble.
B) Have an agreed time when you will be out of the water and that you will contact either a family or friend who is on dry land. This is a useful measure as it helps in case something is happening to your group.
C) Make sure the person you’re contacting knows where you are going surfing and expect to be back on dry land. If you want to go back in afterwards just message them saying so.
D) Purchase a personal GPS tracker. Although they can be pricey at first glance, when you consider the price of both a board and wetsuit, it isn’t that much more. And it’s worth it if you imagine two hours in the water before being rescued as opposed to two days. I know what I would choose. I would suggest this for non-surfers doing other water sports as well.
So a 7/5 wetsuit, gloves, hood, booties, GPS tracker, crew in the water, crew on the beach/at home. And that sounds like the worst time ever!
Between fear of shark attack, menstruation and Rip Current Rory’s advice I think zero new people will start surfing for the rest of the year and a few will even quit.
Victory!