by Robin Williams
Early morning in March. Water temperature 58 degrees. Year, 1959? (Help me here)
Sky grey and cloud cover over the entire sky.
Art Fizette was head of the Lifeguard department? (Help me here)
We all hit the water and started swimming from Main Beach to Coast Inn Beach.
Boys begin dropping out and swimming to shore at St. Ann's. Then more at Oak Street.
I remember seeing a great surfer having fun all by himself at Oak Street. (Later he opened the Chart House. Can't think of his name at this moment.) Waves were big and tide was fairly high giving the swells ample size.
I am not doing too bad so far. But, I noticed that I am a slow swimmer because my legs don't have enough flesh to paddle me. My legs are very skinny. My arms are hauling me through the water. My arms are skinny too but both together allow me to swim the test.
Oh oh, real rough water ahead at Cress Street. I grew up on that beach with Jerry Johnson and Jim Boka. (Both are Laguna Beach Firemen -- retired) I know the suction of the rocks. When I pushed through the Brooks Street waves, I analyzed the Cress Street rocks before entering the roiling white water. I think about swimming around the Cress Street rock, but when I feel the power leaving my shoulders, I think again. All I can do is swim right through the rocks to the other side. Now, the cold water is taking its toll. My shoulders and arms have not enough power to help me get through the worst part of the suction. It will only be just a few feet but I can tell that I won't make it if there is the slightest bit of current or suction. I know without a doubt there will be a tremendous amount of water moving toward the sea. It will pull me with it and it is likely to pull me under water too. It was very big surf conditions and the Cress Street beach was all white water. One more analyzing moment and I knew I was foolish to try to keep going. I can't make it around the big rock and I sure won't be able to recover if I am pulled by the current further out to sea. I might stand the possibility of disappearing under water. I must take action while I still have strength enough to stay on the surface until help arrives. So, my arm goes up and John is launched on a surfboard and is arriving to haul me aboard within 15 seconds. That's it. That's the end of my life guarding career. I am finished.
My home is at the top of the cliff on the highway and I simply went home and laid down on my wooden porch (It is a very old historic Laguna house.) Used to be a restaurant in the 1930s called the TRAP DOOR. I laid down in the sun and shook for two hours. When I was rested up and strong enough to walk, I went straight to work on building my own business called COAST DELIVERY--PHONE-A-MEAL. Then the CITY of LAGUNA BEACH appointed me to be the Winter Emergency Life Guard since I was mobile all over the city and available to rescue people at a moment's notice. That was when I rescued those two fellows off of Boat Canyon who were fishing from a canoe. Even though it was a glassy day they should realize that canoes tip over in the ocean with the slightest disturbance in the water. They tipped themselves over and screamed for help. I was called and told they were far out to sea. I drove to Jim Boka's house and grabbed his surfboard out of his garage, drove on to Fisherman's Cove and hit the water and paddled out to the canoe which was sticking straight up out of the water. When I arrived one of the fellows sank. I was able to reach down and grab his hair and bring him to the surface to enjoy a long life. At that moment the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol arrived and got the boys out of the water and they offered to take me to the beach which I thought was darn nice of them.
I would have had to go through a lot of gymnastics to get that canoe out of the water and back in business. But, I welcomed the challenge. I could have draped the two boys over my surfboard while I tried to get it up and over and back down into the water right-side-up. I could have used my surf board to slide it up and tip it over to drain out the water and then back down. But, how would I have loaded the boys back into the canoe without it tipping over again and again? Boy, I guess I need to practice this maneuver. It is all a mystery. It might even be impossible. Thank goodness for the Harbor Patrol!!!
Sky grey and cloud cover over the entire sky.
Art Fizette was head of the Lifeguard department? (Help me here)
We all hit the water and started swimming from Main Beach to Coast Inn Beach.
Boys begin dropping out and swimming to shore at St. Ann's. Then more at Oak Street.
I remember seeing a great surfer having fun all by himself at Oak Street. (Later he opened the Chart House. Can't think of his name at this moment.) Waves were big and tide was fairly high giving the swells ample size.
I am not doing too bad so far. But, I noticed that I am a slow swimmer because my legs don't have enough flesh to paddle me. My legs are very skinny. My arms are hauling me through the water. My arms are skinny too but both together allow me to swim the test.
Oh oh, real rough water ahead at Cress Street. I grew up on that beach with Jerry Johnson and Jim Boka. (Both are Laguna Beach Firemen -- retired) I know the suction of the rocks. When I pushed through the Brooks Street waves, I analyzed the Cress Street rocks before entering the roiling white water. I think about swimming around the Cress Street rock, but when I feel the power leaving my shoulders, I think again. All I can do is swim right through the rocks to the other side. Now, the cold water is taking its toll. My shoulders and arms have not enough power to help me get through the worst part of the suction. It will only be just a few feet but I can tell that I won't make it if there is the slightest bit of current or suction. I know without a doubt there will be a tremendous amount of water moving toward the sea. It will pull me with it and it is likely to pull me under water too. It was very big surf conditions and the Cress Street beach was all white water. One more analyzing moment and I knew I was foolish to try to keep going. I can't make it around the big rock and I sure won't be able to recover if I am pulled by the current further out to sea. I might stand the possibility of disappearing under water. I must take action while I still have strength enough to stay on the surface until help arrives. So, my arm goes up and John is launched on a surfboard and is arriving to haul me aboard within 15 seconds. That's it. That's the end of my life guarding career. I am finished.
My home is at the top of the cliff on the highway and I simply went home and laid down on my wooden porch (It is a very old historic Laguna house.) Used to be a restaurant in the 1930s called the TRAP DOOR. I laid down in the sun and shook for two hours. When I was rested up and strong enough to walk, I went straight to work on building my own business called COAST DELIVERY--PHONE-A-MEAL. Then the CITY of LAGUNA BEACH appointed me to be the Winter Emergency Life Guard since I was mobile all over the city and available to rescue people at a moment's notice. That was when I rescued those two fellows off of Boat Canyon who were fishing from a canoe. Even though it was a glassy day they should realize that canoes tip over in the ocean with the slightest disturbance in the water. They tipped themselves over and screamed for help. I was called and told they were far out to sea. I drove to Jim Boka's house and grabbed his surfboard out of his garage, drove on to Fisherman's Cove and hit the water and paddled out to the canoe which was sticking straight up out of the water. When I arrived one of the fellows sank. I was able to reach down and grab his hair and bring him to the surface to enjoy a long life. At that moment the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol arrived and got the boys out of the water and they offered to take me to the beach which I thought was darn nice of them.
I would have had to go through a lot of gymnastics to get that canoe out of the water and back in business. But, I welcomed the challenge. I could have draped the two boys over my surfboard while I tried to get it up and over and back down into the water right-side-up. I could have used my surf board to slide it up and tip it over to drain out the water and then back down. But, how would I have loaded the boys back into the canoe without it tipping over again and again? Boy, I guess I need to practice this maneuver. It is all a mystery. It might even be impossible. Thank goodness for the Harbor Patrol!!!
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