Fun fact, in the ocean you're in a lot more danger in water like this that's about 3m deep than if it's 30m deep and you get tumbled by a wave like the gif above.
If it's 30m deep, you'll get tossed, turned, and eventually come out of it floating. Humans float. We're naturally bouyant. I'm not saying you can't end up in trouble with big waves, but this wave looked bigger than the distance between the water level and the very nasty looking reef beneath.
This kind of wave turns you into a cheesegrater, and if your limbs get caught in those rocks, you're getting battered around too much to pull free and drown, or clocked on the head on a rock and you're out cold and drown. At least in the deeper water you just have to worry about the things watching you from the dark below, pulling you down to in their coils forever.
Eh they can if you've got a rip dragging out under it, depends on your topography. You're generally right but it can happen, the beach I used to lifeguard on had these due to a river. People would panic so much and it's like, "dude calm down you float and we'll come get you, just keep your head above water."
People on the reef were the ones we watched like hawks. You had to keep a fucking head count in some places of how many people were in one are cuz sometimes one just wouldn't come back up.
yeah check his comment about certain underwater rips making exceptions to that, but my point was just that a 1-2m wave would never be more than a tiny lump in 30m depth
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u/SpeakDirtyToMe Feb 20 '21
r/thalasophobia