Yesterday I almost drowned

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I was visiting family in Nag’s Head, North Carolina and going kayaking for a peaceful night on the sound. Supposedly the sound is shallow enough that you can stand up wherever you go, but as it turns out this was incorrect. I was rowing in a very large loop, far far out from the shore and then started paddling back to the pier. Turns out during this time my kayak was unknowingly taking on water. The craft started becoming tipsy from too much weight and eventually I fell in. My lamp floated away with the gentle current.

To my surprise, the water was around 8 feet and over my head. I tried multiple times to push myself back on the kayak, but it had already taken on more water at this point and I couldn’t stay on despite my best efforts. I was using lots of upper body strength for this and I realized I was blowing a lot of energy. As I continued to kick my feet in the water, my water-soaked shoes and socks were making my legs heavy and I decided to lose them. I held onto the flipped-over kayak and starting pushing towards the shore while holding my oar. The oar became a burden to carry with me and eventually I let go of it as well. I was now just holding on to the kayak and kicking my way towards shore, but then I realized the current seemed to be pushing against me and I wasn’t sure if I was making any progress. It was very difficult to have any perspective on distance by looking at the lights on the pier in the distance. I intermittently screamed for help but nobody was around.

I thought about letting go of the kayak as well since I could swim faster, but that was the only thing that could float and I couldn’t be certain if I was even making any progress; if I let go of the kayak I would have nothing else to hold onto. I started to calm down because I thought I could simply cling to the kayak and even if I didn’t make it to shore I would eventually be found. Well, turns out, the kayak was continuing to take on water from an unknown leak and it started sinking deeper into the water. After kicking my legs while pushing a water-heavy kayak for around 30-45 minutes, the physical exertion put a cramp in my right leg. I was stretching my right leg while kicking with my left leg, rowing with one arm, and holding onto the kayak with my other arm. Then my left leg got an even worse cramp and I had to switch legs again. The kayak was slowly getting deeper and water was going into my face.

Eventually, I stood on my tippy-toes and touched down on the ground, then slowly walked on my tippy toes until it was shallow enough that I could stand-up while angling my head towards the sky. I stood there for a few minutes while my legs spasmed in pain from exertion. At this point I was safe and I slowly walked my way back to shore with only myself and the kayak. The kayak had somewhere over 40 gallons of water inside and I couldn’t do anything besides drag it into the sand and then walk back to my aunt’s house.
 
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That was a close call.

Must have been a harrowing experience.

Glad that you survived and lived to tell about it.
 
TK421 said:
Supposedly the sound is shallow enough that you can stand up wherever you go, but as it turns out this was incorrect.
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High tide? Do the tides effect the sound?
 
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Thank God! You’re very fortunate to be alive.

Were you wearing a life jacket?
 
1Lord1Faith said:
High tide? Do the tides effect the sound?
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Nope, though the floor topography shifts gradually with the seasons. It was just bad information. I later looked up a depth chart for the sound and it has a narrow channel running through it that is over 8 feet, and that was the channel I fell into while going against the current.

Just a perfect storm of things going wrong at the wrong place at the wrong time. Everybody else was back at the house playing cards. My aunt was worrying and the others were poking fun at her about me drowning in 4 feet of water. Then I came walking into the house with my story 🙂 🙀
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Thank God you survived!
That sounds terrifying.
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First it was terrifying. Then as the night dragged on it was frustrating because it seemed like such a silly way to die. Then I felt guilty/sad because my family was going to get torn up about it. Maybe it was the exhaustion but I started to feel a little calmer and more relaxed and I wondered how long it would hurt to have my lungs fill up with water before it was over. Then I finally touched-down and could stand up in the water.

My calf muscles are sore today from the spasms. I did a penguin-walk upstairs to go to bed last night.

Otherwise, no serious injuries. I had large servings of eggs, rice, tuna steak, fruit salad, and lemon meringue pie for breakfast 😛 I was starved.
 
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Maybe next time (if there is one) kayak with a buddy and a life vest.
 
OP, thank goodness you’re O.K. You mentioned that this was a night venture. Bull Sharks are night hunters. And they are very, very nasty! Very aggressive. And there’s been a population explosion of this shark in the Outer Banks over the last few years. You are very lucky indeed. That’s all you would have needed is for one of them to show up!
 
TK421 said:
Otherwise, no serious injuries. I had large servings of eggs, rice, tuna steak, fruit salad, and lemon meringue pie for breakfast 😛 I was starved.
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A friend of mine nearly drowned while surfing. He said after the ordeal, he ate heartily.

He said he never knew that food could taste so good. He was so relieved to be alive and enjoying a meal.
 
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Life jacket = wise investment. Preferably, one with a watertight pocket for your phone.
 
Where are the friendly porpoises when you need them, like I’ve read about?
 
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