[DISCLAIMER: No clients were on this trip so we did things a little differently. No one got hurt during this adventure trip, and overall everyone had a good time. Those are the important things.]
On Sunday, August 31, 2008 a group of seven of us (3 guys; 4 ladies) tried to surf an island (name withheld)in Florida for some Hurricane Gustav waves.
The main surf break in the area when the surf gets this big had over 100 surfers there, so we thought a nearby pass break. The warning sign posted at the boat landing across from the island gave lots of different warnings regarding alligators, sharks, currents, and ended with “No Rescue Possible.” (pic) No joke.
We only had one boat, so part of our group paid another boat to drop them off at the surf break in the pass at Crooked Island about 4 miles away. The plan was for the rest of the group to follow behind in our boat. The motor would not start on our boat, and we didn’t have any way to contact the first group. I called my brother who happened to be in Mexico Beach for the weekend. He agreed to pick up the first group in his boat via the Gulf of Mexico route and take them back to his marina through the pass at Mexico Beach. The first group later drove back to the boat landing to make another attempt at reaching the island.
Being without a boat, we decided to paddle straight across to the island and hike to the surf. Part of the group went right, instead of left, around a swamp and were not able to make it to the surf. They had to backtrack to the car. The three of us that went left (including me) made it across the island and surfed until it got dark. The surf was head high and building fast but it was getting dark. We walked back the beach route and one person hitched a ride to the car and returned for the group.
One of the cars broke down on the dirt road leading back to the group at the beach. Somehow we were able to get a tow truck on a holiday weekend to come help us in the middle of the woods.
Crazy times.
