The swash and backwash are two dangerous forces that people tend to downplay while enjoying a day at the beach.
Sometimes, you've got to experience it in person to understand and witness the power of the ocean (and Nature) in the smallest of things.
It was just another gorgeous, windless September afternoon at the beach.
Everything seemed perfect, except for the extremely high tide, which was preventing me from paddling out, courtesy of the new moon.
The glorious 14-second groundswell was beautiful to watch.
Trains of waves were arriving, full of energy, and unleashing their power on the inclined and steep shorebreak.
We're talking about glassy, six-to-ten-foot faces detonating on the sloped sands and raising the breaking wave another five feet of whitewater up in the air.
Nature was putting on a show for me, as I stood just on my beach towel a couple of meters up the high tide line.
When I arrived, you were allowed to dip in the water, but soon the lifeguard made the right call and raised the red flag.
There was no doubt you shouldn't enter that stretch of Atlantic Ocean water in these conditions.
Even the most experienced waterperson could easily get in trouble.
It was heavy out here, and most people recognized that and stayed in the safe zone.
However, there are always those who think they have special powers to dodge tragedy and Darwinism's natural selection. We'll get to them soon.
Dipping my feet
Meanwhile, it was getting hot. My watch showed 4:30 pm.
I knew I couldn't dip. I've been writing about surf rescue and lifeguards, and water safety, and beach warnings for my whole life, and I respected those who risk their lives to save struggling, ignorant beachgoers.
I would never defy the lifeguard's red flag.
But I thought about just getting to the high tide line and feeling the freshness of the late summer Atlantic on my feet.
And so I did.
I was there for 30 minutes. At some point, I would get down on my knees and throw myself some water using my hands as a large cup.
I got more sand onto my body than actual water, but that's fine - I was in my element.
Simultaneously, I meant to show the lifeguard just 50 yards from me that I was staying far from the surf and the shorebreak.
Then, my instinctive attraction to waves got me to halfway between the high tide line and the roaring, exploding surf.
Caught off-guard: it only takes a couple of seconds
The first thing I noticed was that the backwash was brutally strong.
To avoid getting knocked down by the incoming whitewater, I would jump when the backwash was about to hit my feet.
That technique allowed me to avoid the initial impact of the fast-moving water. However, I soon realized the remaining water could easily sweep me off my feet, causing me to lose balance.
Luckily, I did not strike the sand hard, as many do in YouTube videos. But the first lesson was learned. I just barely stood up on my feet.
The problem arrived seconds later.
I had survived the forward momentum of a breaking wave, but I was not prepared for the second part of this natural phenomenon.
After the swash, there's usually the backwash.
In other words, what comes up must come down, and the water that surged up and onto the beach was suddenly pulling down and out toward the sea.
I knew the phenomenon, but I wasn't prepared for its force.
As gravity pulled heavy water down the slope, I struggled to stay balanced, and for a second and a half, it swept me off my feet.
I fought the downward current with everything I had, and it was incredibly and surprisingly hard, even for someone fit and comfortable in high surf like me.
I put into practice a technique I learned when I was a kid - to walk against the flow while lifting your legs alternately out of the water.
So, rather than trying to push through the backwash with both feet planted, take short, deliberate steps and keep one foot firmly on the sand at a time.
The goal is to reduce the drag from the moving water and give you a more stable base as you move toward the beach.
It worked well until I realized it was too strong and it was taking me down.
After the swash comes the backwash
And for the first time, I felt helpless against Nature's will. The good news is that I was able to recover and quickly run up the beach.
Otherwise, I would have been dragged.
Interestingly, just half an hour later, a couple in their 60s fell to the hands of the backwash and required help from a... pregnant lady to get back on their feet again.
Surreal, right? But this is not over.
The pregnant lady and her partner were later taking the same risks with their toddler by the shore break.
The situation was getting me anxious and stressed. If they weren't holding their daughter's hands tightly, the incoming swash could easily drag her down the slope.
Every year, people defy my country's Atlantic Ocean shores during high surf warnings and lose their lives.
We never learn. Until we cannot learn anymore.
Be safe at the beach. Respect the beach flags and warning signs. Talk to your local lifeguard. Take some time to read the ocean.
Even experienced waterpeople sometimes find themselves in potentially serious situations. No, it doesn't only happen to everyone else. We can also be part of the statistics.
And surfers are not immune to the ocean's raw and unpredictable forces.
Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com
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