Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => SUP General => Topic started by: NateNate on January 11, 2017, 10:50:27 AM
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What's your opinion on surfing in the rain or within 3 days of rain. I know they suggest 3 days after for the bacteria levels to lower but wanted to know your opinion. Sometimes the best swells are right after or even during. So Cal is about to hit with rain for a few days but the surf is too good to pass up. We normally receive only a few inches of rain a year, but this year we're getting a lot more which is great because we need it. I got sick two months ago after rain. I've been a couple times so I guess I'm 1 for 3 on getting sick after rain. I know they don't let the seals train in the water for 3 days due to so many guys getting sick. Just wanted to know your opinion and I plan on still going out tomorrow morning.
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If I had to wait for three days with no rain before surfing I'd get to surf about once every two years :)
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The first rains in the season are the worst, after many rain events most of the crap has already been washed out. At least that's what I always tell myself. It kind of depends on how desperate you are for surf.
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Saw a guy at Cardiff a few weeks ago with a rash on his neck that looked like festive staph infection to me. He was headed to the doc that afternoon, so I spared him the horror stories. It was from surfing a few days earlier in one of the first rains.
I can smell the crap in the water after the rains. I'm keeping a close eye on my skin and in a rare happenstance, I don't have any open cuts. I rinse off after surfing, but no matter what it's a bit of a chance. You're more likely to get an infection from the sand than the water, most bacteria kaack pretty quickly in sea water. The salt concentration is too high. But the brackish stuff washing through the dry rivers gives them quite a bit of time to make it safely into you.
Some bacteria can handle high salt concentrations, most virii are unaffected by salt.
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@NateNate
You're lucky where you live and sup surf, you only get sick from bacteria. For people like me who live in a state whose coastline borders the Gulf of Mexico, we have to be on the lookout for a flesh eating bacteria named, Vibrio Vulnificus. It's deadly especially if there is an open cut anywhere on your body. Contract this and you're in deep trouble very quickly. We always see a few cases from the state of Texas, where I live, every year. The link for it is below.
http://naturalsociety.com/flesh-eating-bacteria-what-you-need-to-know-6348/
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Area 10--In southern California it is dry for many months at a time. Several of the rivers, dry most of the year, are about 30 miles long. Then when it does rain, all the pollution and bacteria washes down the storm drains and rivers into the bays and ocean, all at once. The water looks and smells bad.
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I did it u years ago and got very sick with sometime of hepatitis . There was a story on the news a few months back of a long time surfer that surfed sunset cliffs he went out with a day of the rain got sick and died. so me that is pretty much a no go
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Area 10--In southern California it is dry for many months at a time. Several of the rivers, dry most of the year, are about 30 miles long. Then when it does rain, all the pollution and bacteria washes down the storm drains and rivers into the bays and ocean, all at once. The water looks and smells bad.
Thanks - yes I know - I was just having a bit of fun. But actually even here in the UK sometimes a really bad rainstorm can lead to the local sewage facility being overwhelmed and then we get warnings to avoid sports that involve immersion in the water. It doesn't sound anything like as bad as you get though.
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@ Night Wing - That's scary stuff knowing your at the risk every time you SUP. We worry about Naegleria fowleri in the summer time at the river. Make sure you have no open wounds that's for sure.
Sounds like a few of you guys sit it out and wait. I think I'll do the same w/ the King tides and all. Water hitting all the way up the walls at La Jolla shores.
I wasn't aware someone died from a bacteria at sunset cliffs. Although I'm sure it's really rare, that's pretty scary. Can't surf if your sick or dead so I'll wait it out.
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I'm curious. When did this concern start coming up? When I was surfing in San Diego in the late 70's, early 80's, this wasn't even a topic of discussion. It seems like only in the past decade or two has this been an issue.
Rich
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Pervasive media and universal information--millions of people have died of bacterial infections. It was just as common previously on a per capita basis, but it was unremarked. It's still very common--most "complications" that people die from in hospitals are infection-related. But if you get an infection in an uncommon way and die, then it's a "man bites dog" story, and everyone hears about it.
Communicable diseases, including infections, cause about 20% of the 60 million deaths per year. The majority of deaths (about 80%) are non-communicable diseases like heart failure, cancers, etc. Smoking is the primary cause of death in the world. Yup, smoking. Of course, nobody gets out of this alive, so there's that.
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Pervasive media and universal information--millions of people have died of bacterial infections. It was just as common previously on a per capita basis, but it was unremarked. It's still very common--most "complications" that people die from in hospitals are infection-related. But if you get an infection in an uncommon way and die, then it's a "man bites dog" story, and everyone hears about it.
Communicable diseases, including infections, cause about 20% of the 60 million deaths per year. The majority of deaths (about 80%) are non-communicable diseases like heart failure, cancers, etc. Smoking is the primary cause of death in the world. Yup, smoking. Of course, nobody gets out of this alive, so there's that.
Even with cancer, most actually die from an infection that took over their bodies due to a weakened immune system. Peripheral vascular disease is a condition that lifelong smokers get, were basically the skin cells start to die. Their skin tears easily, and they get sores that won't heal. These sores, quite often bed sores, are subject to staph infections which take over their bodies and causes the body to shut down. This is long before there cancer has run it's course. My wife has been an oncology nurse for almost 20 years and both of my in-laws are doctors, so I hear all about it. It's a constant reminder of how lucky we are. Growing up at the beach, Hepatitis was always the talk when the water got dirty. The hard core surfers would risk it for a swell. Then someone we knew would get very ill, or worse die. Live and learn, or is it learn so you can live.
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Not much they can do about the source for California and the likes...dry river beds with bacteria growing quickly in warm moist soil with dead things in it. I'd avoid breaks near river outlets after rains. I avoid breaks here (most of the time) that are near combined sewer overflows after heavy rains. Same issue A10 is talking about. I got a bad stomach bug after surfing near a CSO after some heavy rains. Best to avoid for a few days.
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Bacterial levels after rain are especially concerning in areas that have combined sewer overflows (https://www.epa.gov/npdes/combined-sewer-overflows-csos). Because these systems use the same plumbing to carry residential and industrial wastewater as they do for surface runoff, when heavy rains push the system past it's treatment capacity, the overflow (a mix of runoff and sewage, industrial waste, etc) gets dumped out into public waterways. Boston Harbor and the Charles River are a prime example of this problem, though remediation work over the past couple decades have cleaned these up quite a bit.
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I'm curious. When did this concern start coming up? When I was surfing in San Diego in the late 70's, early 80's, this wasn't even a topic of discussion. It seems like only in the past decade or two has this been an issue.
Rich
It really began with San Diego's favorite activist Donna Fry. Skip Fry and Hank Warner had a surf shop in Pacific Beach quite a while ago. A lot of local surfers would hang out there, and they noticed that after a rain, many of them got sick with similar symptoms. Donna, Skips wife, convinced the city and county of San Diego to start testing the water, especially after a rain. This was very difficult because San Diego would lose a lot of tourist dollars if the the public knew how bad it's beaches were polluted. Donna, along with the Surfrider Foundation showed up at all the city council meeting, pestered the county supervisors, and demanded something be done. She got her way, and now we have mandatory testing and reporting of the health of the water. Her program became well publicized and is adopted state wide. The findings also led to many changes that protect the beaches from pollution, especially the effects of post rain pollution.
This got her started in politics and she got elected to the city council and later came very close to being elected as the Mayor of San Diego.
http://womensmuseumca.org/hall-of-fame/donna-frye
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Thanks for the info on Donna and her efforts. I had moved away when all that was happening and it certainly explains the heightened awareness whenever I visit and it rains.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Well l wasn't very smart and couldn't hold back. Got out in the water at La Jolla shores about 6:45. High tide was 8:15. You could just see all the shit floating in the water. When I got out around 9:15 the side walk was filled with nasty water from the trash cans and bathrooms. It was pretty disgusting and just praying I don't sick & won't do that again. What really sucks is I just got to rinse w/ the shower water w/ no soap and had to come straight to work. Caught some nice swell but I don't think it's worth the risk & won't be doing it again. Don't let me down immune system.
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I've surfed Lajolla shores a couple of mornings a week for many years. Close to work. I've only had one or two eye or ear infections in a lot of years and sometimes I will surf right as a big rain storm is starting or 24 hours after. Once there has been several rain storms in a season Scripps/ Lajolla Shores is not very polluted (rich people's poop is cleaner you see). You do see trash and garbage in the water after big holiday weekends. Avoid the drain at Avenida De La Playa. Also I carry fresh water and rinse out my ears, eyes, nose and mouth and throat after surfing especially if there has been a recent rain.
Cardiff at the lagoon mouth, Del Mar Dog Beach, Tourmaline, and the breaks just south of the San Diego River outlet as well as any thing within 5 miles of Tijuanna river outlet are the places to avoid after storms.
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Well l wasn't very smart and couldn't hold back. Got out in the water at La Jolla shores about 6:45. High tide was 8:15. You could just see all the shit floating in the water. When I got out around 9:15 the side walk was filled with nasty water from the trash cans and bathrooms. It was pretty disgusting and just praying I don't sick & won't do that again. What really sucks is I just got to rinse w/ the shower water w/ no soap and had to come straight to work. Caught some nice swell but I don't think it's worth the risk & won't be doing it again. Don't let me down immune system.
Yikes! Now I don't recall that being an issue in 1978...
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With the current California weather this won't be a concern for long. Everything is getting well scoured with water flow. Today was astonishing--Maui-style rain here in Canyon Lake. The water level in the lake is up several feet--the palm trees in the park next to the Trout's house where we are staying are like little tropical islands--surrounded by water.
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We have an issue here on the Hudson. Sometimes bacteria or fecal runoff values get high. There's a good organization called Riverkeeper that constantly tests the river. I see their boats pass me by from the to time. They always post any time there's a problem.
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With the current California weather this won't be a concern for long. Everything is getting well scoured with water flow. Today was astonishing--Maui-style rain here in Canyon Lake. The water level in the lake is up several feet--the palm trees in the park next to the Trout's house where we are staying are like little tropical islands--surrounded by water.
I think you might see some of the lower levels on those houses flood. I don't know if you saw my earlier post on a separate thread, but I designed a few homes there in Canyon Lakes. I think only one got built. It was around 2006 or 07. There was something about no bathrooms on the lower levels because of the potential for flooding. Apparently the top of the dam is above the lower finish floor on the lower levels. The code allows you to build rec rooms at that level.
The ocean looks pretty muddy right now. Nothing but brown water in the waves. I'll pass. I'm actually getting a lot of work done ::) This sucks big!
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I think the biggest danger with dirty water is getting it into your sinuses. So I'll surf after or during a rain, if the surf is worth it, but I'll wear nose plugs and ear plugs when I do. Being sure to stay away from runoff areas. No water going inside my body. Then I rinse off carefully, go home and take a thorough bath with tea tree soap.
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Chanting helps.
I'd find all this rain pretty irritating if friends in Hood river didn't keep sending me snow pictures.
(http://beautifulhoodriver.com/images/snow_downtown_hood_river_mg_8044_1.jpg)
(http://eaglenewspapers.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2012/12/28/snow_kiter_for_web_t670.jpg?b3f6a5d7692ccc373d56e40cf708e3fa67d9af9d)
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^ Kite-snowboarding? I didn't even know there was such a thing!
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^ Kite-snowboarding? I didn't even know there was such a thing!
Where have you been? I met a guy years ago who does kite snowboarding tours. They have a spot with a snow covered frozen lake, meadow and slope that's wide open. Got to have the right spot.
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I think they were kiting on snow even before water.
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Several years ago when I lived within walking distance of Doheny, I ventured out a month or more after the last rain, and even after showering off at the park, and then again with a hot shower immediately after I got home....still ended up with some ugly, itchy rash on my legs, arms, and a slight bit on the rest of my body.
GD thing last for what seemed like ever, and the only thing that seemed to relieve it, and eventually made it go away , was showering/scrubbing with AVEENO Oat and Chamomile Body Wash....or maybe it just ran it's course, and the soap didn't do "sheet".
Anyway, now don't do Doho until a month or more after the creek/sewer sand berm is back in place, and there's been adequate time for the poop bobbers or whatever else is in that damn water to be cycled away.
This means "Don't Go!" at Doho.....
(https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/06/27/ap04052609413_wide-2e8c9416f93ec4732f7f24698a6f2d11b45e2a00.jpg?s=400)....because this is what you're surfing in for weeks/months after the fact....(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvJA_7lHYNQbfkjCpfqoDcTN7tM38bM_6JMbkWTUpXTI_L3H-HHA) :o >:(
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Glad i live Maui...
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This is a picture of the Santa Ana River this morning.
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mmmm, chocolate milk.
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Turd Slaloms!
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This is a picture from Huntington Beach pier this afternoon. Based on the current, this stuff probably came from the L.A. and San Gabriel Rivers.
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I wonder how long to wait before going out. Probably not safe for a number of days.
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You can go out....just don't fall ;D