Just remembered a funny story from when I was a kid. Even funnier now that I'm a Coastie that works search and rescue.
When I was younger my dad would take the family to Myrtle Beach, SC for about a week every summer. He loved fishing but could never catch anything being elbow to elbow with everyone on the pier. He figured if he could just get 100yds or so past the end of the pier he could really catch something worth talking about. So being that he didn't have the funds to by a real boat, he did the next best thing. He bought one of those $20 two man inflatable rafts from the tourist shop, loads his 9yr old kid with no PFD, and starts paddling out to sea. Keep in mind we have sharp hooks, knives, etc. in this thing between are legs. Surprisingly we had alot of luck. We caught a handful of fish, even a crab, and didn't die. Well, since it worked so well that one summer, he decided to try it again the next year. Same deal, except this time he catches the outgoing tide on accident. As the day goes on I notice that we are getting farther and farther away from shore. I would guess about .5 to 1 mile. I'm actually starting to get freaked out and beg my dad to head back. We hadn't caught a thing and he wanted to stay out longer. Well we started noticing a crowd forming on the beach. We figured someone caught a shark or something. A few minutes later we see this jet ski screaming towards us with a lifeguard on it. Someone had seen us floating way offshore and figured we were shipwrecked. The nice man took me in first and went back to tow my dad in. Everyone was asking if I was alright and if I needed some food. I got some confused looks as I pushed my way through the crowd mumbling about wanting to go up to my hotel room. My dad said the funniest part (in retrospect) was that all the women were asking if he was ok, the guys all wanted to know how the fishing was out there. Didn't catch a thing BTW.
When I was younger my dad would take the family to Myrtle Beach, SC for about a week every summer. He loved fishing but could never catch anything being elbow to elbow with everyone on the pier. He figured if he could just get 100yds or so past the end of the pier he could really catch something worth talking about. So being that he didn't have the funds to by a real boat, he did the next best thing. He bought one of those $20 two man inflatable rafts from the tourist shop, loads his 9yr old kid with no PFD, and starts paddling out to sea. Keep in mind we have sharp hooks, knives, etc. in this thing between are legs. Surprisingly we had alot of luck. We caught a handful of fish, even a crab, and didn't die. Well, since it worked so well that one summer, he decided to try it again the next year. Same deal, except this time he catches the outgoing tide on accident. As the day goes on I notice that we are getting farther and farther away from shore. I would guess about .5 to 1 mile. I'm actually starting to get freaked out and beg my dad to head back. We hadn't caught a thing and he wanted to stay out longer. Well we started noticing a crowd forming on the beach. We figured someone caught a shark or something. A few minutes later we see this jet ski screaming towards us with a lifeguard on it. Someone had seen us floating way offshore and figured we were shipwrecked. The nice man took me in first and went back to tow my dad in. Everyone was asking if I was alright and if I needed some food. I got some confused looks as I pushed my way through the crowd mumbling about wanting to go up to my hotel room. My dad said the funniest part (in retrospect) was that all the women were asking if he was ok, the guys all wanted to know how the fishing was out there. Didn't catch a thing BTW.
