Almost A Goner - Near drowning experience

This weekend we went to the locally famous Outer Beach.   It’s a fabulous beach protected from the fury of the Pacific Ocian  by only a coral reef. This 400 meter long strip of paradise is on the North shore of western New Guinea on the Indonesian side of this second largest Island in the world. It’s located just out side Dipapre Bay.   It took us 45 minutes by boat to reach this deserted section of beach. The waves were not the docile things they say they are in June-October.   There seemed to be a storm almost always brewing.   We strung tarps and hammocks and pitched tents with the Webbs, Lewis’s, Mr Scott Brady and 1 of our boys friends.   Ahh!   No cell phone!   No internet!  We were unplugged but maybe the lack of electronic energy was made up for by the 10 boys and 1 girl who made up the offspring of the Boyd, Lewis’s, Webbs and 1 friend.  

lots of drift wood on this day.

We woke up the next morning to discover the storm seemed to be building a little stronger off shore and waves were even greater.   Soon after 9:00 a.m. our good friends the Stubbs joined us for the day.   They are parents of 4 boys like us and for that amongst of ton of other reasons we relate to them as great friends.  

Aubrey standing in the boat with Susan (adjusting her hat) and Adam (their youngest son) and Brian (back turned to the camera.

Somewhere around 12:15 p.m. Mr Brady decided to go for a snorkel despite the foul waves crashing over the reef on the now low tide.   At low tide the water crashes with fury over the reef and fills the safer inner side with water that must go somewhere.   Through the years two small channels remain open as a means for this influx of water to exit.   At low tide the only way to exit to the open ocean is via these two channels.   Mr Brady a season swimmer who swims laps 3 times per week bravely headed to the break in the reef.   The waves that made it over the top reversed their course through a 10 foot wide channel.   Try as you may, you cannot swim against the flow when the waves are beating more than about 2 foot rollers.   It sucks you as if your being flushed into the Pacific.   But on this day Mr Brady was being equally pounded by 3-6 foot waves from the opposite way.   The result is a revolving, recycling, regurgitating, boiling mess in the passage way.

The women stood at the far west end of the beach talking when Susan Stubbs said, “Hey is that Mr Brady?”   About that same moment the rest of the ladies saw him raise 1 hand in desperation as he came up on one of the cycles of boiling mess.   I was about 150 yards down the beach sitting in the waters edge getting ready to go snorkeling to see God’s nature on the calm side of the reef   I’d just put my flippers on.   A boat had entered the inside passage just 10 minutes before and was located close to the exit passage 150 yards away from where I sat on the beach.   Susan Stubbs a woman born with ability to act quick when emergency demands.   Ran down the beach.  Yelled at her husband to grab his inflatable surf board and get to action.   Next she flew past all the “older boys” – The big bad 7th and 8th graders.   She instructed them to under no circumstance get into the water right now.   Ruth shouted at me.   “Mr Brady is drowning and needs help”   I grabbed a near by boogie board and swam for all my worth as Brian Stubbs took advantage of his feet and sprinted with surf board and a life jacket that someone gave him on the way.   He reached the vicinity of Mr Brady about 1 minute from the moment he was first spotted.  I was still swimming when I noticed the attempt Brian made at tossing the surf board for Mr Brady to catch hold of.   The wind caught the board and it went far short of it’s attempted target.   Then Brian threw the life jacket.   This time it was bingo dead on target but Mr Brady was becoming confused.   He couldn’t focus.   Come-on Mr Brady!   Lord help him.  I prayed silently!

I was now pulling close when suddenly an incredible tug of water sucked me out into the same mess.  I had fins and a boogie board but even with these I felt an incredible downward pull of the recirculating water and then deafening roar of waves pounding over the reef.   It was sucking me down.   “Hang on Darron!” I said to myself.   Then amazingly the long boat with outriggers seemed to fly toward us.   At that moment Mr Brady grabbed the surf board.   Praise God but even that was not enough.   Please Lord!   Help the boat get to us.   Another wave!   I’m breathing hard from my sprint through the water to this point.   Brian Stubbs is standing on the reef like a smart man.   Here is Mr Brady and me fighting for our lives.  Another wave and an incredibly long 15 seconds under water. Then blessed relief Mr Braddy catches the edge of the boat but for a brief moment I panic the boat is missing me.   I lung for all my worth and manage to catch the bamboo out-rigger.   Amazingly a 25 foot long out-rigger had managed to turn around and was headed to shore dragging me and Mr Brady.  

Then suddenly it all hits me.   Mr Brady is a much stronger swimmer and nearly drowned with out the aid of a boogie board.   I on the other hand had a boogie board but felt like I was nearly a goner in just 45 seconds in this perfect widow maker.

Mr Scott Brady with a bum knee from the scrapes on the reef.   He sat around the rest of the day.

Mr Scott Brady lay shaking on the beach as blood trickled down his legs from the nasty coral scrapes.   Then Ruth said, “Thank God your alive but you’ve got some nasty scrapes.“ I looked up from my spot on the beach near Mr Brady still breathing hard.   Ruth was looking at me! 

“Me have scrapes?”  Until now I hadn’t felt any of this!   Where did I get those scrapes?   I looked up to see Brian Stubbs still standing on the reef.   In the haste to rescue us from the exit passage everyone had forgotten him.   Soon he carefully got down and waded and swam through the shallower waters.   And everyone was talking at once.

Mr Brady lay back and said what I was thinking!   “I thought I was a goner.   I don’t think I’d have made it any longer if Brian hadn’t have pushed that surf board to me.”

Latter he turned to me and said, “How’d you get those nasty scrapes?”

He’d been so far gone that he didn’t know that we’d been caught in the same mess and that it was me who’d shoved him the surf board even though it was Brian who’d first thrown it to him.   Crazy thing was both of us were within 3 feet of the reef that we could have stood on if only we could have reached it.

There are so many miracles that happened.   1) the Stubbs came and he’s trained in life saving and a former policeman. 2) I had my fins on.   If I’d not had them on I’d have likely drowned.  3) I had a boogie board with me, 4) the boat was there at the right time and amazingly made it into the passage and turned around on a high wave at the last possible moment, 5) And lastly there had to be Angels pushing my hands up to catch the boat at just the right moment because I nearly missed it.

I lay awake in the middle of the night thinking.   What would my family have done had I drowned?   I’m ever so grateful for my 4 boys and 1 wonderful wife.   Thank you Brian and Susan Stubbs!   Thank you George the boat driver!   Thank you God for life!

Think I’ll stick to sitting in the hammock chair instead of a life in the passage way.