The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-11-26
UNDER BREAKERS.
A PACIFIC COAST EXPERT TELLS HOW
HE GOES THROUGH THEM.

/ CoPies FROM inc whu Duck-EAster TO
Go Out Than to Get Back to Shore.
San Francisco has a king Of the break
ers, man who views the giant shore
waves Of the mighty sea as things to play
with, and who proposes to revolutionize
the life saving service by substituting
Drawn and skill for life lines and compli-
Gated paraphernalia. What a breaker
really is not many people know. Major
iblakeney, who has been for years with
the government life saving station, is one
OF those who ought to know.
"a breaker Is not exactly wall Of wa-
ter" he said. 1T is rather great roll of
the sea. 1t starts miles and miles away
as wave, gathering force and gaining
sped as 1t rolls, tho great volume of wa
ter, tons and tons of it, turning over and
over upon itself. Finally as tho sea bot
tom rises to form tho sandy beach the
space for the giant rolling mass of water
becomes contracted, and 1t breaks--breaks
not from the top of tho roll, but from the
bottom; breaks with a force that makes
the rush of cannon shot seem trifiing.
The top OF that breaker, containing vol
umes Of water big as houses, is thrown
forward at terrific speed, forming what Is
known on the beach as a 'comber.' A
boat caught at the time tho breaker is
formed is carried forward at a rate of cast
ly 90 miles an hour. A mass of water like
that is solid, is inelastic. man caught
squarely under such o comber would be
killed when it struck him-killed as he
would be II he stood under a trip hammer
as 1t fell.
ut is not the breaker at the beach that
is dangerous-it is the breaker away out
that is the power. By the time 1t reaches
shore 1t is merely foam. A man drowned
in breakers like that never comes ashore.
His body is never found. He sinks and
stays. Tho water in Its rolling picks up
the sand from the bottom until tho roller
is heavily charged with sand. A man who
gets into that water gets sand in his lungs,
ears and nostrils, in all his pockets, in his
shoes, under his clothes, In every possible
crevice, until he is ballasted so that he
sinks forever.
Breakers are not made for men to
breast, whether they be swimmers or
not"
Yet the king of the breakers thinks his
subjects arc easy to rule when understood.
Personally the king of the breakers is
commonplace looking man of ordinary
build and wearing ordinary whiskers. He
Is doctor, member of tho turner socie-
ties and the schuetZen sections, a good
German citizen who loves to drink beer
and to swim i'll blue salt water. His name
is Dr. f. Riehl
II learned how to take the breakers by
watching the duck said the doctor. 1T
is very, very easy. Tho heavier and larger
tho breakers the better l like it, Just so
1t is with the duck. Watch one of the wa
terfowl any time. AS the bird swims in
shore and the breaker comes the duck dis
/ nnl h..
passes, and you will see the duck calmly
swimming on the smooth water beyond.
That is the way do. It's so simple that
1t Is hardly worth telling about. ANY
good swimmer may be taught in a few
hours how to go through the breakers
This Is tho way l do T.: Going out
from shore, run through the first small
waves us far as l can breast them, or I'M
til the water takes me off my feet. Then
swim straight on toward the breakers.
When ono comes, dive just before it
comes to INC. 1 go under it and come up
in the smooth water beyond. There is al
ways smooth water back of tho breaker
and always must be. Any man who has
been much around the sea can understand
that. swim on through the smooth wa
ter until the next breaker comes. l take
1t the same way. On go through all Of
them. After a man runs out until he is
oil his feet there are never more than eight
or nine breakers ahead, SO 1t is really an
easy matter to get out where the waves
arc ordinary in size and force, and where
any good swimmer can take his ease for
hours. d"
And as to coming in again." We asked.
"Ah, there you have me, +" said the ply
sician THAT is little more difficult,
much moro difficult. A man, must keep
his head. He must not get what you call
ratified. With presence of mind any good
swimmer ought to come in through the
breakers. i come in, not straight ahead
of the breakers, but on a slanting course.
When the breaker nears me- / turn quick
ly and dive, just like the duck again. 1
go under tho breakers in tho opposite d.
rection from my general course for shore,
but on coming up again turn for shore
Mt once until the next breaker comes
That take She same way, and so on I'M
til can get on my feet and run for shore
Because of this constant turning Ii is not
easy to take a limo from ship to tho land, |
but 1T is easy enough to carry ono from |
shore TO ship, which is all that is needed |
i'll tho life saving service"
To carry limo out through the break
ers any reasonable distance the doctor
SAYS all that is necessary is a small line
iiBhiSu Mi'h Oiicui 30 arranged
that men on tho shore may play it out as
the swimmer proceeds, taking care that
there shall not be slack enough to oncum-
Der him. With such u line around his
body over one shoulder DIR. Riehl dives
under tho breakers. He says he thinks
practice will enable good long distance
swimmer to carry such line out half a
milo from shore in storm. Once the
small line reaches the ship or tho capsized
boat tho problem of life saving is solved,
for it is easy enough to haul out a stronger
limo and then use any of tho numerous
rescue methods. In discussing the matter
DIR. Refill snid:
The life saving crews have orders not
to send out their boats when the breakers
are too high. am told that not long ago
IN Italian was upset in his skiff off the
gate and chung to the keel for hours be-
ng carried past tho life saving station,
where the men stood doing nothing be-
,ause the breakers were too high. Finally
.he current took tho boat TO tho Cliff
House rocks, and Mr. wilkins and boy
'escued the fisherman. l have told the
non at the life saving station TO telephone
or mo when anything of that kind hap
'ens. l can get out to the beach in an
lour and would gladly do it to save life.
can swim through breakers that life
,oat could not get through and would
hnk nothing of it. II there were an ex-
'ert swimmer in every life saving crew,
Is easy to see that he would be of great
lse in Just such cases. San Francisco
chronicle.