The Portland daily press., 1894-11-30

Go Out Than to Get Back to Shore.
San Francisco has king of the break
ers, a 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 oompli-
GATED paraphernalia. What a breaker
really is not many people know. Major
Blakeney, 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. st is rather great roll of
the sea. 1t starts miles and miles away
as wave, gathering force and gaining
sped as it rolls, the great volume of wa
ter, tons and tons of it, turning over and
over upon itself. Finally as the sea bot
tom rises to form the sandy beach the
space for the giant rolling mass of water
becomes contracted and it breaks-breaks
not from the top of the roll, but from the
bottom; breaks with force that makes
the rush of cannon shot seem trifling.
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 the breaker Is
formed is carried forward at a rate of east
ly so miles an hour A mass of water like
that is solid, is inelastic. A man caught
squarely under such comber would be
killed when it struck him-killed as he
would be if he stood under trip hammer
as it fell
sit is not the breaker at the beach that
to- = s., o,,+
that is the power. By the time it reaches
shore it is merely foam. A man drowned
in breakers like that never comes ashore.
His body is never found. He sinks and
stays The water in it's rolling picks up
the sand from the bottom until the 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 are 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 the turner socie
ties and the schuetzen sections, good
German citizen who loves to drink beer
and to swim IN blue salt water. His name
is Dr.. f. Riehl.
81 learned how to take the breakers by
watching the duck, - said the doctor. It
is very, very easy. The heavier and larger
the breakers the better I like it, just so
it is with the duck. Watch one of the wa
terfowl any time AS the bird swims in
shore and the breaker comes tie duck dis
appears. Look again when the breaker
passes, and you will see the duck calmly
swimming on the smooth water beyond
That is the way do. It's SO simple that
it is hardly worth telling about. Any
good swimmer may be taught in few
hours how to go through the breakers.
This is the way / do it; Going out
from shore, run through the first small
waves as far as I can breast them, or IN
til the water takes HE off my feet. Then
L.swim straight on toward the breakers
When one comes, dive just before it
ONES to me- l go under it and como up
Il the smooth water beyond. There is al
qays smooth water back of the breaker
nd always must tie. Any man who has
cen much around the sea can understand
hat | swim on through the smooth wa
Ter until the next breaker comes. take
it the same way On / go through all of
them After man runs out until he is
off his feet ttora arc never more than eight
Or nine breakers ahead, SO it is really an
Easy. matter to get out where the waves
are ordinary in size and force, and where
any good swimmer can take his ease for
hours"
And as to coming in again?" we asked.
''Ah, there you have me, said the ply
sician THAT is a little more difficult
much more difficult. A man must keel
his head. He must not get what you cali
ratified. With presence of mind any gooi
swimmer ought to come in through tht
breakers come in, not straight ahead
Of the breakers, but on slanting course
When the breaker nears me, turn quick
y and dive, just like the duck again.
20 under the breakers in the opposite di
reetion from my general course, for shore,
but on coming up again turn for shore
it once until the next breaker comes
That take the same way, and SO ON I'm
il / can get ON my feet and run for shore
Because of this constant turning it is nc;
asy to take line from ship to the land
ut it is easy enough to carry one from
bore to sAip, which is all that is needed
IN the life saving service"
To carry line out through the break
rs any reasonable distance the doctoi
avs all that is necessary is a small linj
ighted with corks or oiled, SO arrange
hat men on the shore may play it out Is
ne swimmer proceeds, taking care thai
here shall not be slack enough to encum
,er him. With such a line around his
,ody over one shoulder DR.. Riehl dive
lnder the breakers. He says he thinks
practice will enable good long distance
swimmer to carry such a line out half
mile from shore in a storm. Once th'
small line reaches the ship or the capsizec
,oat the problem of life saving is solved.
or it is easy enough to haul out stronger
inc and then use any of the numerous
'cscuc methods. In discussing the matter
yesterday Dr. Refill said:
The life saving crews have orders not
70 send out their boats when the breakers
are too high. am told that not long ago
an italian was upset in his skiff OF the
gate and clung to the keel for hours, be
ing CARRIED nast the life saving station