The mantra of open water swimmers has long been Expect The Unexpected.

And even the strongest and most experienced swimmers are occasionally overwhelmed by Mother Nature. Veteran channel swimmer and observer Lynn Kubasek was reminded of that fact this week when we ventured out in surf where the faces of the waves reached over 10 feet.

Diving under the massive surf, submerging until the walls of whitewater swept past her, fighting against the rip currents, and bobbing up and down over the ocean swells was not a problem for the Observer Extraordinaire.

But coming back into shore in her local stomping grounds of Laguna Beach, the ocean leaped forward in an angry force that was simply too much to avoid.

“I had a run-in with the Main Beach buoy. I was rounding it on my left and the strong south current sent me into the scratchy (barnacled) side. But hurray for hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin. It still smarts a little, but I will be back in the ocean soon.”

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