Hubby and my son were enjoying the waves off Racha Yai island which is a 40-minute speedboat ride from Phuket. Suddenly, hubby heard one of the Japanese ladies next to him call out, "Help! Help!" His guess is that they didn't know how to swim. They had waded into the water and were taken by surprise when one of the bigger waves lifted them up so their feet no longer touched the bottom. The other lady didn't speak English and was completely freaked out.
My hubby is a tall guy. He towers over me by more than a foot. I remember being in Galveston, Texas and treading water while he just stood with his head and shoulders above the water. He's great to have around when it gets a little deep.
His inner Baywatch hero kicked in, and he grabbed one gal in each arm before walking back to shallow water. Later on, we decided he should have handed one off to our son so he could get a Boy Scout Heroism Award.
Even when they were in water only 3 feet deep, the ladies were still clinging tightly to him. He kept saying, "Stand. Stand." But I guess their English vocabulary didn't extend that far. They finally realized they could touch the bottom and made their way back to their beach chairs.
I had to take a picture for either a) incriminating evidence; or b) big newspaper write up. |
Our snorkeling guide told us this happens quite often. People who have no experience with the ocean wade out and are taken completely by surprise.
For the rest of the day, I kept calling hubby, "David Hasselhoff."
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