by Chris Ryan
Always let people know how long you'll be out. Tell someone where you are going, how long you will be there and when you expect to return. And stick to it; the emergency services will not be amused if they find that the reason you didn't come back was because you decided to take a snooze in your boat, or chat to fellow surfers.
8. Check the weather
Never swim or go out on a surfboard when the sea is rough or the waves are high – the current may drag you under. Wind on lakes can also cause choppy waves that make it dangerous to swim.
Get out of the water straight away if you see or hear a storm – water conducts electricity and you are far more likely to be struck by lightning.
Water sports enthusiasts take the weather very seriously. Be prepared to change your plans if the conditions look bad.
Never go out on the water after dark. You can't see depth or hazards. Night, dusk and dawn are the times when sharks are hunting. When you plan your trip, make sure you will be out of the water by dusk – so check and double-check that you've timed everything accurately.
9. Don't go if you don't feel 100 per cent well
To stay safe on – or in – water, you must be alert. You need to remember safe techniques and rules, and to have the discipline to react properly in an emergency. You can't do this if you're tired, have a sore throat or a cold.
Know your limits too – water sports are strenuous. If you're out and you start to feel tired or cold, head back. Don't try to keep up with a stronger, more skilled swimmer or encourage others to keep up with you.
Watch out for the dangerous toos – too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too much strenuous activity.
Nil by mouth is a good rule to remember. Don't eat sweets or chew gum when out on the water – you could easily choke. Always wait for an hour after a meal before swimming – you may get cramp. This is incredibly painful and makes it very difficult to keep afloat.
10. Trouble
If you see someone in trouble
If you can rescue someone without going into the water yourself, take that option. They might be battling currents and hazards you can't see. Find a long item such as a broom handle and see if you can reach them with it, then tow them to safety. Never take personal risks to save someone – that will only mean two people have to be rescued.
If you get in trouble
Whether swimming or surfing, if you get in trouble signal for help. Shout – sound travels well over water. Wave with one arm (not both – you'll go under).
Don't panic: struggling will only exhaust you. And if you're being swept along by an undertow don't try to swim against it. Most people try to swim back towards the shore, but this will wear you out in no time. I made that mistake myself once. I was swimming off Palm Beach in Florida, USA, about fifty metres out. I turned round and tried to come back and suddenly found the beach was getting further away and the tide was carrying me out to sea! So instead I pointed myself at forty-five degrees to the beach so that I was using the current and not fighting it. It took a while to get back but at least I managed it!
If you're a long way from shore, give yourself rest breaks. The human body is less dense than seawater and if you just relax you will float. When you've caught your breath, swim on. If you have a surfboard with you, keep hold of it – it will help you relax and float.
If you are caught in a current on a river, float on your back and travel downstream feet first. That way if you encounter any objects or debris, you hit them feet first – rather than headbutting them. Angle your travel so that you drift towards shore.
If you're on a boat that's in trouble, stay with it for as long as possible. Your best chance of survival is on a boat, even if it is disabled – not a life raft, which is easily punctured and difficult to steer. Only get in the life raft when you're up to your waist in water in your main boat.
BE SAFE!
Chris Ryan
Random House Children's Books and Chris Ryan would like to make it clear that these tips are aimed at helping to increase your knowledge of safety in this area, and to avoid accidents. We would recommend proper instruction and cannot accept any liability for inappropriate usage of these tips.
This isn't the first time Alpha Force have had to use their skills to survive in the sea. Their very first meeting was on board a ship sailing round the Indonesian islands. Turn over to find out more . . .
Extract from Alpha Force: Survival
Copyright © Chris Ryan, 2002
Red Fox
0 009 43924 7
SOMEWHERE IN
THE INDONESIAN
ARCHIPELAGO. . .
It only takes an instant to die . . .
As he struggled to swim away from the huge wave that towered over him, Alex began to hear his father's voice in his head, patiently explaining the survival skills he had learned in the SAS. It was oddly comforting to listen to that calm, quiet voice and Alex found the strength to push himself on through the turbulent water, even though his muscles were almost useless with exhaustion.
It only takes an instant to die, continued his father's voice. The way to survive is to make sure you never reach that instant. Are you listening, Alex? You need to understand how an accident happens. Most people think it explodes without warning – blam! Like a firework. But you look more closely at that accident and what do you see . . . ?
'A fuse . . .' croaked Alex, forcing himself to take a few more strokes before floundering to a stop. 'There's always a fuse . . .'
He blinked the stinging seawater from his eyes and looked over his shoulder to see whether he was clear of the breaking wave. He groaned. All that effort and he had hardly moved. It was as though he had been treading water. The wave still towered over him, even higher now. It was a solid slab of black water, except at the top where there was a frayed edge of white foam. The wave had reached its crest and was beginning to curl over. In a few seconds, the whole weight of that wall of water would crash down on top of him.
Alex stopped swimming. He knew he was fighting a losing battle. Instead, he concentrated on breathing, topping up his system with as much oxygen as he could before the wave hit. He felt himself being tugged backwards as the surrounding water was sucked into the base of the breaking wave. Forcing his burning lungs to take in one more deep breath, he turned and dived down under the surface a second before the breaker crashed down on top of him.
Even under the water, Alex was overwhelmed by the impact. The breaker slammed him down and knocked all the air out of him with a casual efficiency that reminded him of his mother kneading dough. As he tumbled lazily through the water, drifting on the edge of consciousness, Alex thought about his mother making bread half a world away in the kitchen he had been so keen to leave. He thought of how sad she would be if he did not return from this trip and suddenly he was fully awake again.
He began to struggle against the current, which was still rolling him over and over, pulling him nearer and nearer to the reef where the boat had broken in two. If he was dragged across the razor-sharp coral, his skin would be torn to ribbons. How close was he? There was a roaring in his ears which could be breaking surf. Alex forced his eyes open, but it was so dark under the water, he could not tell which way was up. He redoubled his efforts to swim against the current until he felt as though his chest was about to burst open. His movements became weaker, the roaring in his ears grew louder and sparks of multi-coloured light began to dance behind his eyes, but he kept going and, suddenly, the current let him go. He broke surface and pulled whooping breaths of air into his lungs.
Clearing his eyes, he peered about him. The moon was up and, in its pale light, he could just see the dark, jagged outline of the island he was trying to reach. He turned in the water and saw white surf breaking on the reef behind him. It was still too close for comfort and another huge wave was beginning to build. Gritting his teeth, Alex started to swim again, scanning the water for any sign of the rest of A-Watch.
He spotted Amber firs
t, way ahead of him. She had nearly reached the island and was swimming strongly. Behind Amber, but still in the quieter waters of the lagoon, two more heads bobbed close together in the water. Paulo and Li, thought Alex, guessing that Paulo would not leave Li's side if he could help it. But where was Hex? Alex felt a chill run through him as he remembered that Hex, the fifth member of A-Watch, had been even nearer to the reef before the wave hit.
Despite the next breaker building behind him, Alex slowed and turned to scan the surface for Hex. He half-expected to see a body, floating face down in a spreading circle of blood, but there was nothing. Then he caught a movement over to his left. There was Hex, ahead of him now, and swimming steadily towards the island. He must have managed to surf in on the back of the wave that had swallowed Alex.
Satisfied, Alex put the others out of his mind and concentrated on swimming as hard as he could. This time he was nearly clear of the breaker when it crashed. Once more, he dived to survive the impact, then swam against the current that was pulling him backwards. He felt a surge of elation as he broke surface again. He was going to make it! Then something slammed into the back of his head with bone-shattering force. Instinctively, he flung his left arm up to protect his head and was caught in a grip which instantly tightened, biting into the flesh of his wrist. As he began to spiral down into the water, trailing blood, Alex heard his father's voice again.
Every accident has a fuse, son. There's always a fuse.
Alex watched with a sort of dazed curiosity as a thin rope of his own blood twisted away from him towards the surface. That must be the fuse, he thought. In the few seconds left to him before he lost consciousness, Alex imagined the fuse stretching across the sea and back in time to twenty-four hours earlier, when they had all still been aboard the Phoenix. That was when it had all started. That final Watch Duty, when the fuse was lit . . .
About the Author
CHRIS RYAN joined the SAS in 1984 and has been involved in numerous operations with the Regiment. During the first Gulf War he was the only member of an eight-man team to escape from Iraq, three colleagues being killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS. For this he was awarded the Military Medal. He wrote about his remarkable escape in the adult bestseller The One Who Got Away (1995), which was also adapted for screen.
He left the SAS in 1994 and is now the author of many bestselling thrillers for adults, as well as the Alpha Force series for younger readers. His work in security takes him around the world and he has also appeared in a number of television series, including Hunting Chris Ryan, in which his escape and evasion skills were demonstrated to the max, and Pushed to the Limit, in which Chris put ordinary British families through a series of challenges. On Sky TV he also appeared in Terror Alert, demonstrating his skills in a range of different scenarios.
CHRIS RYAN'S ALPHA FORCE - THE MISSIONS
Have you read them all . . . ?
SURVIVAL
The five members of Alpha Force meet for the first time when they survive a shipwreck and are marooned on a desert island.
RAT-CATCHER
Alpha Force fight to catch an evil drugs baron in South America.
DESERT PURSUIT
Alpha Force come face-to-face with a gang of child-slavers operating in the Sahara Desert.
HOSTAGE
When they are alerted to reports of illegal dumping of toxic waste, Alpha Force fly to Canada to investigate.
RED CENTRE
An Australian bushfire and a hunted terrorist test Alpha Force's skills to the limit.
HUNTED
Alpha Force find themselves in a desperate battle with a ruthless band of ivory poachers in Zambia.
BLOOD MONEY
While they are in southern India, Alpha Force learn of a growing trade in organ transplants from living donors and must locate a young girl before it's too late.
FAULT LINE
Disaster strikes when a massive earthquake devastates a built-up area in Belize.
BLACK GOLD
Alpha Force are diving in the Caribbean when an oil tanker runs aground and when an assassin strikes they need all their skills to survive.
UNTOUCHABLE
Alpha Force must unearth the truth about the mysterious activity on a laird's estate in the Scottish Highlands.