Human Ragdoll

Camping on the beach is amazing.


There's nothing quite like rolling out on the sand and staking claim to your own little piece of heaven. That's exactly what I did last night. I drove a few miles down the beach and found the perfect spot to camp out and watch the clouds roll in off the water. During the day, the shimmering surface of the ocean with its constant south wind gently rolls waves all along the shore....perfect for some surfing and kayaking. We had some great sessions and were absolutely exhausted, there's something about spending all day in the water, it's a happiness few people ever really know. The sun was setting on another picture perfect day which, as usual, created one of those classic postcard scenes that many of us who live on the coast take entirely for granted.

Watching the moon rise over the ocean is something you have to see. The horizon is so defined and distant that it gives the moon the most beautiful setting to bless us with its presence. Every time I see this.....it moves me. I feel compelled to thank the moon for the waves we have enjoyed, for without the moon, there would be none. Typical of a coastal nighttime sky, clouds drift in off the water. They are giant and fluffy with a kind of glow to them....somehow the moonlight gives them a light all their own. They roll in like squadrons of aircraft silently moving across a backdrop of stars. The stars are also unique out here far from the lights of town they can be seen all the way to the far horizon. They shine with a brilliance that can only be appreciated with a total absence of light. Watching the clouds and the stars I become aware that something big is moving out in the water. Whatever it is, it is kicking up a phosphorescence trail in its wake, absolutely beautiful.

I set up camp as the wind begins to kick up from the south. I decided to park my JEEP in between me and the beach in an effort to break some of the wind. I am kind of weird.....I Love setting up camp and camping chores in general. I get lost in it. I can truly say that I really enjoy camping and everything that comes with it. I step back and admire Base camp. The tent gently fluttering in the wind, the reflection of clouds overhead in the JEEP's paint, Kayaks and Surfboards everywhere. I am a blessed man.

Reading a book inside my tent I feel the south wind kick up even more. This happens from time to time.....the weather out here has a knack for being bipolar. Looking at the interior of the tent and watching the fabric whip back and forth, I am reminded of so many times in the past that I have been here. Inside a tent through every element you can imagine....wind, rain, snow, sleet, hail......I have seen it. Canyons. Mountains. Plains. Riverbanks. I've camped on ship decks and bivied on the side of mountains......the funny thing is, in here.....you could be anywhere. Unless you unzip that door and look out into the night, you could be in any of these locations and situations. The view is always the same in here, like being with a good friend. And I gently drift off to sleep listening to the wind test the nylon......the waves rolling in the surf....It's absolute perfection.

Mother nature it seems doesn't want me to get too soft.

Around three in the morning, I wake to something that just doesn't seem right. Groggy and unawake, I look around and try to focus on the situation. Suddenly, a North wind slams into the side of the tent, tossing my feet up over my head. I'm still not quite awake when this happens and my brain feverishly tries to process this assault. My first thought is that one of my friends camping nearby is messing with me. That someone is grabbing the tent and trying to roll me over. As I am about to call out to whoever is doing this, The next gust of wind hits the tent with much more power than the first. So much power that my brain thinks whomever is doing this must really be pissed. The tent rolls violently over, tossing me through the air and pitches me into the side of the JEEP. As the wind subsides, I come crashing down on the sand just as the next gust rams the tent once more. Again, I am tossed into the side of the JEEP. Only this time I am pinned, the wind is full on now and has no intention of letting up. I had my warning....and I did not react fast enough. The air mattress is an excellent rigid sail that the wind is using as leverage....constantly slamming me into my vehicle. The last of the stakes gives way and the wind rolls me right over the top of the JEEP. Carried by the wind.....I am rolling head over heels straight toward the surf which I can hear growing louder as I near it. I fight for a hand hold on anything, but my fingers find no purchase on the slick nylon. The air mattress, my sleeping bag, and everything else is tumbling with me.....and suddenly I feel a familiar shaped as I am thrown to the ground....one of my tent stakes. These over sized stakes I use in the sand are just like a normal tent stake, only massive, about a foot long. I seize it and brace for my next tumble. As I slam into the ground.....I drive the stake deep into the sand.....like an ice axe when your trying to arrest a slide in the snow. I use my leatherman to cut a hole in the fabric and squeeze out through the opening. As soon as I release the stake......the tent is torn away.....rolling violently for the water.

I find myself in such a different setting than the one I fell asleep in. The wind is gusting at near hurricane force and I find it hard to even stand. Sand is racing across the ground and stings every inch of exposed skin as I make my way to my vehicle. The JEEP bucks wildly in the wind as I watch my tent get absolutely battered by the surf. My heart is racing.....My body starts to feel the pain of being tossed like a rag doll as the adrenaline fades from my system. I catch myself laughing that strange laugh that people get when they have been scared and pushed a little too far. That laugh that is usually accompanied by tears or uncontrollable shaking. Going from comfort to chaos is hell on your senses....there will be time to reflect on this later....right now, I have a tent I have to fetch from the Ocean.


I have the all kinds of weather monitoring equipment. No one called for a Northern to blow in with such fury. I have seen this happen before and wondered what it would be like to be caught in a situation like this. No need to wonder anymore. I am a veteran camper....there is just no way to prepare for something like this. I check the weather before every expedition, but make no mistake....have no illusions......if mother nature decides you need to be tested, then your in for a ride. She's a hell of a teacher.......sometimes giving the test before the lesson. underestimate her and she will humble you every time.




Can't wait for my next lesson.
See You Out There.......


-Chase Savant