The sun glinted in my eyes and I screwed them to reduce the glare as I para sailed across the Arabian Sea. Although I was screaming with joy I couldn’t hear my voice…it was like being in a soundproof room. Complete silence! Yet I could see my mouth contort trying to scream even more. Suspended animation! I glided over the boat to which the para sailing equipment was tethered.
It was a fantastic end to a fun conference at Goa’s Fort Aquada. There were 6 of us seated in a high speed boat. And we went up into the sky with the para sailing equipment in pairs. After all of us had enough we decided to head back to Candolim beach in north Goa. A crazy idea struck one of us to jump into the sea and swim to shore. The boat looked as though it was striking distance from shore. I was used to swimming in the sea and therefore was confident that I would be able to make it!!! IT LOOKED EASY ENOUGH. And we had life jackets on. The sea was unusually choppy. Probably the wind factor playing up. Some decisions are taken in a fraction of a second. Still high on the para sailing experience I jumped in along with another colleague. Once in, the boat sped away with the rest cheering us. That left us swimming furiously cutting through the choppy water.The sea was rough. The waves were on an average 12 feet high. Coming at us relentlessly. Reality dawned..but too late. The beach was at least half a kilometer from where the boat left us. It was tough swimming with the life jacket on. A life jacket can save you from going under but at the same time it reduces your thrust and you have to use more power to propel forward consuming more energy. 10 minutes of continuous struggle tired me. I stopped. The life jacket kept me a float. ..well just about. The waves were high and they buffeted me around. I sucked in air but swallowed saline water instead. This happened several times. The sea that day was daunting. The people on the beach looked tiny. It was a surreal experience. Floating in the middle of the Arabian sea looking at the world and its people- Chatting, sun bathing, drinking beer, in animated conversation, walking, running, playing ball with plastic rackets, plugged into their ipods. I realized there was a good chance I wouldn’t make it. I was extremely tired. With no energy left to swim and still at least 1/2 kilometer from shore. My arms and legs by now sore. The life jacket straps rubbed and cut into my skin. I stopped to regain breath and composure.
The sun beat down and the tide was relentless. I was still 400 meters from shore extremely thirsty and unsure of my ability to make it!! The force of nature can be very overwhelming. You feel so small. So powerless. So tiny. So vulnerable. I knew I had to make it. I thought of my son and my family at home. By now the other colleague who jumped in with me had reached the shore. I panicked even more realizing that I was much slower. “Probably something is drastically wrong. I don’t think I can make it!!!” I regained my composure, calmed myself, reassured myself that I was a seasoned swimmer (was used to swimming in the sea) and made one final dash. Tired I stopped. This time very close the the shore. From here the swim was a pure attempt to stay alive!
I swam to shore completely disoriented and the gravitational pull was dizzying. I was in a stupor. I looked back at the sea completely blank. I looked back again, and I could see the waves smashing against the golden sand of Candolim beach, roaring furiously!! Staying alive felt so good!
