CAMP PENDLETON: Missing swimmer feared drowned

A terrible story of a Navy man swimming on base with his buddy and was apparently pulled out to sea and drowned. See link below.
I swim at this beach often and was swimming there Monday about 4:30 or 5:00 PM with a swim buddy. The water was a very choppy 3 foot mess with a strong southward current. We swam out and around the buoy. The incident link below occurred Thursday, and I believe the conditions were the same or worse.
I just went there today after work to swim and had just started swimming out when the lifeguards called me back in and told me the beach was closed. The search is ongoing now, and helicopters and boats were out in the area near and far in the distance. The water was very rough today-big waves, 4-5 feet, and a very strong current running northward-such the opposite current from this past Monday. Strange how the ocean changes so rapidly and so dramatically.
My thoughts are with the family and swim buddy.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/article_e3a75bab-c5c8-53f7-bb26-85a3c847dd50.html

Rough Water on Base Camp Pendleton

Well, the water was warm enough to jump in with just my trunks on Monday, May 16th. I had not brought any fins to work with me when a friend called and wanted to swim after work, but what the heck. The water was very rough; a strong current was running southward; and the chop was 2-3 feet in the water.
We swam out to the white buoy and came in. The current dragged us south a good hundred yards or more.
One other Marine was trying to surf out there but that was it. It was fun anyway.

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Kayak Oceanside CA

So I have not been in the water for several days because I have been jogging during lunchtime at work, which leaves no energy left to swim after work. Saturday I took the kayak out to the boat basin/harbor on base and paddled out to the big buoy off the beach about 3/4 mile.

I had a little adventure. I don't know how to kayak and I don't think that I'm going to be getting into kayaking. I didn't feel like I could get into a rhythm at all. My kayak has a 400 pound capacity; I'm 245 currently and the kayak felt wobbly and unstable. I was ok in the protected water of the harbor and channel but as I got into the breakwater and then the ocean, I felt more and more uncomfortable.

The waves were 1-3 feet in the ocean and I had to be careful to face into the waves. There were several big sea lions lounging on the big buoy and a couple jumping on and off swimming around. They appeared to be taking turns resting on the buoy and nudging each other off. They were barking a lot loudly and it gave me the creeps. I had wanted to get closer but was too scared to because I thought that I'd flip the kayak.

On the way back in I got tired, my neck hurt, and I probably looked like an idiot. The harbor police boat slowly shadowed me in (they kept about 200 yards away) for safety, I suppose. Anyway, I got into the channel and then flipped the kayak and into the water I went. Very embarrassing with the harbor boat watching me. Thankfully they just watched. I flipped over four times trying to get back into the kayak and on my way. I was wearing a life jacket and could easily have swum in, but it frightened me nonetheless.

I had a flashback to when I was a little kid and almost drowned in a sunfish sailboat in rough water.

I'm comfortable swimming IN the water but not in a boat ON the water.

Here are some pictures of the kayak and the Pendleton harbor.

Monday Rough Water Oceanside

I checked the beach on base first but it looked rough and ominous. I passed and went over to the pier. The bottom three pictures are taken today on base about 4:20 PM.










So, too rough to swim (freestyle) at the pier so I decided to lie on my back and kick around the pier with my fins. Give the arms a rest. I used them to hug myself to keep warm. The water really was rough and angry; it didn't want me out there. Out past the pier there were 4 to 6 foot big swells but all chopped up. It was a good workout for kicking. I got the current correct this time; it was mild running north to south. I had to go home and take a hot bath to warm up. Only one surfer in the water and a trio of people for a bit playing in the waves.