Has anyone who's been surfing the VA Bch area consistently the past couple weeks experiencing lower GI problems, i.e., the runs? Not meaning to get too personal here, but I've been having symptoms off and on for the past 2 weeks. They seem to correspond with my sessions. I've been getting out at least 4 X per week lately, and during the past 2-plus weeks the water has been reddish brown with a stronger than usual fishy smell. I attributed that to some red tide we seem to be experiencing here. Maybe I inadvertently swallowed too much of the stuff, or perhaps my "surf immunity" isn't adequately developed. In addition to this reddish brown soup and washed up on the beach at Dam Neck late yesterday and this morning was the upper half of a large loggerhead turtle. It's head was almost as large as a basketball. It had been cut right in two - presumably by a ship's prop.
I use swimmer ear drops as needed after a session. I get mine at Walgreens, but other pharmacies also sell them.
That's just dumb. If I read this in the morning I would need a new keyboard because it would be covered in coffee. Check the mailbox, I got a box of ear candles and q-tips coming your way.
We can't all be an astronaut like you, clemmy. You're not even funny, though you sit there at your sticky keyboard & giggle at your own attempts at wit. The VB water is sketchy, scary & dangerous. Worse this year than any other year in recent memory. That stankin' nasty fishy smell with greasy, slick water is not what the ocean is supposed to be. There's so many mysterious, bad things being swirled around in that water: from the Hampton Roads shipping channel, the effluence from the river, the hundreds of thousands of sh!!tting tourists, the runoff from the streets that VB admins have brilliantly directed out into the ocean via massive pipes, the discharges from the cargo & military vessels in the shipping channel and, of course, the awful toxins released by dredging for beach replenishment. VB water is making people ill to very ill. Ear infections, GI aspects, staph infections, flu-like symptoms....that's the ocean telling surfers that massive pollution has taken over. You won't read about any deadly levels of toxins in the tested water, though, because that would be like Chief Brody telling the media there's a killer in the water in Amityville: bad for business.
Yankee - what are the toxic substances in the water off VB? What toxins and tested by whom? I've been surfing in VB for 30+ years and have had flu like symptoms just a few times.
Mercury, lead, a toxic stew of nastiness. The first-person tales of so many people being ill after surfing (you can search this forum & others for the tales of woe) should be enough for anyone to realize that the water in VB is a toxic stew. Perhaps you're awaiting official government results of testing, if so, good luck with that. That approach worked out great for humans at places like Love Canal (google it) and so many others. You may have a strong immune system, if so more power to ya; but that water is all wrong for humans, created by humans.
Chill out kid. Pooping out your ears... That is dumb. But I was loling big time. I was Rolfing. I lmfaod. In SI language and history, a post that makes you spray coffee all over your keyboard is one that is hilarious. It was like 12 so no coffee for me at that point. You're blinded by the hate hoty.
I surfed VB through the past year, and during that time span,there were two instances when I was ill: around 4th of July (I'd never been sick on the 4th) during the sand replenishment along Sandbridge and currently while we seem to be having a bit of a red tide. Of course this all could be attributable to other causes (sort of hope it was), and that's why I was asking. Had no illnesses from last fall through the first part of this summer. I would've thought water quality was worse further north, Jersey and NY area, due to the greater populations, industry, etc. But in VB, we're near the "a-hole" of the Mid-Atlantic, with the Elizabeth rivers, James River, Chesapeake Bay, and other local drainage continuously emptying into the ocean at one relatively small location.
That's spot-on. I got sick from surfing in the 40's blocks while that replenishment was happening this summer. And so did several people I know, as well as their kids. Cali beaches are often closed; the ocean pollution is bad here on the right coast, too.
There's been an algae bloom the last 4-5 days, typically I do the netti-pot, but I have sinus issues so it's preventative maintenance for that. But it helps after a long day in the water. I surfed 30sh Streets earlier in the summer and was fine. But that was just a few times. All the more reason to head south.
DosXX. Good meeting you the other week. I'll PM you. I've had ear probs since Mar of this year with swollen eardrums. Still not corrected. Another guy who surfs there has had similar probs. Yes, it's the water.
From the looks of it, I'm guessing that none of you know that there is a website that shows the results of fairly regular water quality monitoring for VB. http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/DEE/BeachMonitoring/beachadvisories/index.htm It's always good to give this an occasional glance. If the numbers are too high, don't paddle out.
http://wtkr.com/2013/09/10/red-tide-at-the-virginia-beach-oceanfront/ BTW, looks like we are due for a water quality check around here.
Virginia Beach actually has above average water quality. It's just your normal red tide that usually occurs around this time of year. Just be thankful there aren't any sea lice (yet).
I always thought it was kind of weird that 3 friends that I grew up surfing with at the north end of sandbridge ended up with cancer. 2 made it and 1 didn't. It's most likely a coincidence but 3 guys that regularly surfed the same 1/2 mile stretch of beach all getting cancer in their 20's-30's seems a little out of the norm if you ask me. You never know what lurks on the bottom down there and who knows what kind of ammo they use when they target practice with the shore based howitzer type cannons.
Yea, the water at dam neck had the nasty brown color, my right ear is messed up at the moment.. I think it may be because of this.
I was getting bit by sea lice yesterday and the day before that unfortunately... They even went for my balls.
