It’s Friday afternoon and my second Sabbatical just started! Whoa. My first act is to unpin outlook from the task bar. I remove the card from my computer which allows me to access the corporate network and I seal it into an envelope marked ‘Emergencies Only’.
I’ve unplugged!
Some cold beers while we wait for a few more friends to join. Soon there are five of us ready to hit the road heading North on the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Lion’s Bay. It’s a short walk down the rail line and an easy scramble to the best cliff jumping in town. Most of us are changing jobs or finishing school or taking some form of extended break from work/responsibility – for many of us, this will be our last weekend together. We arrive at the cliffs and the tide is out – the jumps are even higher than normal. We hit’em with all guns blazing: dives, flips, rope swings, and Tom pulls out the new standing gainer from seven meters up. It’s the makings for a great 0th hour and a fabulous evening on the water with good friends.
One more jump – we head up to the 18 meter platform. I’m off first. Splash! I have my legs open the tiniest bit for the landing and I’m paying for it now. Tom and Kalle both jump clean. Dave is last – he’s a novice but a keener, and it’s his first time out at the cliffs. He goes for it and throws right into a rigid pencil. We watch and cringe as he slowly drifts forward while falling and lands about 10˚ off straight. His face smacks into the water hard and it’s obvious to all that it’s a bad jump. He’s under water for a few seconds too long and eventually surfaces face down unconscious.
I’ll be light on details because I don’t know Dave well. We had two former lifeguards in attendance and they carried him in the cold water while others prepared to receive him on land. A terrifying scene here as we were very worried about paralysis. We dialed 911 but canceled the call when Dave regained consciousness in the water about two minutes later and 30 meters from the jump site. He climbed onto land himself. He was badly concussed and didn’t know where he was, or even the year – so we dialed for help once again. We worked with an amazing crew of volunteers from Lion’s Bay Fire Rescue and some professionals from the Coast Guard to eventually get him to hospital by boat.
He was slow to regain his memory as we sat with him for just over an hour – but he stayed calm and handled it extremely well. Reports over the following days indicate he is 100% A-Okay again.
It’s a harsh reminder of human limits and a harsh day 0.
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