You’d think we’d never get thirsty while surfing, but if you drink the salt water, you’ll either puke it up or die. Well, I’ve never died or puked from it, but I’ve had times when I thought I’d puke after having it shoved down my throat by some crazy waves. If you’re new to surfing, it’s a really good idea to take some bottled water or Gatorade to the beach with you. Even if you’re not thirsty after a session, you’ll want to rinse your mouth out; the ocean has a way of getting its salty water EVERYwhere on and in your body. You might step into the water feeling like you’re in control of yourself, but you’ll soon find you’re just a tiny object at the mercy of the sea. You’ll get shoved under water unexpectedly, maybe end up gulping some water down there, come back up, then have another wave shove more water into your mouth. I’ve been dragged around on the bottom of the sea floor like a rag doll so many times, it’s amazing I’ve never been knocked out by a rock down there … or jabbed by a sting ray like Steve Irwin.
How Our Body Reacts to Salt Water
The reason your body can’t handle salt water is because of something called osmosis. Basically, our bodies can only make urine that’s less salty than salt water. Urine is used by the body to get rid of things the body doesn’t want, such as salt… so if the urine can’t carry the salt out of the body, and the urine keeps trying to carry it out of the body, the end result is that your body keeps trying to pee out the salt without the salt ever going anywhere. As you can see, the only solutions left are puking and death.
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.- Part of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner“
