One summer when I was about 19 I was at a set of waterfalls near here that fall about 55~60 odd feet into a deep water pool.
Being young and eager not to seem like the chicken**** of the bunch, I followed a bunch of mates up to the top of the falls, where you could jump out into the water.
Got to the top, looked out and went "nah....too far to jump, I dont care what you all say, Im going back down".
Turned around to start climbing back down, and lost my footing.
I knew I was going over the edge, so the only thing I could do was try and kick off so I would get out far enough to land in the water without hitting any rocks.
The whole way down I thought I was a goner, all that was between me and a big mess on the rocks below was about two seconds worth of free fall.
And they were without a doubt the looooooongest two seconds of my life.
I was calm as could be, I just thought "Well, this is it , you've screwed up for the last time" and wondered if it would hurt much.
Time slowed down, a few differant things from my life flashed through my mind, and the rock face whizzing past a few centimetres from my face was in ultra sharp focus.
Then I hit the water, half rolled upside down, so that my shoulder blade and upper back hit first, knocking the wind clean out of me.
Next thing I know, I'm about 15 or 20 ft under water, winded, staring up at the light filtering through the water, thinking " How bad does this suck? You missed the rocks, now your gonna drown"
It's weird I know, but it took a huge mental effort to convince myself to get moving upwards.
I have no idea how I managed to not breathe in while I was down there, but I made it to the surface just as everything was starting to go black.
I swam to the shore, only about 3 metres or so, hauled myself out and just collapsed in a quivering mess on the sand, utterly exhausted. I dont know how or why, but every last drop of energy I had had been drained in those few seconds under water.
I couldnt stop shaking for hours afterwards, and even now when i think about it it gives me a bit of a chill.
It was close, way too damn close, and it was all my own stupid fault.
I still wake up and think "You lucky bastard, you shoulda died that day"
From that day on, I've considered pretty much everything to be a bit of a bonus, a couple of inches less push off, and I would have been at the very least badly injured, another half second of indecision at the bottom of my fall, and I wouldnt have made it to the surface before gulping in a lungfull of water.
Something was on my side that day, and it sure wasnt common sense.
Believe me, being winded with a couple of metres of water over your head isnt much fun, I dont reccomend it at all
