Quicksand Fans

I'm new to sinking but am looking to get muddy sometime this summer. For those of you who are experienced with this, do you usually sink with anyone else, or are you by yourself?

When it comes to sinking with others, how have people here approached finding those "others"? Do most of you just ask your friends, or is there some hidden meeting place I'm missing?

Thanks for the advice!

I have only been sinking alone. I have been out about a dozen times. Knee deep to neck deep.

It took me awhile to find locations near me but after doing a fair amount of research and looking, I found several places which are decent.

I go sinking at least once or twice about every 10 days. That’s because here 95% of all the sinking is entirely tide dependent. There’s only a few days out of every 10 where the tides line up with the best hours in which I can go (tomorrow thru Monday are such days). Otherwise, it’s either too early (I’m at the gym) or it’s around the time the bugs get hungry (1700-2000) and they’ll try eating you alive. Generally I go sinking by myself. But I’m usually willing to take others out with me. Experience has shown me however, that people who claim to want to go are, more often than not, too damned chicken. So when it’s actually time comes to go, they do a quick disappearing act. They won’t show despite saying over and over again how much they’re looking forward to it. As such, I don’t wait for others’ vague promises to actually materialize. If someone really wants to go, they’re more than welcome. But they better show up on time. The tide doesn’t wait, so neither do I. If they REALLY want to go, they’ll make sure they show up on time.

I have a few simple rules others with me must follow if they want to go...

...there’s two ways to get to the mud flats. If we hike in, they absolutely MUST HAVE APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR. NO KNEE HIGH BOOTS, HIP, OR CHEST WADERS. They’ll get you seriously stuck in tidal mud...to the point that it can become extremely dangerous. Leave them for inland use. That’s because of the tidal threat. They don’t wait for you to get yourself free from the mud. Appropriate footwear means boots, not tennis shoes, flip flops, or the like. The boots need to zip or tie above your ankles up around your calves. That prevents them from being pulled off by the suction. I’ve actually had the soles on an older pair of combat boots actually get pulled off. That’s some serious suction. No boots with oversized soles either, as they too will get you seriously stuck. The best boots are neoprene dive booties with a full sole. They give decent support, will protect your feet, and are made to get wet. So why boots? Because when you go to the mudflats from the shore side, there’s also plenty of oyster shells. They’re as sharp as razor blades and will do serious damage to your feet. But you’ve got to go through them in order to get to the mud, as they lay between the shoreline and the deep mud.
...the second way to get to the mudflats is by jet ski. Boots aren’t required then because I can avoid the oyster banks. There’s mudbanks I can pull right up too where you can jump right into deep mud. But those locations aren’t nearly as isolated and tend to be in full view of other boaters, fishermen, etc... .
...don’t go sinking down deeper than your experience allows you to. This mud is incredibly sticky and can oftentimes be really hard to get out from. And nobody’s going to be strong enough to pull you back out, so it’s up to you to get yourself back out. I can help dig you out, but that takes time. Again, tides don’t wait.
...IF we’re in a fresh water location, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, allow mud or water to get pushed into your nose. So just don’t submerge yourself. Florida as a parasite that thrives in the uppermost layer of silt right below the water. This parasite is called the “Brain Eating Ameba” and it’s downright DEADLY. The death rate from this parasite is over 95%. In fact, there’s been only 2 survivors of this, and they weren’t the same afterwards. It enters through your nasal cavity where it attaches itself to the base of a nerve that’s on the roof of your nasal passage. From there it works it’s way up the nerve where it enters your brain. And multiplies very rapidly. That’s because it’s now feasting on your brain. Symptoms usually start about 24 hours after the initial infection and consist of a massive headache that’s supposedly far worse than the typical headache. That’s because while it’s munching away, your brain starts to swell. This parasite is usually detected via a spinal tap, but by then it’s usually already too late and you’re in a coma. This is clearly nothing to play around with. While the ameba is actually quite common, it’s rare for one to actually make it into one’s nose. However, our activities tend to put our noses right smack into the ameba’s home. If you don’t believe me, look it up for yourself. Fortunately, it’s only known to inhabit fresh water lakes. Thus, I tend to stick to tidal mud which is an entirely different environment with salt water.
...don’t litter. Bring out anything you bring in with you.
...wear whatever you want to go sinking in. You can be butt naked if you want. I don’t care either way.

I invite anyone to go sinking at anytime I’m going. I can always be reached at (904) 471-2629. Just ask for Scottie. I screen calls so if I don’t answer, leave ia message. It may take a few days, but I’ll call you back.

Only by myself thus far, but more out of the fact that I don’t really know anyone who’s into it around me (pa) would like to find a buddy to go to, for some social time, safety, and so on.

mudsinkerboy wrote:Do most of you just ask your friends, or is there some hidden meeting place I'm missing?

You could ask your friends if they seem open to new experiences, but most of mine were right out of this community.

You need to take some time to vet them first. Thoroughly.

You never just hop in the car and go without that step, You do real names and references if possible and if they don't want you to tell anyone else where you'll be, reject them.

People say you shouldn't meet others this way but is it really worse than online dating?

So, the hidden place is this forum!

That said, geography was usually not my friend and plane trips were involved when meeting up. So I sank alone 99% of the time.

I did bring in one total outsider -- a guy I know in regular life. No, he never joined up here and he still doesn't want to. And we needed a man-made claypit at a shoot as he wasn't much of a hiker. But he had a blast.

Nessie

P.S. I am not looking for partners any more. Getting older is a bummer.

As regards vetting: Obviously this is not foolproof but with the very long-time members of this community, especially those who are or have been producers, there is a fair chance one or more of those long-time members has previously met the person you may be vetting. For example, I have personally met a dozen or so members here when they served as crew members and a few when they were performers in a video shoot. I have even met five different women who stated, and that I believed, that they were quicksand enthusiasts in their own right.

In most cases, all ANY reference can say is something like "yes I met that person and he/she turned out to be as advertised." Much of anything more would require the permission of the person being vetted.

BTW when I say "met" above I mean face to face. I have met dozens more who claimed to be various things (including female, interested in doing a shoot, interested in crewing a shoot, and so on. Many of those vanished into thin air quite quickly.

Good luck Enerj29. If you’re ever down here in NE Florida for any reason, I’ll be glad to take you. I went twice this weekend. Yesterday I went to the Estuary on my bike, but only got one mediocre sink in. There were storms around so I wasn’t about to go to my private area, as that requires a mud covered hike to the Intercoastal. And there’s been a lot of boats on the Intercoastal lately because of the upcoming holiday. So today I went by jet ski to explore new places. I decided to just ignore the boats and get in a good sink anyhow. I got in a terrific sink...and I was well within range of some guy fishing. I was prepared to tell him I was just taking a mud bath, which certainly wouldn’t have been a lie...except my bath was vertical with barely a nose sticking out of the mud. And yet that damn fisherman NEVER NOTICED A THING. HE MUST’VE BEEN HIGH. Afterwards I tried another area just north of some boats. As I was running out of time, I only went chest deep. And again, nobody noticed a thing, despite the fact that I was on a mud bank smack next to the waterway. But immediately afterwards, I saw some kids that had started hiking up towards me. But I was already headed south on my jet ski towards them. One kid didn’t appear to have any legs. Yup, I caught him on a muddy part of the beach sinking into the mud. Obviously he was enjoying his sinking expedition. Until he saw me. I told him where he could find deeper mud, then headed for home. I think he’s a future muddier in training.

I had stopped hiding behind stuff when I go sinking because I really don’t care if I get caught anymore. The excuse of taking a mud bath is quite legitimate, considering that high end Spas sell mud baths for big bucks. And they’re certainly nowhere near as good as what’s available here for free. I’ve actually been hoping to entice someone else to try it by simply letting them catch me and then show them that I know how to escape from the mud. If I was trying to hide, no doubt I’d end up on the 6 o’c evening news with a big rescue being called away that I certainly didn’t want or need. But try to get caught and it’s like they can’t see you anymore. But nope, other than a park ranger that I didn’t need help from, NADDA...Nothing. I’ve got all week thanks to the 4th, so I’ll try to convince someone else yet to try something new.

As for talking with others, I’ve had several people tell me how fun it sounds and how much they want to try it...only to chicken out at the last minute. That’s typically how it ends up working. Too many people with no guts to try something different. And in THIS CASE, ITS MOST DEFINITELY THEIR LOSS!!!

Mudsinkerboy, I’ve got to ask because you said that you’re new to sinking. Exactly what was it that tripped your trigger so much that you decided then and there that this crazy looking activity is something that you’ve JUST GOTTA TRY? And after you tried it, was it anything like you expected it to be, or was it actually better or worse than your initial expectations? I’m asking because it could give me some insight as to what might work better in an effort to get others to try it. After all, seeing someone sink in mud and/or quicksand doesn’t exactly convey to others the tactile sensations that their skin is feeding their senses. I’ve always loved to go sinking because of the sensory overload that my body experiences, whether that be from the feeling of the mud as it grabs on and holds tightly to my skin. Or could it be the relentless squeezing of your body as the mud covers over the tops of your shoulders as it’s starting to climb up the sides and back of of your head. After you tried it, what was it that keeps dragging you back?

It is worth noting that many folks into mud are mud fetishists and most fetishists tend to be solitary in their behavior. Yes, they might want company but on the other hand true fetishists often don't make very good company and have difficulty forming and sustaining the long term relationships and friendships necessary to have a mud expedition companion even if there are other mudmen in their local area. Talk to enough folks who are experienced mud fetishists, not first timers, and you will find that a lot of them had a period when they went to a lot of effort to meet other mudmen but then kind reverted back to more solitary behavior as somehow they sort of found sinking with others not worth the hassle.

Of course, your mileage may vary. By all means pursue having mud activity companions, sometimes it works out really well as there is nothing like having a true friend who is as into mud as you.

My biggest frustration when it comes to sinking with others is that they hardly ever bother to show up. They’ll tell me how they can’t wait to go sinking but when the time actually comes, they’ll just disappear. No phone call, no excuse, nothing. And that really pisses me off because often I will have changed my plans in order to accommodate them. But they can’t even have enough curtesy to pick up the phone and call to give me a phony excuse. The truth is, they’re just plain chicken shit. A adventure that looks to be out of the ordinary is simply more than they’ve ever experienced. So they just disappear hoping that I simply won’t notice. Of course, I do. Usually such people haven’t really ever gone sinking or the sinking they’ve done can be measured in inches, whereas here we measure in feet. They’ll think that 5-6 inches is deep mud. Here its more like 15-20 feet, and is some places, even more. And that scares them. Then there’s the fear that someone might do something to them while they’re vulnerable in the mud. Only, I wouldn’t do anything to anyone unless my actions were to assist them in any way that I can. I really prefer for others to really enjoy their sinking experience, ESPECIALLY those that’ve never actually been in really deep, sticky tidal mud before. Such mud is very different from anything found inland, as it’s much stickier and can behave completely different from your basic bog or swamp mud.