Postby Sinkman61 » Tue Jun 16, 2020 12:35 am
Tidal mud flats are the most dangerous places to sink because they involve TIDES. And they tend to have mud that’s far stickier than that in most other locations. That’s because of the salt that’s in the water. Somehow salt manages to “supercharge” the mud, making it far stickier than normal mud. That in turn, allows the tidal mud to create a nearly perfect seal around your body and clothes. That sealing effect drastically increases the amount of suction that’s created. Thus, tidal mud is often far harder to escape from as opposed to normal mud. Thus, you should be in really good shape before you attempt to sink in tidal mud flats. But with increased effort comes increased rewards. Tidal mud is especially soft and silky smooth against the skin. Simply put, it feels like no other. It grabs on to your limbs and core and simply doesn’t want to let go. It’s the ultimate in muddy bondage if there is such a thing. Escaping it can be quite challenging. Sinking in Tidal Mud often results in you sinking much deeper than you thought possible. That’s because the downward force created by the stickiness of the mud is often considerably stronger than the upward force created by your body’s own buoyancy. Thus, people accidentally trapped in tidal mud are often found to be stuck in a much deeper depth than those stuck in regular mud. It’s not uncommon for people that have panicked to be found chest or neck deep in the stuff. Thrashing about will cause you to sink down deeper and deeper until you get to the point that the trashing about has become nearly impossible. And yet, the mud isn’t the dangerous part. It’s the tide. Because if you can’t gather up your wits and enough strength to escape, the tide will simply come in over your head and drown you. Generally though, you needn’t worry about dying from the effect of the sun beating down on you while you’re stuck, because the tide will cool you down as you drown. There are areas here though that you can get trapped neck deep in tidal mud where the sun can become a real concern. That’s because the mud bank in this particular area happens to be at around the same level as the water is at high tide. So unless your face (mouth/nose) is even with the surface, you probably won’t drown in this location...the sun will roast you instead. I’ve literally had to dig myself completely free from this area. I highly recommend that you leave the heavy rubber boots at home when exploring tidal mud flats, as they can create more suction in this type of mud than you may be prepared to deal with. You don’t want to be neck deep on an incoming tide when you suddenly realize that you can’t seem to budge your feet upward even the slightest bit upward. I’ve actually been in just that position, but the tide wasn’t due to come in for another three hours. Good thing too, because it took nearly an hour just to get to the point that I could start moving my feet again. Had I not planned that sinking around the tides, I’d probably still be there to this day, my body probably completely covered over by the mud by now while my name would’ve been on the local Sheriff’s missing list.