"straight as a pin" - perhaps a judgment call. Maybe the Dad had some experience in diving - I can recall some 20 foot (16 foot actually) dives that left my nether region numb for a while because I didn't hold my ankles together on entry. Not to mention you can get the wind knocked out of you too. good on ya, Dad.

The attempted rescues I shudder to think of are the Washington coast surf bathers, too often a kid gets pulled out by a rip tide, and a Dad goes in to attempt a rescue, and too often one or both of them doesn't make it out alive. Our waters are just too cold to put up with waiting out some rip tides, not without a life jacket to keep your head above water. Which is why I'm taking a PFD this summer and having it on the beach to take into the water, just in case.