Why Dive at the “Rocks” and NOT the Water?

Remember those old Wide World of Sports specials on Saturday afternoons?

One of my favorite events was the Acapulco cliff divers. These guys would scale a steep, rocky, cliff side about 120 feet in the air and then perform beautiful “swan dives” into the crashing surf below.

Before each dive, the divers watch the surf below rise and fall…rise and fall…rise and fall…sometimes for several minutes before taking their leap of faith.  They have to time their jumps perfectly to hit the water at the precise moment the surf is at its highest point.

That way, they have a nice cushion of water to plunge into…one that was far from the rocks beneath. But the most interesting thing of all is this: (more…)