Ironman Florida 2008

If I weren't worried enough about the Ironman Florida 2.4-mile ocean swm, this part of a commentary on Steve Irwin's death reinforced some of my deepest fears:

"The oceans are a rougher and more difficult wilderness for humans to function in than any encountered by terrestrial or space explorers. The sea pummels us with an unbreathable and corrosive liquid medium; altered visual and acoustic characteristics; changing temperatures, depth and pressures; upwellings; tides; currents; sudden storms and giant waves. Drowning, not animals, accounts for the vast majority of ocean-related deaths, including about 200,000 in the giant Asian tsunami of December 2004 and many of the 1,800 people who died as a result of Hurricane Katrina."