Hi guys, thank you for letting me join your group.
I had a physics and optics question,
I was out on the West Coast of Florida this summer for vacation and we went to the beach . It was a family group of about 10 of us. Keep in mind it was mid summer - super hot and sunny. The water was flat, calm, and very warm.
I rented a 2 person kayak, and went out on the water with my son who is 7 years old.
We went out on the water about no more than half a mile straight from the beach. ( It was about a quarter of a mile probably )
Our family got scared and called the Coast Guard. They thought that we got sucked out by a riptide. ( and we did a little, but we went out a little bit more sideways than out )
They looked out and thought we had gone out about 2 miles. ( basically they said that we disappeared into the horizon and could just see a speck out there). When I looked back from the deep water, from where I was at, I saw full details of umbrellas, buildings, people( no problem).
Keep in mind, the sun was blasting from above our heads mid-July super bright, different densities of air on the water, clearly visible , light reflecting everything off the water like crazy.
I think it was an optical illusion. If you are on the beach, we looked farther than we actually were. From where I was at ( deep water) I felt like we weren’t far out .
Please help me clarify this.
Basically who was right ?
Thank you very much.
