My girlfriend and I are from Ohio and were visiting florida to see some family. Our first day we decided to go to the cocoa beach pier. It was a beautiful tuesday day and we were so excited to have sand in our toes and the sun in our face. We looked for shells for about an hour then we departed into the ocean for a swim. We were jumping with the waves that were rolling in. At about stomach high water. We were having so much fun that we weren't really paying attention to the waves. We ended up being pushed under the pier by a riptide. I was unable to stay above water so we started grabbing the poles of the pier to keep myself above water as I was being pulled down. The pier was COVERED with barnicles which as we all know are as sharp as razor blades. I was grabbing frantically at the barnicles as they were breaking off as I grabbed them. The whole time I'm struggling to stay above water I can hear my girlfriend of 5 years screaming at the top of her lungs for help. I look over at her and see her grasping another pier pole. I kicked off of my pole and made it to her to try to help my baby. We were in the water being bashed by waves over and over for 2-3 minutes screaming for help. We finally looked up and saw two brave life guards swimming out to us with a red floaty. As they reached us they tossed it over to us and we grabbed it as our hands were covered in blood from the barnicles.they drug us up to shore and bandaged us up and cleaned us up. We tried to ride the riptide. Once again we are from ohio and this was our first time in the ocean. So this was a terrifying experience but the life guards that were there saved our lives and I'm very very very thankful for them. Our fingers are shredded, legs, arms, chests, feet. Everything is covered with cuts from the barnicles. Here is a link to the pictures of the man who saved us and my hands afterwards. pictures of the hero and my hands