***Swimmers being rescued***

3 guys in trouble. 2 made it and 1 did not. 1 drowning.

What a tragedy!

Oh my! This is horrible news. I was at Grayton a couple of hours ago, and I was stunned to see 5 or 6 people in the water, pretty far out, playing in the waves. They were standing on a sandbar that had been created way offshore by the outflow of Western Lake, but one false move and they would have been carried off the sandbar and into the deep and very rough water.

I saw all of this from the porch of my dad's house, but now I feel like I should have gone down to the beach and spoken with these people. If I see this happening again, I will speak my mind. The vacationers can just laugh at me if they want to, or tell me to mind my own business, but I will at least have a clear conscience.

The Gulf is extremely rough and dangerous right now. The only people who should be in the water are surfers who are attached to their boards with leashes.

Very sad way to start or end a vactation!

I wish people would obey the damn flags instead of putting their lives and their rescuers lives at risk!

Very sad way to start or end a vactation!

I wish people would obey the damn flags instead of putting their lives and their rescuers lives at risk!

I was actually there and I have to be honest, the rescue was one swimmer, a lifeguard, who made a herculean effort at rescuing these folks and was by himself in the water. I am not sure of the circumstances that the 3 arrived where they did but it looked like 2 of them had boogie boards. I was stunned to see no one from the FD or Sherriffs office with a paddle board or any type of water rescue equipment deployed. It was at least 30 minutes for a PWC to arrive and it came after the rescue was over. I am so sorry for the family and my thoughts are with them. Double red flag actually means don't go in the water and it is still single red. Pretty easy to say obey the flags, hard to see a man die under any circumstances.

With such a beautiful day (finally), I tried to spend a relaxing day on the beach, but couldn't relax because stupid parents were letting their little kids play in the surf and I felt it was my duty to do the watching for them. You can't relax while you're in the "life saving" mode. Had to pack up and leave.

So sad to hear that someone died today.

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Very sad way to start or end a vactation!

I wish people would obey the damn flags instead of putting their lives and their rescuers lives at risk!

Amen! As a teenager I worked in Myrtle Beach, SC and I was shocked at the numbers of drownings and recues we did. Having grown up on Walton's Gulf of Mexico beaches where it seemed rare to have a drowning. It actually seemed more happened to the fishermen and boaters in the Bay. I just assumed it was b/c it was the Atlantic Ocean. I guess it is just the masses of people who now come here to vacation. Such a tragedy!

I was actually there and I have to be honest, the rescue was one swimmer, a lifeguard, who made a herculean effort at rescuing these folks and was by himself in the water. I am not sure of the circumstances that the 3 arrived where they did but it looked like 2 of them had boogie boards. I was stunned to see no one from the FD or Sherriffs office with a paddle board or any type of water rescue equipment deployed. It was at least 30 minutes for a PWC to arrive and it came after the rescue was over. I am so sorry for the family and my thoughts are with them. Double red flag actually means don't go in the water and it is still single red. Pretty easy to say obey the flags, hard to see a man die under any circumstances.

Single Red means the following:

RED: HIGH HAZARD - High Surf and/or Strong Currents

That is from SWFD - HOME. Personally it reads to me that the water is closed to those that do not have an incredibly good swimming ability or those with flotation devices i.e. surf boards.

Yes, it's sad that someone was so intent on going in that they basically made the decision to end their life for a dip in the gulf. Not the brightest move IMO and a real great example for kids, "Hey we paid to come on vacation and mother nature didn't cooperate. Oh well we paid we'll go".

I was actually there and I have to be honest, the rescue was one swimmer, a lifeguard, who made a herculean effort at rescuing these folks and was by himself in the water. I am not sure of the circumstances that the 3 arrived where they did but it looked like 2 of them had boogie boards. I was stunned to see no one from the FD or Sherriffs office with a paddle board or any type of water rescue equipment deployed. It was at least 30 minutes for a PWC to arrive and it came after the rescue was over. I am so sorry for the family and my thoughts are with them. Double red flag actually means don't go in the water and it is still single red. Pretty easy to say obey the flags, hard to see a man die under any circumstances.

Single red doesn't mean it's safe to swim - it means "stop, don't go in the water." That's why it's the same color as a "stop" sign, traffic "stoplight"etc.

Lifeguards on the beach are a recent occurrence, and it sounds like they are doing a great job. Hopefully the program will continue to expand. Often sending others into the water who are not suited for it just increases the tragedy potential, so I can understand why Fire or Sheriff's Dept. would not go in.

I constantly say "obey the flags" because I'm a former lifeguard who had water safety beaten into me by responsible parents. I am a much stronger swimmer than the majority of the tourists and I would not go into the water on a red flag day. We have many pools and coastal lakes for people who just must go into some water on red flag days.

Noone ever wants anybody to drown or be in harm's way - it's a horrible thing, that's why it is very frustrating to constantly see people ignoring the warnings and dangers.

Four pulled from SoWal rip currents | rip, swimmers, south - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

Four pulled from SoWal rip currents

Comments 4 | Recommend 0
April 3, 2009 - 6:44 PM
Andrew Gant
Daily News
Lifeguards pulled four swimmers from rip currents Friday as red flags flew over South Walton beaches.

There were two separate rescues, the first just after 11:20 a.m. at 4190 CR-30A. That swimmer was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast.

By about 1:20 p.m., three more people were trapped in a rip current about 50 yards off shore at Seagrove Beach.

A South Walton Fire lifeguard from a tower about two miles away drove an ATV, then ran the last half-mile to get past the washed-out Eastern Lake and into the gulf. He used two rescue buoys and fought his way back to shore with all three swimmers.

Two of them were transported to a hospital, one in cardiac arrest.

Rescuers urged swimmers to heed red-flag warnings.

We have a busy tourist week ahead and the seas are supposed to stay big for another solid week! The lifeguards are going to have their hands full.

Four pulled from SoWal rip currents | rip, swimmers, south - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

Oh, this is awful news! I hope there is no more of this~~~

More chuckleheads who think the flag system doesn't apply to them. The system is in place for a reason. How much more plain can it be made? It seems like those who don't live here know more about how tides and currents work than those who do. If you go out, or allow your family to go out in the water when conditions are beyond your or their capabilities, you have only yourself to blame if disaster strikes.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/all-about-sowal/26679-double-red-flag-violators.html

Someone under the age of ten told me that it wasn't safe to go in the water (I was planning a ninja mission across the outfall to remove a tent), so I am pretty secure in my assessment that the flag system isn't too difficult to understand.

Someone under the age of ten told me that it wasn't safe to go in the water (I was planning a ninja mission across the outfall to remove a tent), so I am pretty secure in my assessment that the flag system isn't too difficult to understand.

More chuckleheads who think the flag system doesn't apply to them. The system is in place for a reason. How much more plain can it be made? It seems like those who don't live here know more about how tides and currents work than those who do. If you go out, or allow your family to go out in the water when conditions are beyond your or their capabilities, you have only yourself to blame if disaster strikes.

http://www.sowal.com/bb/all-about-sowal/26679-double-red-flag-violators.html

Chuckleheads and ten year olds, great points. This man is dead, are you being serious? The response by the county to someone dying was inadequate, that is my problem. It isn't the responders fault, it's just a bad policy that needs to be corrected in a beach town. You are happy someone died and it proves a point? I can't even express here what I think of a response that thoughtless. No one said hop right in the red flag surf and feel wonderful about it. This is a beach with swimmers and they could certainly get caught in a rip current in a yellow flag almost as easily. If it is your loved one and they die because there is no rescue equipment or enough properly trained responders, I won't make fun of you, I promise.

Chuckleheads and ten year olds, great response. This man is dead people are you being serious? The response by the county to someone dying was inadequate, that is my problem. You are happy someone died and it proves a point? I can't even express here what I think of a response that thoughtless. No one said hop right in the red flag surf and feel wonderful about it. This is a beach with swimmers and they could certainly get caught in a rip current in a yellow flag surf just as easily. If it is your loved one and they die because there is no rescue equipment or enough properly trained responders, I won't make fun of you, I promise.

I appreciate your point and doubt that Scooterbug is pleased in some way that one swimmer died.
I am not sure what the county can do to ensure more successful rescues. It seems to me the best strategy is to prevent people from getting into the water on red flag days, and I think most would agree the county does a fine job with the flags and beach safety campaign.
If I am not mistaken, Bay County has more lifeguards on beaches than does Walton, and my perception is that more people drown in Bay than Walton (I could be wrong with that stat, it is just my perception based on what I hear on the news). I don't know what else Walton can do to protect people who put themselves in harms way.
By the way, kudos to the rescue swimmer who hoofed-it down the beach and managed to pull three people out of that water.

Chuckleheads and ten year olds, great response. This man is dead people are you being serious? The response by the county to someone dying was inadequate, that is my problem. You are happy someone died and it proves a point? I can't even express here what I think of a response that thoughtless. No one said hop right in the red flag surf and feel wonderful about it. This is a beach with swimmers and they could certainly get caught in a rip current in a yellow flag surf just as easily. If it is your loved one and they die because there is no rescue equipment or enough properly trained responders, I won't make fun of you, I promise.

Pirate, with all due respect, you misunderstand. No one can be happy that a person died on the beach. What you're reading is anger and frustration that someone died needlessly. It's particularly horrible because it keeps on happening and it never has to have happened at all. If people would only stay away from the water when the flag is red! No vacation is worth the loss of human life.

Pirate, with all due respect, you misunderstand. No one can be happy that a person died on the beach. What you're reading is anger and frustration that someone died needlessly. It's particularly horrible because it keeps on happening and it never has to have happened at all. If people would only stay away from the water when the flag is red! No vacation is worth the loss of human life.

I do see the point about the flag system. I personally am a very accomplished swimmer and do not go in when there is a red flag unless I am surfing. It is however a choice as the single red flag does not close the water. I think everyone is somehow missing the point that in a beach town with thousands of ocean swimmers there should be a better rescue system in place for this type of problem. The initial response was so rapid, but they could not do anything to help. It was at least another 20-30 minutes before someone equipped to help these people came and that is just too long. Train some fire responders and put paddleboards or even a small pwc on the fire equipment. If that saved one life it would be worth it. It would have saved this swimmer I would bet.

They are constantly trying to improve the system and responses.
A couple years ago there wouldn't even have been a lifeguard to rescue these people.

I do see the point about the flag system. I personally am a very accomplished swimmer and do not go in when there is a red flag unless I am surfing. It is however a choice as the single red flag does not close the water. I think everyone is somehow missing the point that in a beach town with thousands of ocean swimmers there should be a better rescue system in place for this type of problem. The initial response was so rapid, but they could not do anything to help. It was at least another 20-30 minutes before someone equipped to help these people came and that is just too long. Train some fire responders and put paddleboards or even a small pwc on the fire equipment. If that saved one life it would be worth it. It would have saved this swimmer I would bet.

Pirate

With do respect, the blame shouldn't be on the system, but those who constantly like to challenge the system. The flags were Red and the gentlemen still went out into the water and unfortunately, paid with one of their lives.

The lifesaving system in SoWal is a very good system and far superior to what we had just a few years ago. Is it perfect? No, but still better than you will see in the counties east of here. The director of the program is one of the best in the world and since he has been put in charge of the coordination/training, the death rates have dropped DRAMATICALLY!

Case in point. This last week's action by the lifeguard was truly an athletic feat. Running the last 1/2 mile because the path was blocked, then swimming 50 yards and bringing back three adult men by himself! Wow. I can assure you that just a few years ago, that attempt would have been by an overweight deputy in long pants and probably would have resulted in a more tragic result.

We can only hope that the more billboards out there and signage that we'd just as soon not need to have cluttering up all the beauty, might get through to one more person and divert another bad life memory.

People just need to open their eyes to what is all around them instead of their 3 square feet of personal space and the messge is out there, loud and clear.

I people watch whenever I can and it is just amazing to see how often people honestly aren't paying attention further than a few feet infront of their very lives. I believe televisions, telephones, video games and computers steadily teach society that this is all the further they need to be able to see.

Would it be worth it to train emergency personell water rescue when we do have an issue of any lifeguard gaining access to the area of his/her need. Of course it would be worth it. There is opportunity for improvement here instead of just saying that he didn't look at the flag. I just hope that everytime we have a personal disaster here, such as this, that it is esculated to the proper folks in charge and that we take a serious look to see what we could possible do in the future to avoid a 20-30 minute response time.
That is all. What can we do to make ourselves better. There is no blame here but there is an opportunity for improvement.

I appreciate your point and doubt that Scooterbug is pleased in some way that one swimmer died.
I am not sure what the county can do to ensure more successful rescues. It seems to me the best strategy is to prevent people from getting into the water on red flag days, and I think most would agree the county does a fine job with the flags and beach safety campaign.
If I am not mistaken, Bay County has more lifeguards on beaches than does Walton, and my perception is that more people drown in Bay than Walton (I could be wrong with that stat, it is just my perception based on what I hear on the news). I don't know what else Walton can do to protect people who put themselves in harms way.
By the way, kudos to the rescue swimmer who hoofed-it down the beach and managed to pull three people out of that water.

Sorry, your assessment is with the unicorns.

Bay County has far fewer life guards covering far fewer beaches. in fact the life guards in Bay County are only located at the City and County Piers.

On the other hand in Bay County it is required that all beach chair personnel be certified life guards. I'm not sure if that is actually enforced or verified, but I know it is the law. This was the solution to no life guards that the BCC came up with years ago, not sure if the addition of some life guards changed it or not.

It was like deja vue this morning to open the paper to read that the man who drowned was from Lafayette, Indiana. He died because he and two others went into the water to rescue some children they saw struggling.

So there are indeed chuckleheads in this story. Chuckleheads who don't exercise parental responsibility to tell their little darlings to stay out of the water when the red flag is waving. Chuckleheads who--directly or not--contributed to the death of a man whose only fault was that he was a good Samaritan. That's the tragedy.

Oh my Mermaid that is so, so sad. Just a major tragedy all around. When my daughter was working the kid's camp at Seaside she was alarmed at the risks so many parents took with their children and how many of them were drinking heavily and just letting their children run amuck. So sad for all involved.

In my book, this man is an absolute HERO