Lifeguards, Flag System, 20/20

[Kurt]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

ABC's 20/20 feature on rip currents was informative. The chairman of the Walton County Commission couldn't have done a worse job in the interview with correspondent Brian Ross, who hammered him over the lack of lifeguards. There are good arguments on both sides of the life guards or no life guards issue...none of which were articulated by the chariman. Thoroughly unprepared for prime time.

I didn't see the piece, but I assume it was the same old tired formula, in which it is ABC's goal to make him look the fool, and it is his destiny to be the fool. Blame must be placed, and the Gulf Of Mexico was not available for interviews.

Whether you feel one way or the other about the issue, you have to admit this headline from ABC is ridiculous:
Dangerous Currents Stalk Florida Panhandle

And I thought it was sharks that were stalking us. :roll:

 

[Miss Kitty]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

Sharks, storms, drownings, beach erosion, dunes collapsing, over-priced real estate, trash/debris on the beach, tents, seaweed, Hwy. 98, and now ABC!!! Pretty soon, there will be a lawsuit against the Gulf of Mexico! Go ahead, bring it on, SoWal is still the best place on earth for me!

How about this? Before you can go down to the beach, you must study the rules and then take a test to see if you have some sense!!! We just got back from Yellowstone and I can tell you we read and learned the rules set out for tourists! It doesn't hurt to be told over and over again to not feed the bears!!

I say (don't be offended please) ban the tents and try out lifeguards for a while! Does anyone know the standard distance between lifeguard stations? I read that the flag poles were still down in some places...still true?

When are the next commisioner elections? That poor dude....was that the best Walton Co. could do? "Don't go in the water."....maybe his next post could be with the tourist council! YIKES!

 

[Bluznbeach]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I didn't see the piece, but I assume it was the same old tired formula, in which it is ABC's goal to make him look the fool, and it is his destiny to be the fool. Blame must be placed, and the Gulf Of Mexico was not available for interviews.

Whether you feel one way or the other about the issue, you have to admit this headline from ABC is ridiculous:
Dangerous Currents Stalk Florida Panhandle

And I thought it was sharks that were stalking us. :roll:

Sorry, Kurt, but as much as I appreciate and admire this board, the headline was NOT ridiculous and the piece did NOT follow some "old tired formula." What's ridiculous is that the county has done absolutely nothing about this when the need for lifeguards was obvious long ago. Blaming ABC, the Gulf of Mexico, the visitors themselves, or each other :laughing1 isn't going to solve this problem.

Of course people who use the beaches are responsible for their own actions and should obey the flags. But is it right to have them dying when lifeguards could make a real difference? ABC pointed out that lifeguards saved a lot of people in Daytona, which also has rip currents. I've been to guarded beaches on the Delaware / Maryland / Virginia coast where the waves are as big as any on the Panhandle, and where no one has drowned in decades.

Rip currents kill more people than sharks or hurricanes. Lifeguards may not be able to prevent every drowning but they can sure improve the odds. And as a property owner, I'm more than willing to pay my share of the cost. It would just about kill me if anything happened to one of my renters. Would any of us want to face Sandee Lamotte -- or, God forbid, the family of a future victim -- and tell them their loved one's life wasn't worth the expense?

 

[sunsetdunes]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I didn't see the piece, but I assume it was the same old tired formula, in which it is ABC's goal to make him look the fool, and it is his destiny to be the fool. Blame must be placed, and the Gulf Of Mexico was not available for interviews.

Whether you feel one way or the other about the issue, you have to admit this headline from ABC is ridiculous:
Dangerous Currents Stalk Florida Panhandle

And I thought it was sharks that were stalking us. :roll:

Kurt, with all due respect, this headline is probably the most accurate assessment of the biggest threat to swimmers along coastlines. I read a recent New York Times article which documented that more people are killed in rip currents each year than from any other hazard.

Point two: some flag poles were destroyed during Arlene, and most of the rest were taken out by Dennis. Without warning flags, the beach becomes even more dangerous to tourists.

No matter how any of us may feel about the stupidity of entering the water on a red flag, people do not deserve to die from ignorance, particularly children and teenagers. And rip currents can form even when the flags are yellow or green.

Lifeguards not only can save lives, but they can help educate people to the dangers. And if a lifeguard catches someone in the water on a double red flag, who resists their "advice" to leave the water, that person would be subject to a fine, according to my understanding of local ordinances.

Budgeting for lifeguards does not have to cost anything to property owners. Walton County can pass along any costs via the bed tax. It's my understanding that neighboring counties have already raised their bed tax higher than ours anyway.

I agree with Bluznbeach on this one.

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I still say it is the individual's responsibility to stay safe. A few years ago we had family visiting during a week when there were red flag conditions. My brother-in-law insisted on taking his 3 very small children to the beach so they could boogie board on the "big waves." I repeatedly warned him of the dangers and told him specifically of the 8 drownings that had, at that time, just happened. He didn't care. He did take his kids to the beach and they boogie boarded for hours, had a great time, and were safe. Its like Russian Roulette though. This guy is a good dad who wouldn't leave the driveway without his kids in carseats.

I think lifeguards might help at the major beach accesses, but there is no way to patrol the entire beach. People like my brother-in-law are going to do what they want to do and won't listen to a lifeguard anyway.

 

[sunsetdunes]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I still say it is the individual's responsibility to stay safe. A few years ago we had family visiting during a week when there were red flag conditions. My brother-in-law insisted on taking his 3 very small children to the beach so they could boogie board on the "big waves." I repeatedly warned him of the dangers and told him specifically of the 8 drownings that had, at that time, just happened. He didn't care. He did take his kids to the beach and they boogie boarded for hours, had a great time, and were safe. Its like Russian Roulette though. This guy is a good dad who wouldn't leave the driveway without his kids in carseats.

I think lifeguards might help at the major beach accesses, but there is no way to patrol the entire beach. People like my brother-in-law are going to do what they want to do and won't listen to a lifeguard anyway.

People can drown from rip currents even when the flag is flying yellow or green. It takes time for the flags to be changed when the surf conditions change. They don't change like a traffic light. Lifeguards are needed as part of the safety system.

In many beach communities, penalties may be imposed for failing to immediately obey all orders, direction whistles or other signals by lifeguards.

Walton County could enact similar laws that makes it mandatory to obey the lifeguard or the sheriff will be called.

 

[Bob]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I still say it is the individual's responsibility to stay safe. A few years ago we had family visiting during a week when there were red flag conditions. My brother-in-law insisted on taking his 3 very small children to the beach so they could boogie board on the "big waves." I repeatedly warned him of the dangers and told him specifically of the 8 drownings that had, at that time, just happened. He didn't care. He did take his kids to the beach and they boogie boarded for hours, had a great time, and were safe. Its like Russian Roulette though. This guy is a good dad who wouldn't leave the driveway without his kids in carseats.

I think lifeguards might help at the major beach accesses, but there is no way to patrol the entire beach. People like my brother-in-law are going to do what they want to do and won't listen to a lifeguard anyway.

50 people in 5 years drown in the area. Individual responsibility? Wow!

 

[Kurt]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

This board is about all our opinions and knowledge, mine is not any more important than anyone elses.

I'm not saying the the basis for the story is ridiculous, and I see both side of the issue. I'm saying rip tides don't "stalk". Anthropomorphism used in a completely innapropriate way to sensationalize a story and prey on the public's primal fears, inciting those fears to sell advertisements and increase profits.

The culture of fear produces and devours headlines like that. Don't give in to unreasonable fears, like hurricanes, sharks, snakes, currents, mold, or sushi. If driving a car was a primal fear, we'd never leave the house. Be a little more skeptical about the content and the motives. Keep things in perspective.

 

[dusty]

Re: Need to Post and Enforce Flag System - More Drownings

I saw the story on 20/20 and it was presented in a sensationalistic fashion.

It is very sad that the former CNN correspondent lost his life. From what I read on another message board, the correspondent was already pulled from the water earlier that day...but allowed his kids to boogie board and that is what had him go back in the water. I do not think 20/20 told that he had already been pulled from the water...

So, as sad as it is, is the point of the story that someone who needed to be pulled out of the water already needs a lifeguard there to admonish them to stay out of the water and to keep his kids out of the water?

I have noticed the Seemore Crab info in the few times I have been there the past few years. Maybe it is too 'friendly' for the average person to understand about rip currents?

 

[SHELLY]

South Walton on 20/20 (ABC TV)

Did anyone catch the story on 20/20 about riptides and the absence of life guards in South Walton on 20/20 last night (July22)? Didn't make South Walton look too concerned about the safety of visitors. When the interviewer asked what South Walton was doing to protect swimmers the response was, "Well, we've got Seymore the Crab," and then 20/20 cut to the goofy cartoon of the crab talking about beach safety.

Then rest of the interview went something like this:

20/20: Are you planning on hiring lifeguards?
SOWAL: Uh, yeah, sometime
20/20: When? This year?
SOWAL: Uh, no, probably not this year, maybe next year.
20/20: What should tourists do to ensure their safety until you get lifeguards?
SOWAL: They should stay out of the water.

Priceless! :shock: