saw two people almost drown, what would you do

Save them! Anyone that has a decent head on their shoulders would do the same.
Plus me being an ex lifeguard I feel it's my responsibility.

 

Save them, So they can tell the rest of the benny's at DJ's that night about how they should stay out of the ocean.

 

Well, not sure about the rules nowadays...but when i guarded bystanders were not allowed to interfere with rescues. Even though they felt the need to. I would say if it's off hours and there are no guards do what you gotta.....can't see any harm coming out of trying to be a hero.

Also, some beaches have after hours....like all the guards leave at 5 and there is still a few that need to stay till 7. But after 7 there is no guards at all.

 

I helped with a save last Friday until the guard got out to the far end of the rip. I usually help with 1 to 5 a year.

 

Wow.....i'm surprised they let you help.....Kudos to you for being a good citizen. If you try that here in NJ you will get yelled at. I saw the other week Bertha came threw i think on Sat. was the worst of it. Guards were busy all day. And people in general wanted to help...but the guards were yelling at everyone to stay away that they got this.

 

I think you are missing a spot in your survey for - Go Get Help.

All the points made are very valid. Besides just being held reliable if something wrong happens, you also put your own life at risk by going in after them. While we are all experienced in the water, know our limitations, and can handle and understand the conditions, people in this situation could act sporadically and freak out when you get to them - putting you in the same place they are.

 

I'd save them if i could. In fact this situation happened to me about 10 years ago at 118th street in OC. Mom and daughter in a bad rip after hours and i paddled out and got them both out of the rip and gave the mom my board. i swam the daughter into shallow water then went back out for mom..

I would only do that since i had guard training and know how to react if they try to drown you out of fear.

 

WAIT!!!!

Our we talking 2 benny's/guidos?














Just joking I would save them anyway......

 

Yeah the guard looked at me funny but I was at the young boy with my board about 4 minutes before he arrived. That could be life or death.

 

I actually was involved in 2 rescues the same day - one in the AM with no lifeguards on yet, the other later in the day with a lifeguard.
Late Sept, '05, OC a nasty rip that took 2 young girls out. They were pretty calm but they're dad was hollerin for someone to help. Me and another surfer had just gotten there and rushed out - he helped one, I helped the other. Didn't give it much thought, we just did it.
That afternoon was a different story. 2 young boys got caught in the same area and started screamin and freakin while getting sucked out. I wasn't far away and heard them and they're mothers who started screamin from the beach. Again I just reacted and paddled over to them and told the more freaked of the 2 to just try to stay calm and cling to the front of my longboard and told the other grab the leash/ tail of my board. The first boy scrambled to climb on the board so I let him. It was a definately a struggle but I just tried to get em out of the rip to less turbulant water, then started "swimming" them in. By this time one of the few late-season lifeguards came out from down the beach (heard all the yellin) and we got em the rest of the way in. The lifeguard and the moms in particular thanked me - so I think they were pretty happy I got involved. I also witnessed another surfer help a girl swimmer in trouble.
Ever since then I've just thought it was an unspoken duty that if you can help and you have a floatation device - your board- you just do it!

PS - thanks for the help on the fin question!

 

Help them...no doubt...because you don't know if the guard on duty (if there is one on duty) is just a glorified lifeguard fratboy...many cases, it is a benny/guido down the shaw in the animal house for the summer.

Not so funny story:
About 3 years ago, a well known fellow local sponger (who is a lifeguard as well) was out in the Beach (know for its pounding shorey/rips and its glorified lifeguard fratboys), when a few youngens got pulled out in a rip; the guards (who were on the stand), didn't see/hear them. This well known fellow local sponger acted quickly and paddled over, got the boys on the sponge and brought them in. The guards had the balls to gave him heat for using his bodyboard to save them because it wasn't the proper lifesaving equipment.
Tell them to do their job and work in shifts when pervin' on the 13 year olds...so someone is watching the water...Punks!!!

 

Yeah (not an indictment on all guards) a good many years ago it was macking swell in OCMD and a little girl got caught in a rip and the guard did nothing. The guy i was surfing with was an ex-officer in the ocbp and he and i went out for her and got her back in. i thought he was going to kill the fratboy guard on the spot!

 

don't hate on me, but i'm on the ocbp..

needless to say, i LOVE having spongers in the water when there is swell, because they are almost always a help when it comes to kooks and tourists getting pulled out/not being able to swim. Sometimes people getting sucked out doesn't warrant a rescue, if only they would swim parallel to the beach, and the rip isn't too gnarly. Unfortunately most people have no idea what i'm trying to tell them when i point at them and a direction to swim. Locals and spngers are usually an active mouth in the water, telling them what i'm trying to say.

furthermore, if its a big day and some people are just not listening or getting sucked out, (like last weekend ), you guys out having a good time are usually there to let those kids float on your boards til i can get out to them. takes a whole lot longer to run the beach and swim out to someone than it does to paddle over and let them float with ya. so to all you who have made a rescue or helped out a guard, thank you!!! no matter how many peeps on the beach patrol hate on locals, spongers, and surfers, i'm looking out for ya, because i am one of you, and you are appreciated!!!

not all of us guards are clueless kooks when it comes to the waves.

oh yea, and as for when guards are off duty, i straight up tell people in the water to stick to the beach - for their safety, and cuz they are clogging up the inside

 

Well i got a story for you...
It was a little over a month a go me and my buddies just got done bodyboarding infront of peir vilage(LB. i was on land when i decided to go out for just one more wave. Right before i was about to go in, their was a little boy standing at the break heastating . He had a $5 peice of sh it board made of styrofoam that he must have gotten at the local 711. This was clearly not a day for a kid with a board of that kind also one that doesent have a leash on it. he looked as if he never even bodyboarded a day in his life, the waves where about waist to chest with choppy condictions. So i looked at him and told him i wouldent go out, for his own safty, but he dident listen.
Once he was in he was allready having problems, i tryed to explain to him to just dive under the white water and so it wouldent keep pushing him back. As bad as it sounds i decided to go on my way but when i looked back a i saw a set crash over him and fling his board across the water.All i see is a little boy just floating helpsly in the water and to top it off he was right in front of the jetty! I imeaditly swam over and told him to grab on to my back and i would take him to shore. Boy i tell you this kid was heavy haha, it was very hard to paddle with a large 10 year old on your back hah. We get to shore and everything was gravy. First thing he says was " Dude where you get you board"? i just cracked up

 

Pardon my bad spelling hahah.

 

some tourist was getting sucked into the indian river inlet one day when the current was super strong.

I paddled over to help him, but by the time I got over to him, I got sucked in as well. And if anyone knows this inlet, the current in there is super strong.

I was able to paddle over to the rocks and climb up on the side of the inlet. But the other guy got picked up by the coast guard underneath the indian river bridge. pretty nutso.

 

what it comes down to is that us wave riders are a brother hood of the ocean. we know what were doin and were usually first on the scene anyway if we can help with out getting in trouble ourselves then we should and in our line of play building up good karma is never a bad thing

 

being a guard i would definitely save them....right away....