Death at oregon inlet

About a month ago in around 4-5 foot high waves, I hear this 15 year old guy on a bodyboard with no fins yells out com'on guys "this is less intense than the water park park". lol. I watch him paddle right into the most obvious rip current and about 10 minutes later the lifeguards had to come out and get him. He was just stuck paddling on his board. No clue. People need to know their limits and learn how the ocean works. Oh and a few months back, I pulled this non swimmer 12 year old girl out of the ocean. I told her to lie on my board, but she couldnt' figure it out. Talk about dangerous

Another thing, I also don't understand why the lifeguards disappear after august. The swell doesn't even start pumping hard until sept and oct. They should stay at least until the end of oct, but without all the stupid knee high/waist deep restrictions when there's swell in the water. Let common sense prevail. Seriously, I've had them whistling at me and kicking me out of the water for not being waist deep; A grown man who clearly knows how to duckdive(finally!) in a wetsuit and fins when there's 3 foot high waves. I'm not saying man every chair, but let's say a beach with 15 chairs in the summer should have 2 chairs manned in the fall and if people choose to swim, bodyboard or surf outside the flags than they can. The fall is when most people drown. People almost never drown at lifeguard protected spots. Last year at Rockaway long island a surfer died needlessly. Anyone can get into trouble. Lifeguards should be at these beaches and major pointbreaks, just without all the bull**** rules.

 

Many guards are teachers and college students that have to go back to school. Because of the climate, full time positions don't exist. It gets to a point where surfers aid the guards.

 

Let's look at your average state beach. You have 15 guards in the summer. Only 2 would need to stay in the fall. Your telling me there aren't 2 people that need jobs in this economy for another 3 months? And it's not like your paying them a ton and it's going to cost taxpayers a fortune. A lot of places like hawaii have year round guards.

 

Whats your local beach?
OCMD has guards on call till mid oct i believe

 

i agree on lifeguards staying longer, but those ropes need to go, they are dangerous when surfing... but you also have to think, in sept/oct we're (some/most) in wetsuits! lifeguards only have those miniskirts!

 

Rhode Island. Not a single lifeguard in the whole state after Aug/labor day weekend. Water temps are warmer in sept and oct than in june(they start work in june in rhode island) The lifeguard only goes in the water for a few minutes to rescue someone. Not an hour long session. They can always wear a shorty or full stretchy/comfy 3/2 if they wanted to.

 

I was down there the day before it happened. I didn't go to the inlet, I was north of there two days before and south of there the day before.

I think it happened on Wednesday. The wind went west on Tuesday, and the water was gorgeous. Clean and crystal clear, except for the jellies and occasional bunch of seaweed.

The rips though were very noticeable. With fins on and a board, rips are no real concern for a seasoned surfer/body boarder. But I have a feeling the kid that drowned didn't realize how powerful those rips were.

They were clearly visible too on Tuesday. The water was so clean that the rips were obvious as plumes of sandy water that went out past the break. It was shore breaking, and pretty deep, so you wouldn't have to go out far to get sucked away. If you got into the rip, it was a lot harder to see because all the water surrounding you is the same color. From the beach, or from a good 20 feet away the rip is much more noticeable. We surfed near one all day on Tuesday because the peak was right next to it.

I know the surf died down by Tuesday night and we headed back for VA, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a rip that got him. There was probably still 3-4 foot sets coming in, and when those waves hit the beach they can be a lot more powerful than they look from the sand.

 

the Atlantic

Sometimes you hear that east coast surf ain't all that. Y'know, from the guys who have 'been all over.'

Well, I've surfed Barbados, the DR, SoCal, Hawaii, Nicaragua. But I'm an east coast guy.

The Atlantic is serious water. We all surf, so we know that.

But, you take a huge population of humans, living in the largest set of cities in the USA (the NYC - Balto - DC - Miami megalopolis) located along the eastern seaboard. It's inevitable that a a large number of people are going to be in the ocean than anywhere else. More drownings as a result. People just think it's no big deal, 'it's only the Atlantic.'

Yeah, right. Only the Atlantic.

A buddy of mine was a fireman in NYC. Very athletic guy. Surfed, too. One of those so-talented dudes, but laid back, a good guy; he really took pride in being in shape, fighting fires in the Big Apple, being able to help people in danger, so he was ripped in shape.

Well, one afternoon he was in shorepound at Rockaway with his gf. He turned away from the ocean to call out to his gf who was in the ankle wash. He gets hit square in the lower back by a 4' wave. It slammed him into the sand. Instant paralysis. His gf & a couple other people were barely able to drag him out of the ocean's sucking grip.

He went from having it all to nearly total paralysis. Lost his job, barely ble to pay bills, no disability to speak of. The gf stuck with him for a year, then she bailed.

Alcohol & pills took over. He was a big dude in his prime. He wasted away. 26 months to the day of the incident in the Atlantic, he pushed himself off a highway overpass into an oncoming 18-wheeler.

I always think about him when it's ragged & rugged out there. Even those 'small' waves in the Atlantic pack a massive punch.

I recall trying to get out of the water at Assateague one autumn day when it had size. Surfed it up, caught on in & started heading out of the water for a beer.

It was unreal. It was like I was a rag doll clown act. I got beat up more trying to get out than when I was out in the water. Felt like a rookie fool, getting smashed around just trying to exit the ocean.

We go to the ocean for fun. But the ocean is no joke. As east coasters know too well.

 

Man its really scarry. ive been in the atlantic all my life, and i think ive probably been in a rip maybe 5 times but i just swim out of them. but some people cant swim that good and yankee is right sometimes coming out of the water is the hardest part. ive gotten pummeled just trying to get out of big surf. its dangerous out there in the water so take precaution, surf in groups, etc....

 

heaving shore break sucks alot i hate getting pounded by it when its big. especially when its big and cold and your cold and just wanna get out thats when it gets bad.

 

I followed this story also, very sad. They searched for almost two days. The OBX beaches can have steep drop offs near shore between the sandbars. There is also alot more pull (current) in the water compared to tame beaches like Mrytle Beach.

Does anyone know how close to Oregon inlet he was swimming? Alot of current passes thru hear. People have fell off the bridge catwalk fishing and been swept out in seconds.

Exiting the water can be dangerous as mentioned.

I wish the lifegurds would patrol the swimming areas and surfing areas in jet skis like they do in Hawai and Cali. They could have tow sleds on the back. And as a bonus pick us out of the crunch zone and then tow us surfers back to the line up like they do for the pros! LOL!

 

The biggest problem is that he CHOSE to swim in unguarded water and lack of education/water safety.
Resort towns such at OCMD, Va Beach, Jersey town- yeah I expect them to be guarded. I don't expect places like obx, the state parks in md, del, jerz to be guarded- that would just take opportunities to surf away from us anyways.
Like said before, people look at is as "just the atlantic"

 

Good post all.
I've used rips to get out and through some size and I'm really surprised how fast
some of those currents are, below the surface they're even faster.
Just a few lifeguards later in the season would help a boatload.

 

I had been surfing some sharky waters down in Florida a few years back (Coral Cove). The place really slams hard on a good swell so when you wipe out in the impact zone it keeps you underwater a liitle bit longer than other breaks in the area. I found out from a local that the bait fish hang near the impact zone for protection from the bigger fish (sharks). He stated that most of the attacks happen in the impact zone since the sharks are patroling these areas for food. This may explain what hapened down in Oregon Inlet as well as Nantucket. Regarding rips, they can be a surfers best friend during a macking swell. Use them wisely and to your advantage. If you time it right, you may make it out with a dry head. LET'S GO DANIELLE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Your right. Almost all the attacks happen in Florida near the inlets in very shallow water. Florida is the non fatal shark attack capitol of the world. Smaller sharks(ie not full grown great whites; their looking for seals in cooler waters), are waiting especially at dawn and dusk and on outgoing tides for the fish to spill into the ocean. You have to have rocks in your head to go in the water at new Smyrna beach/ponce inlet, yet the lineup is still crowded even on a murky day at dawn patrol! From 1999 to 2008 they've had 135 attacks basically at that ONE long stretch of beach(ie volusia county) Why they don't net some of the Florida beaches is beyond me! Easy solution to spare people from horrific injury. Nobody seems to care about people's safety! Luckily I live near RI where I'm more likely to die on the car ride to the beach than get attacked by a shark. Knocking on wood lol
Oh and I missed the high tide push this morning on a 4 foot at 9 second swell Oh well. I really wanted a warm up before Danielle.

 

We were up in Cape May in late-September a few years back during a Nor'Easter swell surfing one of the south groins. Maybe 3 of us out at the groin and a beginner bodyboarder on the inside riding the soft inside shore break. A couple of lifeguards show up and one goes "on duty" and the other one paddles out and tries to chase us out. No way. Meanwhile, the "on duty" lifeguard tells the bodyboarder he has to move down to the next groin, about 50 yds or so, where the surf isn't good and it is nasty shorepound. My buddies and I looked at each other with the expression, "What is up with THAT?"

About 45 minutes later the bodyboarder makes a head plant on the dumping shore break, the guy can't move and ends up being evacuated by helicopter.

 

That story is obscene and sad, but I believe it. Shore pound is the most dangerous of anything and provides a real danger to even experienced waterman. That should have been one of the first things they learned. Basically some, not all, of these lifeguards are morons with no common sense with their first job/situation in a position of authority. Better training needed. The difference in the average quality of lifeguards and their experience when there's swell in the water between the east coast and say Hawaii or California is night and day.

 

I grew up surfing in Florida and the lifeguards there are pretty cool. I see them practicing and training at dawn every weekend during the summer, and theyre stationed from May - October. They are very trustable, and they only blow the horn for obvious reasons, swimmers get too close to the pier, drift too far, etc...

I live in VB now, and the lifeguards here are a joke. i think they are only trained to enforce the surfing and the swimming zones. I am skeptical about their ability to rescue someone in bad conditions and their water knowledge.