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Its Saturday night and right now I am watching the news. They anounced that today the 3rd person in as many weeks, swimming in the surf, has drowned here on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Are you guys seeing many drownings in other areas of our country???

All of the victims are visitors here for vacation.

The wind has blown here for 3 weeks and with the surf up the undertow has been very strong.

I guess my point here is to bring this to the attention of others that may possibly visit our area.........the summer is still young.........be careful

Harry Babb

good advice......after 45 years of playing in the surf ive seen numerous rescues (been part of a few)........its almost always inexperience and panic........thats why its almost always tourists and kids

Harry,
We had some pretty lousy surf a few weeks ago and lost 3 or 4 to drowning. All tourists. One guy who jumped in to save a couple of girls.

Rip current got them all.

Its hard to make people understand when they're getting sucked out to sea to relax and swim paralell to the shore till they are free of the rip.

Panic is a staple of most people and its used in very creative ways in this country.

Harry, we had a Hispanic kid drown at San Luis Pass last week. Walking in the water with his family, supposedly fell into a hole, never came out - at least, not alive. This is a very dangerous area, strong tidal currents in and out, claims several lives every year. They were walking in front of signs in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese warning of the danger. Guess some folks can't read in any language.

I have been noticing more drownings over the past few years then in the past. I think it may have something to do with the way our society works now.

People just don't think till its too late, then they just seem to think about who to blame and sue. An example from a few years ago, a guy is fishing just outside of our inlet with his little girl, boat goes by and throws a wake onto the beach where she was LEFT ALONE, wave drags child into the water and she drowns. A truly horrific ordeal for the family, but I am thinking who in their right mind leaves a child alone at the waters edge. Apparentaly others do not see it my way as a crusade started to find and this boater and sue.

The few times I go to a public beach I am astonished how parents just expect others to watch their kids. Add to that most people have little to no respect for the water, they just consider an ocean a big pool.

We are so screwed up I can't take my boat to a beach where I virtually grew up...seems its too dangerous to swim without a lifeguard. I can however anchor a mile off the beach and swim with the family to my hearts content, guess the thinking is a mile off the beach nobody can be responsible, wrong word Accountable.

Harry,

At Pensacola Beach they have a colored flag system they use to warn swimmers of dangerous rip currents, but the tourist with selective hearing and brain damage think they know better will go anyway, out of site of the lifeguards on the beach. A year or so ago they were drowning like 3-5 a week.

DQ

Natural selection, except for the little kids!

I second that Rawleigh.

here there is miles of empty beach...theres a few public beaches with life guards and one with a building but the rest of the town is open water...swim at your own risk.............my neighbor and i rescued a guy out "surfin" in double overhead waves.......he tried to take off.....got pitched, broke his cord, lost his board and started screaming like a wounded banshee. so we paddle over and it was not fun as he was right in the impact zone......whats the prob ? asks i .... his reply "i dont know how to swim".....took us 45 minutes to get him to the beach

Sounds like it is the towns fault for not properly posting "Swim at your own risk, cause there ain't nobody here to help you if you run into trouble". Water can be deeper then you are tall and waves can knock you over and undertow is more then a myth and the ability to swim is highly advised and children should be supervised and children should not be left unattended and they too should know how to swim too and the sun can be strong at times it is advised to wear sunscreen and...

Of course this would have to be printed in all languages as well as the Universal Sign Language for those who cannot read. I can read, but have a hard time understanding the universal sign language, maybe somebody should be posted by each sign to further explain and clarify the dangers.

My sister, brother in law, and 2 friends almost drowned in Alabama last weekend. Got caught in a rip current. They said they knew the swim parrallel theory, but said they could literally feel panic setting in while getting a mouth full of water with every breath. All are athletic, and my friend was a commercial diver years ago, and doesn't spook easily. He said he thought he was having a heart attack once he got bact to the beach -- taking about 25 min to catch his breath. There was a crowd of onlookers with no one offering to help.

Watch your kids.