Thursday, July 24, 2008

PAY ATTENTION DO NOT IGNORE!

Beach Lesson 101:

When you see this.....

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It means do not go into the water.  No swimming, dangerous water, under tow, strong current, rip tide....if you go in this might happen.

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You might need to get rescued.  :(

Three people got caught up in the rip tide and were pulled out into the ocean.

We saw the helicopter go by.  They were hovering over them and then they started dropping out the life preservers.

Then the jet ski, and the trucks started racing down the beach.

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When the jet ski got there they started throwing out life jackets.  Then they got the people on the jet ski and he brought them to the beach.

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From what I can gather, I believe these people are ok, and did not have to be hospitalized.  Unfortunately someone else drowned in the waters in another part of the beach and four others were hospitalized.

Its amazing the number of people who ignored the flags and got into the surf. 

Even today the double red flags were out and people were still going on out there.  So if you are going to the beach just remember to be careful and pay attention to the flags .

ValSig1

20 comments:

Southerner said...

Living there where we were there every day it was amazing to see the people who came down and thought they knew how to swim and didn't need to bother with the flag warnings. Every year there are so many deaths and it is usually the rescuer. So sad that they have to risk their lives for things that could have been avoided. Also, the same people think they don't need lotion b/c they want a tan. Freakin lobsters the next day! What is funny is to see people walking down the beach with a white stripe on their belly. At first I thought they smeared sunscreen on there then one sat down and it was where their belly rolled together and the sun didn't shine. EWWWW! Bikinis are not for everyone y'all.

Where did you go? Can't pick out anything from the photos. Looks like Destin where it curves around in the last post. If you are still there I WANT SHRIMP! My dad took the kids to Panama City and his condo is right next to the marina and he didn't have room for a cooler of shrimp. Maybe we can get some when we come back from Mexico, if we can get some contacts in Mobile.

Rhea said...

I so rarely go to the beach that I might not have known about the red flag thing. Thanks for the head's up! How embarrassing for those people who had to be saved, but thank goodness they were ok.

Anonymous said...

We saw the same exact thing happen twice last year in Orange Beach- One man was about 50 and the other guy was about 20-
both were okay, but I have never seen beach patrol move SOO fast! Thank goodness!

Dawn @ simply transparent said...

Sometimes it takes getting "hit close to home" before it becomes a reality...we my family that is pay attention even to road signs in the mountains when it says need chains, why test it?

Good post..love the pix.

Come see what I've been up to when you have a chance.

Mike Golch said...

let me sum this up quite simply. Stupid is what stupid does.Me if it means stay out than by all means stay out of the water "it can't happen to me" will happen to you.

Debbie said...

I'm leaving for the beach in the morning so thanks for the reminder!

MommyGirl said...

I am coveting your trip to the beach. I hope that you watch for flags!!

KWolfAK said...

I haven't been to the beach in years. My favorite thing is to look for shells.

Southerner said...

Have fun in PCB. I would love shrimp but we are leaving so it would get pretty smelly. I might try to get some in Mobile when we come back from the cruise. We can go down to the docks and get some off a returning boat. I don't think we will have time to try to see Jen when we are there. My MIL lives in N Mobile so we will go from there down to the docks. We will probably head straight home after getting off the ship.

marky said...

We had that happen when we were at the beach last year.. kind of scary for sure!
Glad your family was safe.

Joanna said...

Hey, I know where y'all are...We live there! I heard about all the things that happened and went on with the rip currents and such. And I would know those county sherrifs and beach police 50 miles away. : )

Meg said...

I wish I WAS AT THE BEACH! Lucky girl!
Stay safe...

People lose their good sense when they go on vacation sometimes...and do stupid things!

concerned parent said...

What a story I too wish people would use the brains God gave them and stay safe.

Anonymous said...

Hopped over from Meg's blogroll post. I need a beach fix, even if it would only be strolling along the beach because of red flags. Hope you're having fun.

(from previous post...your daughter is growing up fast! A lovely girl.)

Dawn said...

We see "stupid people" every time we go to the coast no matter what flags are flying - especially when we've got the boat out. It's like the salt in the air does something to their brains!

Glad you all are safe. Hope you're having a blast! Makes me wish I were still at the beach, too.

Blessings!
Dawn

Tammy said...

Yes, goodness. It's amazing how many people ignore the warning flags. It also amazes me how many parents let their LITTLE kids get at the edge of the surf while they sit back in their comfy chairs.

Misty said...

There's always excitement at the beach but I'm sure this is not what you were looking for. I am glad everyone was okay but I bet everyone was mesmerized by the rescue efforts. Great pictures!

Anonymous said...

Wow! I hope that everyone was okay -- that's important lesson though. Safety first, right?
I read through some of the comments and I have to tell you that one of the reasons that we like Captiva Island so much is that we don't have to deal with the crowds of drunk people. Captiva is a family beach with where most people wear large brimmed hats and cover up instead of letting it all hang out. I no longer have the body to be draping it all over the beach for a tan (and I'm a married woman for goodness sake) so I am always surprised to see someone just let it go for the world to see.

And then some part of me just loves them.

They obviously feel great no matter what they are wearing.

That's some amazing confidence.

Wow.

Hats off to them.

Blessings!
Lacy

j said...

Wow! What drama on your vacation. Did anyone do the
slo-mo run down the beach holding a life preserver? Sounds like it is right off of TV.

Jen

j said...

burying this comment a bit!

I SO knew that you would read me on the whole RULES of the award thing. Funny, huh?

Jen