Something I just saw

[beele]

I'm in the south of France for two weeks (cap ferret for those who want to know.) and today like usual, I was swimming/surfing, watching some hot chicks, when suddenly a coastal guard jeep rushed past the beach. Not a big deal I thought, happens a lot here like the days before, that they help someone get out of the water, but then their jet-ski comes rushing by too, shortly followed by a second jeep. I get up and take my binoculars, and see a lot of people standing in a group watching those jeeps, when from across the dunes a police helicopter comes flying in, shortly followed by a medical helicopter. So I decided to go and take a look. When I finally got there I see 3 people sitting by some medics, two of those people where given oxygen, the third one seemed to be just fine. I walked a bit further a saw some other medics down on the ground by the second jeep. When I got a little bit closer, I saw they were reanimating a man. I stood there watching the poor man and the medics trying to get him back to live for about 10 minutes. I was shocked, and filled with condolence for the man and his family. About 50 people including me watched this drama happen, yet I heard a lot of people drown here by the tall waves and the Strong current. There's no special reason why I post this here in the middle of my holidays, other that to get this of my heart. I had to tell this somewhere.



PS: if grammar/voc is not that good, it's because I can't install any programs here, so I did my best with my knowledge about the English language.

[The_Wraith]

It happens. Too many people think they know how to swim because they can do it in the pool.

[FRain]

Ocean Water =/= Pool Water

[supersniper]

Ocean water = very dangerous.
As a lifeguard I hope I never have to see this situation. Truly I'm sticking to pools.

[Hotrod]

Wow, that must have been hard to watch... Sure, it happens, and not everybody is as good as a swimmer as they might think, but it's still very sad. I hope that the family goes through this well enough.

[Rob Oplawar]

wow, that's harsh. I'm glad to hear about the huge response, and I would hope that it was timely, but sometimes there's just not a lot you can do. My gratitude to the coast guard.

[Reaper Man]

Things like this are why I took a first aid course in CPR. (Well, it was part of my rescue diver course)

[Bodzilla]

This happens all the time in aus, theres a hell of alot of people that come here and check otu our beaches, and jsut have no clue how to stay safe. They swim in Rips and sideways currents and before they know it, there in some trouble.

[Bastinka]

You can't control what happens in life, so you always take risks even when breathing. :|

[Bodzilla]

http://www.cnsm.csulb.edu/departments/geology/people/bperry/GrantPhotos/PtConcep2Oct06/022RipCurrentSolimarBeachOct06L.jpg

if you cant spot the rips in this picture, then when you come to australia, you better ask the lifesaver where to swim.
i'm looking at you england, you guys are hopeless in the surf lol

[Rob Oplawar]

^ I have no idea how to spot a rip tide. course, I'm about as land-locked as they get.

[LinkandKvel]

^ I have no idea how to spot a rip tide. course, I'm about as land-locked as they get.

I dunno what a rip tide is. Beat that.

I couldn't imagine seeing someone die before my eyes. Must have been scarring.

[The_Wraith]

Rip tides are just currents of water along the shore. You can tell by all the sand being pushed around in the picture. Rips are easy you just have to pay attention as to where you are and to not waste energy swimming against the current. Do that and the only problem will be the mild annoyance of constantly drifting away from your shit.

[Bodzilla]

the way to go is to let it take ya out to where it's weakest and then swim back in, but how do you spot them when you dont have an aerial view Wraith?

[The_Wraith]

the way to go is to let it take ya out to where it's weakest and then swim back in, but how do you spot them when you dont have an aerial view Wraith?How do you spot them? Learn how the ocean works like I have. Growing up 5 minutes from the beach has made the ocean quite a familiar and welcome place for me. Even then, the sand is visible from the beach. That or you could simply watch the way the water is moving. Maybe it's easier to me but I think anyone with just a bit of oceanic experiance can easily overcome a rip tide.

[Bodzilla]

How do you spot them? Learn how the ocean works like I have. Growing up 5 minutes from the beach has made the ocean quite a familiar and welcome place for me. Even then, the sand is visible from the beach. That or you could simply watch the way the water is moving. Maybe it's easier to me but I think anyone with just a bit of oceanic experiance can easily overcome a rip tide.
your a fuckign idiot.

i'm an australian, of course i fucking understand how they work, The hole fucking point of this exercise is that alot of people HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA how they work and risk their neck swimming in waters out of there depth, in the wrong areas and invariably risk the lives of hundreds of Lifesavers accross australia every day of every fucking year.
God dammit Wraith, wake the fuck up.

[n00b1n8R]

your a fuckign idiot.

i'm an australian, of course i fucking understand how they work, The hole fucking point of this exercise is that alot of people HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA how they work and risk their neck swimming in waters out of there depth, in the wrong areas and invariably risk the lives of hundreds of Lifesavers accross australia every day of every fucking year.
God dammit Wraith, wake the fuck up.
Zilla, just shut up. :lol:

Also, the trick to getting out of rips isn't to swim against them but to just swim across them. Then when your out you just swim back in to shore.

[DrunkenSamus]

That's easier said though, then done.

[The_Wraith]

your a fuckign idiot.

i'm an australian, of course i fucking understand how they work, The hole fucking point of this exercise is that alot of people HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA how they work and risk their neck swimming in waters out of there depth, in the wrong areas and invariably risk the lives of hundreds of Lifesavers accross australia every day of every fucking year.
God dammit Wraith, wake the fuck up.Laugh. Out. Loud.


Seriously serious. :suicide:

[Bodzilla]

Laugh. Out. Loud.


Seriously serious. :suicide:
just to clarify, alot of these people Come from the united states, canada, england and france.

[Reaper Man]

God dammit, how hard is it to figure out that when you're in a rip, you swim across it not against it.

[Bodzilla]

God dammit, how hard is it to figure out that when you're in a rip, you swim across it not against it.
tell that to the Thousands of tourists every year that get rescued by lifeguards.

Theres a show in australia called Bondi rescue (which is filmed at bondi beach in sydney) that just shows how much work these fellas go through saving people. The sheer amount of people they save every day is staggering, and the amouhnt of foreign tourists that need to be rescued is even worse.
and this is just at 1 beach...

so please if you go to the beaches and dont know what your doing just ask the lifesavers.