View allAll Photos Tagged BeachSafety
A lifeguard's board sits just outside the lifeguard tower ready for action if needed.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Thanks for your visit & comments, much appreciated.
Our brave lifeguards perform a vital role and patrol many of our beaches and it is their job to watch people in the water to make sure they remain safe.
Lifeguards put up flags on the beach to show where it is safe to swim. The phrase 'swim between the flags' is an Australian mantra.
The yellow and red flags are a national symbol of where lifesavers would like you to stay, so you don’t get caught in a rip. Rips are where water is calm on the top, but a dangerous under-current can drag you out. The flags mark the area where it is safe to swim.
This is a minimal take on the scene from a local beach one autumn day a few years ago.
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A Ford F-150 of the Volusia County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue in Ormond Beach, Florida. The department is a division of Volusia County Public Safety and its members are dual-certified to perform law enforcement and EMS duties.
Lifeguard Post by the Sea - A lifeguard station on a quiet sandy beach, marked by a bright red umbrella and rescue gear, overlooking ocean waves.
It's time for me to celebrate again, and I want you to celebrate with me!
(my original blog entries about these events can be found here and here . Last year's anniversary write-up can be found here )
2 years ago, while vacationing at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, my then 3 year-old son fell into a hole left by some other children, six feet from where I stood, while I was in conversation with my husband. It was only a matter of seconds before I realized he was gone from my peripheral vision, and as close as we were to the water's edge, I thought he had been swept into the water (which was very rough and choppy that day). For five minutes, my husband and many others searched for him. Long after we had given up hope of finding him alive, a young woman noticed an indentation in the sand near our towels, stuck her hands in, and felt the top of his head 8-10 inches under the surface. (For the rest of my life, I will be grateful to Erika Orlando, now Erika Weiland).
My husband and others immediately began digging. Miraculously, my husband pulled our son out of the hole alive, and totally fine (though shaken up, as we all were). Afterwards, I learned that sandhole collapses are a more frequent occurrence than I would've dreamed, and that the majority of them end in death. There are four easy things you can do to prevent such a tragedy:
1. When you arrive at the beach, always check nearby for any holes left by others, and fill them in.
2. Do not dig holes any deeper than knee-high of the shortest person in your group. Yeah, I know this sounds extreme. If this feels more extreme than your group can accommodate than perhaps you can at least stop at waist-high.
3. If you do dig holes, fill them in before you leave. The hole my son fell in had been left by other children.
4. Make sure any children you go to the beach with know that holes and trenches can be dangerous, and that they should let you know if they see any abandoned holes.
July 8th feels like a birthday to me, because it's the day I got my baby back, the day I got my own life back when I thought it had been shattered. In my religious tradition, there are stories of people getting back things (or people) they thought they'd lost for good - and they always throw a party. I'm not having a full-on party, but I do want a little virtual celebration. So I'm giving away a little yarn for my yarny friends (2 skeins 350 yds each, Socks That Rock, Heavyweight, in Midsummer Night - it's enough to make a short-sleeved February Lady Sweater in one of the smaller sizes, or a Hap Blanket [when paired with a contrast color], or a child's sweater, or whatever else you desire. With shipping it's roughly a $60 value.)
You don't have to do anything but leave a comment letting me know you'd like to celebrate by winning some yarn. (I'm cross-posting this on my blog as well, and you're welcome to comment in both places, but I'll only count each comment as one entry). If you don't like yarn, don't want yarn, but still want to leave a comment, that's great too (but let me know you don't want to be entered). I'll draw a winner next Wednesday, July 15, after noon EST.
And if you'd help spread the word about sandhole safety, too, that'd be great. Let me know if you blog about this, or tweet about it, or otherwise spread the word about sandhole safety, and I will enter you in the giveaway a second time.
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Kara Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
No matter how many signs are posted, lifeguards must constantly remind swimmers and waders to stay within the appropriate zones for their own safety.
After Bridport we went about a mile down the road to West Bay. There is a harbour here, and a pebbled beach with a couple of piers (good for fishing).
The East Beach at West Bay. From the eroded cliff face to the first pier.
Beach Safety sign.
You may use this photograph for educational, non-commercial purposes. Credit "Todd Marsee, Michigan Sea Grant"
Toowoon Bay on the Central Coast in New South Wales - Australia.
Surf Rescue ready to go. Summer is almost here, beach weather!!!