PSA: Rip currents and swimming in waters to which you are not accustomed

[Faith-manor]

This is so sad. 6 orphaned children.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/couple-drowns-rip-current-vacation-kids-florida/story?id=111306733

This is a reminder for anyone traveling to the Great Lakes Michigan that though the Great Lakes are "lakes", they function as inland seas AND they have a lot of rip currents. You can check NWS for rip current predictions for each of the lakes at any time you might be wandering around these gorgeous beaches and frolicking in the water.

Drownings are sadly, a regular occurrence here, and they most often happen to people who are not Great Lakes born and raised residents. Folks from other states here the word " lake" and think no big deal. But they are deadly lakes. Please also do not stand out on piers during storms to get photos. 5ft waves on a not stormy day is normal. 10 ft or more during storms are super common, and during bad storms 17-30 ft is possible. People surf on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior and even some near Lexington, MI on Lake Huron which has been known to have some good surfing too.

Treat these lakes with great respect, and keep your kids close to the shore. Sandbars here are NOT your friend. Just stay close to shore.

Also please, when the signs say "Do not paddle or swim shipwreck point", just play by the rules. Coast Guard and sheriff water patrol are  tired of rescuing tourists.  

[Ginevra]

So very sad. An important reminder that doesn’t just apply to rip currents. Also: know what kind of wildlife is in an area you may not be familiar with and how to respond to those creatures.
 

Snow poses the same danger when people with little/no experience with snow goes to a place with a tremendous amount of snow. 

[Ottakee]

Yes.  I live close to Lake Michigan and the dangers are real.   Every year we dread hearing the coast guard boats and/or helicopter head out.

[math teacher]

Thanks for posting this. We vacation in Galveston a lot. There have been 5 drownings there since Labor Day. It's so sad!!

[Faith-manor]

Just now, math teacher said:

Thanks for posting this. We vacation in Galveston a lot. There have been 5 drownings there since Labor Day. It's so sad!!

Oh my, that is so sad.

The one that really got me last year on my side of the state was a family visiting from out of state. They were at Tawas Point State Park which has gorgeous beach but the currents are strong. They lost their 8 year old but managed to save their 7 year old.

Tough stuff. 

Respect Mother Nature. She is not a merciful entity!

[prairiewindmomma]

Yup. I am actually watching what I think is a rescue/recovery right now. 😞 Ambulance is here and two of the beach trucks are clustered at the water line. 

[prairiewindmomma]

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Edited June 22 by prairiewindmomma

[Faith-manor]

7 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I will edit out the photos later…but I am hoping these photos will help make sense of one of my experiences today…

Dh and I went hiking today along a narrow trail that hugs the side of a cliff. Below the trail is a beach that one can access via a different trail. 
 

Close to the end of our trail, where it is super steep and there are deep dropoffs, I heard blood curdling screams….the kind that make everyone’s stomach churn. I have heard those level of screams a few times—broken bones, a little kid watching another kid fall off of a dock and disappear under a boat…you get it. 
 

In that split second, I thought someone had fallen off of the cliff (again). It’s a spot known for people to go down. I look at my watch to try to pinpoint our location, and I’m scouting up the trail to see if a helicopter could land or whether it’s going to be a bucket rescue. I’m pulling out my phone to see if I have signal again and dh is busting back behind me to see if he can pinpoint the sound.

It’s a kid, on the beach below us. Totally fine. I get that kids sometimes shriek, little kids especially. But this kid freaked out all of us along the trail and was old enough to know better. (We bumped into other people who were also hustling to rescue.) 

I feel like a lot of etiquette and common sense has been lost. 
 

If signs posted at a trailhead note the rigor of the trail and the dangerous conditions and the other people in the parking lot are pulling out backpacks and trekking poles and are fully geared up with hiking boots, etc., this is not a place you should head out on with only dress sandals on.

If the people you see in the water are surfers with wet suits and personal beacons, and everyone else on the beach is reading books or checking out sea stars…probably not the best place for your young children to swim.

Anyway, we finished out our hike and headed into town for flushing toilets and the like (so, different beach) and  I saw the ambulance and rescue trucks at the water line. I guess I will check the news tonight. 
 

It tends to be tourists who die here. They just underestimate the power of a rip current, the chill of the water, or the slipperiness of a cliffside. It’s so sad, and it only seems to be getting worse.

You are spot on. 

On another note, these photos are absolutely gorgeous!

[Ottakee]

We have that so often here in Lake Michigan.  The red flags are flying but people are swimming and letting their little ones swim.   Every year people die.   I just feel for the rescuers that then put their own lives at risk because people disregard the warnings (they are Very clear at our local beach).

[Faith-manor]

Also, just another reminder. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a HUGE attraction in Michigan (with good reason). Please though only try to climb the dune at the visitor center which is one they constantly rebuild. Most of the others are absolute off limits. But there is one that is accessible off the beach on Lake Michigan that is basically for Olympians, or Greek gods, or ghosts or something. It is insane. But way too many people each year think they can make it to the top, and go for it. Every year the local fire department and EMS have to rescue a ridiculous number of people off it. They now charge $3000 for the rescue plus any additional charges to your insurance if they have to medically treat you. A lot of folks think they are having a heart attack about 1/3-1/2 the way up. It is just that difficult, and while one might be tempted to just roll back down to the beach, the dune is so steep that you will roll into the water which has a drop off from "oh look my ankles are wet" to "over my head about 20 ft deep and I am so fatigued and out of breath that I am not long for this world". 

Just go take the ring road drive and stop off at at the overlook for that dune. It is many hundreds of feet tall And is a 44.9% grade. Let that sink in. It is nearly a 90 degree angle. It takes a 10 member team to get a single person off it if they collapse. But she sure is one beautiful sight from that boardwalk at the top!

[Lady Florida.]

That's so sad. Unfortunately it happens several times each summer here on Florida's east coast. There are also numerous people rescued from riptides by lifeguards. My weather app gives me riptide warnings nearly every day.

Edited June 22 by Lady Florida.

[mommyoffive]

Those poor kids.  Oh man I wish there was a running tv at all these places educating people on the risks of where there are.  I think you just don't understand a lot of the perils as a tourist from someplace else.  I remember when that little boy was eaten at DisneyWorld by a croc.  And that hadn't even occurred to me that yes all the water at Disney you need to be careful of too.  For some dumb reason that never would have occurred to me, but I am sure it is a something so basic to people from FL.

[bookbard]

We have had a significant increase in drownings in Australia since Covid. Along with a significant increase in fatal car accidents. And a massive decrease in vaccination rates.

It feels like a lot of the gains we've had in public health over the last decade or so have been lost since Covid, and those who educate the public on these things need to start from scratch. Something has changed, whether it's distrust in authority, minor brain damage from Covid or simply exhaustion.

[J-rap]

That's so tragic. 

We once vacationed in a topical area, and all of our kids by then were either older teens or young adults, and the beach was known to have occasional riptides.  It was still a busy tourist beach with lots of people in the water, but I made sure to become educated in how to swim if caught in a riptide, and I made all of my children watch a video on it.  You're not supposed to fight it, but are supposed to let you carry you out until you're actually out of it, and then you can swim around it to safety.  But I have no idea what I would be thinking in the moment if it actually happened.  Of course the safest thing is to stay out of a riptide area.

 

[Arcadia]

In California, locals are also guilty of ignoring warning signs like the below on beaches. 

[math teacher]

15 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Oh my, that is so sad.

The one that really got me last year on my side of the state was a family visiting from out of state. They were at Tawas Point State Park which has gorgeous beach but the currents are strong. They lost their 8 year old but managed to save their 7 year old.

Tough stuff. 

Respect Mother Nature. She is not a merciful entity!

That is so sad. Actually the drownings in Galveston have been this summer since MEMORIAL Day, not Labor Day. I tend to get the two mixed up.

[KatieJ]

15 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Also, just another reminder. Sleeping Bear Dunes is a HUGE attraction in Michigan (with good reason).  A lot of folks think they are having a heart attack about 1/3-1/2 the way up. 

 

Friends of ours climbed it. It was difficult. They made it back to their vehicle but he went to ER later that evening thinking he was having a heart attack. It was exhaustion from the climb. 
 

[Lady Florida.]

13 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 For some dumb reason that never would have occurred to me, but I am sure it is a something so basic to people from FL.

Yes. The general wisdom is "If it's a body of fresh water assume there are gators in it". Most bodies of water have warning signs but Disney didn't want to scare tourists off so there were no signs. They put up signs since that sad incident.

4 hours ago, math teacher said:

Actually the drownings in Galveston have been this summer since MEMORIAL Day, not Labor Day. I tend to get the two mixed up.

Memorial Day weekend tends to be when the drownings start here too. May is usually when riptides get worse and remain bad through the summer.

Three more swimmers died, this time on Florida's Gulf Coast. 😢

This thread made me also think of the number of tourists who died or have gone missing in Greece during their heat wave. 

[kbutton]

21 hours ago, Ottakee said:

 people disregard the warnings (they are Very clear at our local beach).

I’ve been to a beach four times, each time briefly and don’t remember much about warnings. I am glad to know that maybe they are more common or more obvious now. One time was not beach season, two times were with locals, so I probably just took their cue and could’ve missed seeing warnings and flags.

18 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Those poor kids.  Oh man I wish there was a running tv at all these places educating people on the risks of where there are.  I think you just don't understand a lot of the perils as a tourist from someplace else.  I remember when that little boy was eaten at DisneyWorld by a croc.  And that hadn't even occurred to me that yes all the water at Disney you need to be careful of too.  For some dumb reason that never would have occurred to me, but I am sure it is a something so basic to people from FL.

What I would assume is that if there was danger there would be a sign.

At the same time, I have firsthand experience of signs showing dangers that locals are like, “that’s not really dangerous” (like skating on a shallow pond that has most definitely been really deeply frozen for days and days) as well as a sign once that said danger, but there was none—it was a convenient way to keep out of a specific area. In fact, it was a stairwell that can be used in an emergency instead of the elevator, but it was labeled as high voltage!!! It’s all concrete! This kind of thing makes people disregard signs or think that they apply only to people who have no common sense.

4 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

Disney didn't want to scare tourists off so there were no signs.

. 😢

That is really upsetting.