re: Rip tides: Beach’s deaths along Dauphin Island to Destin this week

4 or 5 people didn’t die along any 30 miles stretch of beach in South Africa this week.

The typical pattern is parents get distracted etc and little Johnny gets caught in rip tide on raft or something and starts screaming as he is getting ripped out to sea. Parents panic go after him, parent drowns. Johnny gets picked up by boat or something or he drowns too.

I think I t’s the damn near constant 10-15 knot winds we are getting. We typically get a day or two break as fronts move in but not lately, the 10-15 knot days have been the light wind days lately. It’s like March April weather right now. Water just hit 80 degrees most places last week or so.

It’s just really bizarre and dangerous rn.

No 1: Dont Panic.
No 2: next you never fight a rip tide you swim with it at an angle until you get out.
No 3: Tell your kids to always stay with the raft or float. They will be fine if they do. Any boat within a few miles here will respond to a call to rescue a kid, and you are not going to have miles of empty gulf in the Summer. They can be 20 miles offshore, we will find them and get him. Plus the Coast Guard will stop their card game and send in the chopper to rescue a little kid, you or me not so much.
No. 4: Don’t Panic.