re: people who jump in to save people from drowning

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What are you supposed to do if there isn’t a lifeguard nearby or anything?

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So you are going to tarnish a man who selflessly rushed in to save a mother and her baby while you sat on the shore mashing your nuts?

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Already being done LINK

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I understand it's already being done, but it's not standard on most beaches yet.

Hence, my post.

Going into the ocean to save someone's life is tough business. You better have a lifeguard can on hand. It's extremely dangerous attempting to rescue another human that's grasping for their life. They will absolutely be all over you trying to stay above water and they'll be beyond full panic when you reach them. You CANNOT let them get their hands on you first. You must approach them from behind and get them in the proper life saving hold. It's not an easy task and you may very well get killed if you don't have lifeguard training.

They taught us if they ever get hold of you, go under. They'll let go if they feel themselves sinking. I'd hate to have tested that theory in action. All my shifts were boring.

I’m no lifeguard but I’ll be damned if I sit by idle when a woman and baby are fighting for their life. From the local talk, he got got in current and washed out. I would think rolling over and floating would be your best option if a crowded beach witnessed said incident. However, the man is a hero in my book.

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Swimming out by yourself unless you’re in great shape and trained is useless. Only option likely to succeed is to take a floatation item to them and stay back.

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Or fat.

If you're fat you're probably buoyant enough to float with very little energy expenditure.

I've jumped in to save someone, twice. My 75 year old grandmother never learned to swim. She was floating on a raft in our pool. First time she ever allowed herself to get in water bsides a tub. Fell off the raft in 4ft of water and panicked. Had I not been able to stand up, it would have been interesting. She was freaking out.

We were on a houseboat a few years ago for a wierd engagement party, I was fairly drunk.

A little kid was standing on a pier about 30ft away and fell in and didn't pop up. I took a running leap off of the high dive in a sport coat. Absolutely no one knew why. Swam toward the kid underwater and actually bumped into him. Shorts were caught in a crab trap.

I popped up with a pantsless black kid.

Sheer luck I saw it happen and was drunk enough to do what I did.

Having said that, I'd always jump in. Couldn't live with myself. I was saved from drowning twice when I was very young. It is a terrifying experience.

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Swimming out is a last resort, even for trained lifeguards. They taught us techniques to deal with panicked swimmers. Fortunately I never had to use them IRL.

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"Reach, throw, row, go" is what I was taught. Going into the water after a swimmer in distress is the last resort.

My cousin went into Lake Ponchartrain after some crazy bastard who jumped out of a moving car and then off the Causeway. He saved the guy's life. When I asked him why he went in after someone who was obviously in self destruction mode, his answer was "I just couldn't stand there and watch him drown."

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I like to think there are worse ways to leave this world and enter the next than laying down your life for two innocent ones.

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Drowning is one of the worst ways to die.

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I took a running leap off of the high dive in a sport coat. Absolutely no one knew why. ... I popped up with a pantsless black kid.

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The reactions from the crowd must have been great.

WTF?

OMG!