nowthatsmagic

Thank you for this info. Tragically, two of my high school classmates drowned together. One couldn’t swim well and began to struggle when he accidentally lost his footing in a lake. His friend attempted to rescue him, but sadly he pulled her down and they both drowned.

This event has stuck with me my whole life. People need to be educated on what to do and what not to do in an open water emergency.

Is there such a thing as keeping a secret for too long? Why do people feel the compulsion to share a secret in order to “get this off my chest”?

I am a former open water life guard (my experience was in lakes, so no experience in water with a current or tide).

Observe that surroundings and determine if anyone is available to immediately call emergency services, direct them to do so. Determine if there is a long object you could extend to them and pull them back to safety. Call to them to float on their back.

Keep in mind that a panicking drowning person is a true threat to your safety. I personally knew two individuals who drowned together because one pulled under his friend who attempted to rescue him.

In the event that a victim goes passive (unconscious) and they are floating, evaluate if the water is safe to enter before doing so to pull out the person. Begin CPR ASAP and call for emergency services.

If you see someone go under the water, mentally note where you are standing. Then, note where the person went under and a landmark behind where they went under to mentally lock in the submersion point. Then, approach the submersion point and begin swimming along the bottom if possible to look for the victim. If multiple people are present, form a line in the water horizontally to perform a thorough check of the area.

Former life guard here. Here is what my training said: 1. Diving into water under 8’ deep or into unknown depths. 2. Swimming while impaired or not in good health. 3. Swimming alone or far from others.

I personally would wait for the victim to go passive before attempting a rescue without the proper equipment, but I’m not an expert so maybe there’s a better answer.