an uncomfortable situation in the
ocean, just wave your arms and the
surf rescue technician will assist you
to safety. However, when people ig-
nore our pleas to never enter the
ocean when the Beach Patrol is off-
duty, they are making a potentially
deadly mistake. The beach patrol is
on duty daily in the summer
from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
well as daily stats and current
beach conditions, you can
follow the Beach Patrol on
Twitter or "like us" on the offi-
cial OC-BP Facebook page.
We can't wait to be a part of
your wonderful experiences in
Ocean City because we are glad
you are here, and always remember
to "Keep your feet in the sand until
the lifeguard's in the stand."
out of the ocean (5:25 p.m.) before
they leave the beach at 5:30 p.m. so
that it is clear that the beach is now
"unguarded." Therefore, we can be
assured that those who enter the
water during unguarded hours are
taking that risk knowingly. The risk
is great, although many of the 2,000
and 4,000 people who we rescue
during guarding hours tell us that
they never intended to go out that
"far," they do not make the connec-
third leading cause of weather relat-
ed deaths nationally) will actually
pull a person from waist-deep water
to water that is over their head
quickly and without warning. These
same currents that are the cause of
95 percent of all rescues we make
during the day are also present
before and after we are on our
that when a person finds
themselves in trouble before
10 a.m. or after 5:30 p.m.
there is no one to save their
life and unfortunately it all too
often has ended in tragedy.
them of the dangers of swim-
that we make sure people leave the
ocean before we pull our lifeguard
stands back and cross over the
dune for the night. If you find your-
self in one of these deadly currents,
just remember the acronym R.I.P. R
means relax and do not panic; I
equals I need help and waive for
assistance; and P means swim par-
allel to escape the pull of the rip cur-
rent and then swim back to the safe-
ty of the beach.
sergeant. He is an assistant principal
at Stephen Decatur High School.)