extended periods of time."
the ocean for extended periods of
time. Of course, fewer people in the
water mean fewer opportunities for
incidents and a drop in the number
of rescues for the beach patrol.
much less time in the water," Arbin
said.
most of the significant injuries and
even drowning incidents have oc-
curred in the evening or night hours
when the guards are off duty for the
day. However, with cooler water
temperatures and chilly nighttime
temperatures, those incidents have
dropped significantly this season.
the evening that people were wear-
ing sweatshirts and pants," said
Arbin. "The cool evening tempera-
tures, especially around the water,
have kept people out of the ocean
after we go off duty and there are
fewer people venturing into the
water. We've been very fortunate
this summer. Even during the recent
heat wave, it's been pleasant by the
water."
summer have meant fewer days of
large waves and rip currents, which
often contribute to the number of
incidents and rescues. With a few
exceptions, the summer season has
been largely devoid of rip currents
and consequently, the number of
incidents declined.
this season," said Arbin. "I'm not
going to say it's been a lake out
there, because there have been
plenty of days with strong currents
and big shore breaks, but it has
been much calmer. We haven't
seen any tropical storms thus far
that churn up the ocean and create
dangerous rip currents."
when guards are not manning the
stands. Even after the guards sign off
for the day and wave people in from
the ocean, the beach patrol still pa-
trols the beach on quads to respond
to incidents in the evening hours.
While there have still been some af-
ter-hours incidents, they haven't been
as serious as years past.
haven't seen the strong rip currents
for the most part. In a strong rip cur-
rent, even the strongest swimmers
become exhausted quickly and we
might not have 10 minutes to get to
them but more like two minutes.
Those eight minutes are often the
difference between life and death."
has been relatively calm for the
statistical anomalies. For example,
last Friday, the beach patrol made
244 rescues, the single highest num-
ber for one day all summer. In addi-
tion, last Sunday in the area of 18th
Street, the beach patrol responded
to a middle-aged man floating face
down in the ocean near shore.
large shore break or rip current, Ar-
bin said the guards treated the inci-
dent initially as a potential medical
emergency. The man was brought to
shore and CPR was performed until
his pulse was restored. He was tak-
en by ambulance to PRMC in Salis-
bury where it was confirmed the vic-
tim had a C2 fracture in his neck.
firms the need to swim only when the
guards are on the stands," said Arbin.
"There were no apparent dangerous
conditions and nobody on a crowded
beach saw what happened to him,
and yet he had a serious fracture in
his neck and became unconscious.
So even though we haven't seen too
many days of rip currents or large
shore breaks, it's still dangerous and
we can't emphasize enough the need
to use caution and swim only when
the guards are on the stands, even on
the calmest of days."
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