CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. — It’s not spring break in Florida without a day at the beach.
“It’s our first vacation here in Florida,” said Sonia Marshall.
“Definitely love the weather, the heat, and the sun,” said James Pearson.
Pearson and his 10-year-old son, Silas, are on vacation from New York, visiting Clearwater Beach, and Dad knows to always keep him close.
“Make sure that if he does drift away that I go with the current and instead of against it,” said Pearson.
As more people flock to Florida, lifeguards want visitors to keep safety top of mind.
With Wednesday's tragic incident with the swimmer in Indian Shores, law enforcement said swim coaches advised that they checked for riptides or hazards before swimmers entered the water.
“Any surf beach can have rip currents on it, same as our beach,” said Patrick Brafford, the Beach Lifeguard Manager for the Clearwater Fire Rescue Lifeguard division. “Usually people think of the Gulf of Mexico as a more of a flat, calm water beach, and usually it is, but we still can have rip currents here, and we still want people to know the dangers of them.”
Brafford has been a lifeguard in Clearwater for 13 years.
To spot a rip current, Brafford said to look for a break in the incoming wave pattern.
“You can also see a current discoloration flowing offshore. It could be sand. It could be debris flowing out to sea,” said Brafford.
If you find yourself in a rip current, Brafford stressed to stay calm because panicking can lead to exhaustion which can cause drowning.
“Try to float in place, try to get your bearings, and signal for help onshore,” said Brafford. “Hopefully, you’re on a lifeguarded beach. If you’re not, you want to swim at an angle, parallel to shore and at an angle in outside the current, and hopefully that way you can make your way back to shore.”
Other swim safety suggestions are to never swim alone, don’t dive headfirst, and if you’re not a strong swimmer, stay closer to shore.
