Today I would like to acknowledge the excellent Outer Banks lifeguards that work diligently to keep everyone safe during their beach vacations.
This weekend the OBX water was warm and beautiful. And even better? The waves were large, bringing out the surfers and body boarders. With this surf came some expected churning, pulling and currents.
I was on our Ocean Sands beach swimming with my nine year old daughter and her friend. Near us was a watchful mother with several young children at the water’s edge. One of the Currituck County lifeguards was driving his four wheeler down the beach and stopped to read the water in front of her.
After sitting for a minute he began walking towards the visiting family. I came out of the water with the girls to listen in and to make sure he had not seen a rip current I had not spotted.
This young man proceeded to talk to the mother about the current sandbar configuration and water patterns. He explained that the water near her children was unexpectedly deep in one area and had the potential to turn in to a rip current later in the day. Then he created a model of a sandbar in the sand and showed the children what a rip current was and how to get out of one.
I spoke with the lifeguard for a few minutes about how to read the water and about how there are often rip currents you can’t even detect from land. He was knowledgeable, proactive, friendly and very welcome in our area. This lifeguard might have stopped a potential drowning before it even happened. My hat is off to all of the Outer Banks lifeguards, and in particular, the lifeguards protecting the Ocean Sands area!
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