Megaladonasaurus

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Before we really professionalized the Beach Patrol, in the days before liability was an issue and we had a 2.6 minute average response time, it was a much looser outfit. This is true of most every long standing beach lifeguard service. Of course those of us still in the game romanticize the old days and all the fun we had that the current staff didn’t have, can’t have, and will never have. And there’s truth to how fun it was back then versus now, because our men and women work. They’re focused and attentive and have very little down time during the day. And that’s as it should be. But, still, the stories from back then are better. Many of the stories are not appropriate for a public news column, but some are just plain funny.

30 years ago I rode “wet seat” regularly with an older and more experienced lifeguard, who shall remain nameless. I was around 21 and he was about 10 years older. The beaches were wilder and we had much less lifeguard and security coverage so we got into all kinds of scrapes. We rescued dozens of people, broke up countless fights, and joked around constantly. He didn’t talk much and constantly wore those really “Top Gun” looking aviator glasses, which went well with the short 80’s style uniform shorts and the sporty v neck t-shirts that we had as uniforms.

One thing I really liked to do when I was the one driving was pull up to a group of ladies on his side. I’d stop the truck and yell out his window in a really squealy, girly voice, “MY FRIEND LIKES YOU!!!!”. I probably still have bruises from all the times he hit me to get me to drive off as he looked straight ahead and tried to retain some semblance of cool.

One day we were patrolling the west end and he spotted something. A woman was walking towards us beachcombing. He stopped the truck and ripped off his shirt and shorts so he was only wearing a very small black Speedo (it was the 80’s remember?). He mumbled something about giving him a cup that he had stored in the door. I pulled it out and handed it to him. He quickly rummaged around in it and pulled out several sharks’ teeth, including one that looked like it must have come from the movie Jaws. Then he walked off down the beach, pretending to look for shells.

Being young and curious, I grabbed the binoculars and watched as they crossed paths. It looked like he just nodded and kept walking by. She turned and said something. He gestured a question and she held something small up. He nodded and turned away and started walking. She called him and he turned to see her pointing at his hand. He kind of shrugged nonchalantly  and pulled out the Megaladonasaurus tooth. The rest is history. We went back to patrolling, but they dated for about 20 years and are still friends.

Pygmy Sperm Whale

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Living as close to the ocean as we do we become very familiar with the flora and fauna that we see regularly. Things people come a great distance to enjoy can become commonplace if we don’t consciously strive to renew our appreciation. For some this is means merely making the time to slow down, make time, and be present. For others it means a continual learning process as we encounter new creatures and experience variations in the coastal environment.

I was personally pretty blown away last week when we got a call that a whale beached itself on the rocks at 50th street. What turned out to be a Pygmy Sperm Whale that was around 8 feet long was alive when it arrived but, unfortunately, died shortly afterwards. We were able to tie a rope around its tail and pull it off of the rocks and drag it through the water to a beach with sand on it so it could be loaded up and disposed of in a more remote area of the beach. That wasn’t too out of the norm, as we deal with bottle nosed dolphins often. And a Cetacean beaching itself makes perfect sense. After all, what air breathing mammal wants to run the risk of drowning? But the wild thing was that it’s a really pretty rare occurrence to have a whale wash up at all and I’ve never seen a Pygmy Sperm Whale in person before.

I was really surprised to see its tiny little mouth on such a big head. One of the women that we were working with from the Marine Mammal Stranding Network told me that it feeds by suction! I thought about it all day, and that night combed the internet for more information. Turns out the mouth was only one weird thing about it.

I was in the Galapagos Islands once and saw crabs that live in trees and seagulls that have infrared vision and hunt at night. I know that the environment can cause all kinds of variation, but this little guy is pretty amazing even by Darwinian standards.

The Pygmy Sperm whale can dive for up to 45 minutes and uses echolocation to find its prey, which consists to a large degree of deep water squid. Sounds like it sucks the squid up into its little mouth like a scuba diving slurp gun. It also  can navigate by sensing magnetic fields, sort of like an inner compass.

But here’s the really cool thing. According to Wikipedia, “Pygmy sperm whales and dwarf sperm whales are unique among cetaceans in using a form of “ink” to evade predation in a manner similar to squid. Both species have a sac in the lower portion of their intestinal tract that contains up to 12 L of dark reddish brown fluid, which can be ejected to confuse or discourage potential predators”. So it uses the same technique its primary food source uses to avoid predators. In this case typically sharks or killer whales.

GMR

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The two men were paddling a canoe about half a mile off of their dock on sportsman road when they turned over and were thrown in the water. They were not wearing life jackets and the water was cold. Although they could swim they began to tire quickly as their heat and energy were sucked away. Their movements became slower and slower as they struggled to maintain their heads above water.

Fortunately, unbeknownst to them, someone spotted them from the porch of a house with binoculars and called 911. As they gradually lost their battle with the elements, help was on its way in the form of the Galveston Fire Department, Jamaica Beach Fire Rescue, Galveston Police Department, Galveston EMS, and the Beach Patrol. This coordinated rescue team, the Galveston Marine Response (G.M.R.) all worked off a shared radio channel to figure out how best to effect a rescue using the available resources. The fire and police departments arrived and searched the area to locate the victims while others brought boats from the nearest staged locations. EMS staged in the most likely place for the rescuers to return to shore.

From the Beach Patrol perspective, Supervisors Kris Pompa and Lauren Holloway grabbed the jet ski we keep staged at 61st street and headed directly to the nearest launch site from the incident. By the time they arrived at the Sportsman Road boat launch, the other responders had a good visual on the overturned canoe. Kris and Lauren pulled up to find someone they knew pulling up in a boat. To save the time it would take to launch they asked if they could jump in, and the boat went straight to the accident site.

When they approached one of the guys was swimming around, but the other was starting to go under. Kris grabbed his rescue tube and dove off the boat. As Kris brought the victim to the boat after making the rescue, the other guy swam over and they helped him in the boat. Heading back quickly to the dock, EMS checked out the two guys, both suffering from mild hypothermia.

This story had a happy ending because of the same teamwork that these agencies employ all year. Sometimes Jamaica Beach will have the closest boat, other times with will be GFD or GPD. But now that we have a system in place, more people with more qualifications get to these water emergencies more rapidly. And save more lives.

Last weekend the same groups, along with the crews from Ironman, a kayak club, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary all coordinated together to get 1,900 or so triathletes through the mile long swim course. 22 rescues and 208 swim assists were effected, but everyone left in good condition. Later that day some of the same people from the same groups saw each other several more times as we dealt with various beach emergencies. And there will be many more to come.

The busy season is just starting.

Mass Rescue

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The report of the incident starts out, “15:04 Unit 290,Supervisor Buck & Stewart, dispatched by headquarters for swimmers out to far at TWR 25.  Unit 290 rolls from 28 and sand.

15:05 Unit 290 gets on location.  From the beach we can see 5 swimmers about 50 yards off shore  …  My partner, Supervisor Stewart immediately heads into the water to check the swimmers…”

As most of you are probably aware, the rescue of five people at 26th street a couple of weeks ago received quite a bit of media attention. Our full time Lifeguard Supervisor/EMT Mary Stewart was credited with these rescues. Mary is a fantastic lifeguard, wonderful employee, and deserves every bit of this attention. The scary thing is that she almost drowned during the process, as one of the two victims she was attempting to bring to shore panicked and climbed on top of her and pushed her under water, as she tried to simultaneously fight him off and keep a small child afloat.

Not to take anything away from Mary, but there was more to the story than most of the media outlets reported. Despite Mary continually praising her co-rescuers during interviews, the public story cut that part out.

Meanwhile the report tells a more complete picture:

“Once my partner gets to the swimmers I receive the “ok” signal and return to shore and my radio to relay the “ok” signal.  Immediately after radioing everything is ok I see my partner signal for help.  15:07 I radio HQ to send back up and that I will be in the water to assist.  294 begins to roll from 18th and wall.   The guard from TWR 25,Dornak,  had brought 3 swimmers closer to shore where I met them with the rescue board.  Dornak then headed back to Supervisor Stewart to assist with the two swimmers she was bringing to shore.

15:09 Unit 294, Supervisor Garcia & Sr. Guard Letnich, arrive on scene.  Myself and my three victims are now in waist deep water, I instruct Sr.  Guard Letnich to go see if Stewart or Dornak need any more assistance.  I take my three victims to Unit 294 with Supervisor Garcia to get further checked out.”

Obviously there is quite a bit more going on. Jared Dornak stabilized the situation, brought three victims to Supervisor Dain Buck, then helped Mary bring the two she was wrestling with to shore, which may have saved her life. Dain watched everyone’s safety while still effecting three rescues himself and making sure backup was on the way so we could keep the ratio of rescuers to victims at an acceptable level.

There are layers of protection built into our system, which makes a dangerous job less so because we can provide all our guards with quick backup. These layers are there because we are provided enough resources to do lifesaving the right way. This event demonstrates clearly that we would have lost at least a couple of lives if this were not the case. And that we have many heroes in our ranks.

 

Mary’s Rescue

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Last Saturday we almost lost several lives, including one of our lifeguards.

The incident started relatively harmlessly. 5 people were swimming between the Pleasure Pier and the 27th street groin. There was a spot where there was a very weak rip current. A gentle drift that pushing offshore. Most people wouldn’t even notice it. But the 5 people were having a bit of difficulty returning.

The lifeguard from the nearest tower went to check. When the rescue truck made the scene they called in that no one was in distress but that Supervisor Mary Stewart was going to go in and help the guard move them closer to shore.

As they do at times, things escalated rapidly. Three of the victims, escorted by the tower guard’s made it in with minimal help. This is normal stuff. Two of them, a child and a man who went to help the group to shore, were floating on Mary’s rescue tube as she towed them to shore. It was, at this point, a simple rescue like the multitude our guards make each year.

But suddenly Mary was pulled underwater. It seems that the man started panicking. She was instantly catapulted from a situation where she was making a routine rescue, like she has done scores of times in her 11 year career as a lifeguard, to a struggle for her very life and the life of the two people she was trying to help.

As she tried to hold the child up she grappled with the man. There were times she felt like she’d have to make the choice between letting go of the child to try and save herself, or giving up and going down. All three lives hung in the balance.

In Mary’s words, “…someone’s life was slipping from the palm of my hand, as I struggled to maintain mine. The feeling of being someone’s only hope to live, while trying to hold onto your [own life] at the same time is indescribable. In an instance your whole life flashes before your eyes; every struggle, every tear, every laugh, every smile. You don’t realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness.”

In the end, her grit, training, fitness level, and fellow lifeguards gave this near tragedy a happy ending. Everyone made it to shore and lived to tell.

Every lifeguard who works enough time faces what Mary faced. A moment when you realize that fitness, training, and good intentions only get you so far. You have to dig deep beyond the physical part of you and draw strength from…somewhere else. And then, after passing though the crucible, you realize what you are and what you are actually capable of.

Mary later wrote, “For those of you fighting unbearable battles or drowning in despair- refuse to give up, refuse to sink… Your real hero is right there holding on to your…hand. And if you hold on long enough , you may just get the chance to be [a hero yourself.”