Double High Tides

/in , , , /by

Last weekend was the final day for the seasonal lifeguards to work. This means no more towers or tower lifeguards until next March. We’ll still have patrol units staffed with our fulltime guards out until December, and they’ll be back out patrolling on February 1st. We’ll also respond to 911 calls anytime day or night as we do all year long. But it’s a really good time to remind your family, friends, and loved ones about the basics for beach water safety.

The main thing to remember is that rip currents, which pull away from the shore out to sea, are generally strongest and most prevalent next to structures like rock groins and piers. So be sure if you swim to stay far from these areas and remember the longshore current will pull you parallel to the beach. Pick a fixed object well away from the rocks and use it as a reference point. If you can’t just walk or swim in place, come to shore periodically and walk back down to the area you want to stay in. Also remember not to enter the water at the ends of the island. The ship channel and San Luis Pass both have very strong tidal currents. These areas both have a history of drownings and should be avoided. If you fish, fish from shore.

Lots of people have been talking about the high tide event we had over the past couple of weeks. Actually there were two high tide events back to back and we saw almost 4 foot above normal tides at times. Both the beach and bay were really full and we even experienced minor flooding on some roads and elsewhere. There were several factors that at times combined to cause this:

  1. Full Moon- when the moon is full, it exerts greater gravitational force on the ocean, causing a higher than normal high tide.
  2. East Wind- When the wind blows to Galveston from the east or southeast it blows across a greater distance of water than from the west. This piles the water up ahead of it causing the tides to be higher than normal. So a stiff east wind blowing for a few days can typically cause both the high and low tides to be a foot or more above what a tide chart (astronomical tides) would indicate. The week before Hurricane Nate came through had both a full moon and east winds, so we saw tides up to 3.7 feet above the average (mean) tide.

-3. Storm Surge- Nate’s spinning pushed water ahead of it which caused a storm surge. This repeated the event of the 3.7 foot above normal high tides.

There were times over the past couple of weeks that two or three of these factors combined to cause tides that were much higher than normal. It was a pain in some ways but sure did keep people that fish and surf happy! Perfect clean waves and sunshine were a great way to close out the guarding season.

Gulf Magic

/in , /by

My friend David and I were 11 and 10 when we made skim boards. We rode them after the rains in the flooded ditch in front of my house until our moms couldn’t put up with all the cuts and scrapes anymore and my mom started taking us to the beach. We spent hours and hours skim boarding at low tide until we eventually were ready to take it to the next level. That Christmas we got old beat up boards. His was a Patrillo and mine was a 5’8” Dale Dobson. They were yellow and dinged up and the most beautiful things we’d ever seen. We’d set them on the bed and stand like we were riding while we waited for it to get warm enough to go to the beach.

That next summer we spent a big part of each day in chest deep water and pushing into whitewater until we could stand up in the whitewater and ride straight.

The next year I started at a new school and met Kevin, Jack, and Steve, who had foam boards, bikes, and were already surfing. The four of us lived in the same area and started riding to the beach whenever there were waves. We got wetsuits with beaver tails and were hooked. We’d ride the “mountain trail” at Fort Crocket (now the San Luis Hotel) in the coldest conditions, lock our bikes up at 53rd, surf till we couldn’t feel our feet, and barely make it back to our houses and hot showers.

We widened our net of surfers, but in those years there weren’t too many. In high school all the surfers pretty much knew each other. Some stayed, some got into other sports and other scenes. We lost some to girlfriends, others to drugs, and some to sports like football that were all consuming. But somewhere in there it became more about the ocean and the sport of surfing than about hanging out with friends. I found surfing alone had its own rewards you couldn’t find in groups. Teen problems, a messy parental divorce, family money issues, and everything else melted away when you were surfing glassy waves alone at sunset. More and more I found myself in the water with or without friends before school, at lunch, or between school and work. When I was finally old enough I joined the Beach Patrol and started training in Lifesaving Sport in addition to surfing.

When I left for college in San Antonio, then worked in Africa, went to grad school in California and took a job New York, I missed the Gulf physically. I couldn’t wait to guard in the summer and spend my free time in the salt.

And even after surfing for 41 years and guarding for 35, every morning when I swim or paddle out into the Gulf, I feel that same magic I did when my friend David and I waded out into the water with those beat up boards all those decades ago.

 

Beautiful and Fun Weekend Ahead

/in , , /by

We are now officially in the nicest time of the year in Galveston! Cooler weather is almost upon us, but the water will be warm enough to enjoy without a wetsuit for several weeks. Each day seems to be emptier and more beautiful than the one before. This time of year seems to be when all the locals get out to enjoy the beach and remember how nice the spring and fall are here on our island.

Tomorrow is a big day for water people. Two amazing events will be taking place at Moody Gardens.

In the morning, starting early, the annual Battle on the Bay hosted by Island Paddle and Houston Heat Dragon Boat Club will kick off. Dragon Boat racing has a long, rich history dating back more than 2500 years to the Guangdong Province in Southern China. In the modern era it is a sport that takes the idea of teamwork to its highest level. Teams consisting of up to 22 members, train to work together to reach the finish line first. It’s also one of the fastest growing sports.

Stand-up paddling (SUP) and kayak / canoe racing, although more recent, have strong followings as well.  SUP paddling is one of the most popular activities among first-time participants because it’s so easy to get started and improvement comes rapidly. What many do not realize is that SUP, kayaking and dragon boat activities share much of the same technique and mechanics. There will be both 5K and 10K SUP races, prone paddle races, and canoe, kayak, and surf-ski races. These will be interspersed with Dragon Boat heats. These guys do it right, so if you want to race, watch, or try out dragon boats come on down and join the fun. More info can be found at www.islandpaddle.com.

As if that wasn’t enough fun for one day, the Endless Summer Surf Reunion will be held that evening- also at Moody Gardens from 7-12. The first ever showing of 70’s Galveston surf scene movie “Broken Waves” will happen during the event. This is a wild, great bunch of people that all hung out together in the 70’s in Galveston surfing and forming what is now our surf culture. They’ll have music, an auction, the movie, and more right in that main pyramid of Moody Gardens. Here’s a link if you’re interested www.squareup.com/store/jerry-shelton-esgr . They’ve generously named our lifesaving association as their donation recipient this year, so all proceeds will support the Galveston Junior Lifeguard Program or will go to enhancement of our flooding response capabilities unless otherwise specified. We were much better prepared for Harvey than we were for Ike, but there are still some ways we can better serve our community the next time something similar rolls around. We can’t thank the Endless Summer crew enough and are really excited about connecting with such a fun and altruistic group.

So whether you get to either event or just up to the beach, be sure and get out there this weekend and enjoy all that living on our island has to offer.

Night Rescue

/in , , /by

Supervisors Dain Buck and Thomas “TK” Mills made their way carefully through the dark night to the other side of the Ship Channel to the North Jetty. They squinted through the spray kicked up by big, rolling swells as the powerful watercraft motor churned them along. The water was still rough but was a bit calmer near the jetty, although big swells came through and across the rocks. They headed seaward, hugging the rocks and used big, waterproof dive lights to scan for the boat reported to be in distress.

The jetty is two miles long and they located the wrecked boat pretty far offshore. The boat had run up on the rocks and still had three people on board. Another couple of boats had seen them and were nearby, but could not get close enough to help because of the large swells and waves crashing over from the other side. Coast Guard did not have a helicopter available, and were really busy so response by boat was delayed. In this type of situation there are basically only two ways to get people off the rocks. The Coast Guard can lower a rescue swimmer who puts each person in a harness to be air lifted. The other option is for a swimming rescue, meaning Beach Patrol swims from the water, climbs up the rocks and figures out how to get the people off safely.

Dain maneuvered the rescue craft as close as he could to the rocks and they called out to the passengers. They were unharmed, although shaken up, and were all in lifejackets. One of the nearby boats volunteered to transport them to safety if the Beach Patrol rescue crew could get them to the boat.

Dain backed the craft towards the rocks as TK balanced on the rescue sled. The waves rising and falling made it difficult as the boat and sled moved up and down, in danger of being crushed. TK slid off the back and swam to the rocks. He pulled himself up on the rocks and passed a helmet up to the first of three passengers. Once the helmet was secure and they checked to make sure her lifejacket was snug, she leaned over the side of the boat into TK’s outstretched arms. He held onto her as Dain backed up even further, allowing the rescue sled to hover over the rocks right where TK and the victim stood. They had to time it perfectly, with TK laying the victim down on the sled and climbing on top before the trough between waves stranded them high and dry. As soon as they were in position, Dain gunned the craft, pulling them to deeper water- and to safety.

The second and third rescues were just as tough, but at least they had the system down, so went fairly smoothly. Once they were all loaded in the “Good Samaritan’s” boat everyone finally relaxed.

Beach Patrol and our partner agencies make a number of these types of rescues all around the island each year.

Lightning

/in , , , /by

The lone lifeguard stood on Stewart Beach. The air was thick as a dark, green frontal system moved in from the north.  In the distance lifeguard trucks drove up and down the beach using their loudspeakers to let people know lightning was moving into the area. Bolts of lightning struck nearby.  The lifeguard whistled at the few remaining people in the area and yelled for them to get out of the water. Suddenly, time stood still and the air crackled with electricity. He realized he was lying on his back. A filling in his mouth hurt, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and he felt as if insects were running across his temples.

With fall quickly approaching we’ll soon start to see regular frontal systems that bring lightning into the area more frequently. This incident, which happened years ago, is a real reminder that lifeguards and other public safety professionals are not immune to the very dangers they work to protect people from. It is also not very likely to happen again because as our understanding of the lightning processes has improved, we’ve restructured our protocols to minimize danger to our staff by pulling tower guards immediately while we notify the public from our vehicles, and new technology is currently being used to reduce risk to both our staff and to the beach going public.

Lightning most frequently occurs within 10 miles of a thunderstorm, so it is generally recommended that people take shelter when lightning comes within this distance. One way to tell how close lightning is involves counting the seconds between the flash of lightning and the corresponding thunder roar. This is known as the “flash to bang rule”. Every five seconds is a mile, so if the time between the flash and the bang is less than 50 seconds, you want to clear out. There are also apps, websites, and devices that let you know how close lightning is to you. At Beach Patrol, we pay an annual fee for a program that not only alerts us when lightning moves within a certain distance, but can predict when this may happen.

It’s not enough to seek shelter in a building. It has to be fully enclosed, grounded, and have electrical and plumbing. Boats aren’t really safe at all, but if you have to ride it out in one, it should be in a cabin without touching electronics or the walls. Cars are pretty safe, but not as good as proper buildings, and again, don’t touch metal frameworks.

If you are caught in a lightning storm on the beach and can’t get to an enclosed building or car, don’t just run to a partially enclosed picnic table or similar structure. Instead, stay away from the tallest objects (lifeguard stands, light poles, flag poles), metal objects (fences or bleachers), standing pools of water, and open areas.

You can monitor thunderstorms and severe weather forecasts online at www.spc.noaa.gov . For more information about lightning safety, a good site is www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov .

Galveston Marine Response Group Assists with Harvey Rescues

/in , , , /by

Michelle Gomez slid off of the rescue sled and into the water. She half swam, half waded to the door of the house. Calling out to let anyone who might be in there, she entered the dark cavern of the downstairs. She thought about how glad she was that she was wearing her full wetsuit as she brushed a couple of spiders off of her arm. Carefully making her way past a floating couch cushion and the debris floating everywhere, she climbed a staircase to find a family with their dog huddled upstairs. She led them out to the waiting Beach Patrol jet ski and the Galveston Police Department’s boat.

Almost a decade ago, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas asked us to come up with a plan to better respond to major disasters. The result was the Galveston Marine Response group, which was activated during Harvey. Rescue teams made up of lifeguards, police, and firefighters were staged at fire stations, having a combined skill set to respond to any type of emergency and act independently if communication was cut off. Separate Beach Patrol jet ski rescue crews were staged, lifeguards were assigned to augment firefighter crews that couldn’t make it into work, help was summoned from the state, and teams were sent out all over the county during times the demand wasn’t so great on the island. Beach Patrol alone sent 4 teams all over the county and made over 127 rescues and even saved over 20 pets. All told, teams from the Galveston Police, Fire, and Beach Patrol along with Jamaica Beach Fire Rescue and the Sheriff Office responded to hundreds of requests and made over 300 high water rescues like the one Michelle and her team performed. And that doesn’t include all the welfare checks made by boat, vehicle, or on foot. But they didn’t do it alone.

Since 9/11 the United States has seen a real change in how we respond to big events. Most of the responders in the agencies mentioned have had some level of training from the National Incident Management System (NIMS). They know how to fall into the command structure that is housed under our city, county, state, and national Emergency Management System. City, State, and County Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) work with the National Weather Service and coordinate aid in a way that is more efficient and strategic than ever before. Of course, something as all encompassing as Harvey starts as complete bedlam, but after a while the structure starts to bring order to chaos.

Because so many selfless people jumped in their boats and vehicles and helped each other, countless lives were saved. The human capacity to reach out to others during times of true crisis, when all but the essential human qualities are stripped away, is utterly breathtaking. We are capable of such magnificence. But the structure that brought order to the initial chaos got the evacuees sheltered, fed, clothed, and will eventually get them back to a point where they can once again be self sufficient.

 

Big Rescue

/in , , /by

Time slowed as I jumped off the wall and ran to the water. I noticed two groups of people in the water and a woman running out. A group of four was ¾ of the way out to the end of the 33rd street groin and right in the middle of the “no swimming” area. Another group of three was near the end of the groin. There was no sign of a struggle from either group, but I noticed that Lifeguard David Garcia was in the first group and supporting all three with some difficulty. Lifeguard Camilo Murillo was past the first group headed to the second, but at least two of the three looked to be calmly floating. I high stepped, then dolphin dove, then put on my fins and swam to the first group to help David.

Last Sunday was beautiful with water like glass and almost no wind or waves. But there were left over troughs by the groins from the current that had been running for the previous week. These deep spots funneled what little current there was in a gentle rip current pulling away from the shore.

David looked tired and asked if I could take a man who appeared to be floating on his back. He then swam off with two kids towards shore. I started securing him and talking to him before and realizing he wasn’t breathing. A quick check showed he didn’t seem to have a pulse either. Knowing by where he was he couldn’t have been under longer than a minute or two, I knew that our standard procedure of bringing him to shore then starting CPR might be too long for his brain to go without oxygen. I gave him a breath and swam towards shore supporting his head. Senior Lifeguard Hallie Pauling swam up and asked if I needed help. I pointed at the group farther out and told her to help Camilo. Two more rescue breaths interspaced with short swims got me to chest deep water where David met me followed by Supervisor Brandon Venegas. We brought him to shore and, hoping that his system was oxygenated, I started chest compressions while Brandon set up the oxygen kit. David went to check on the other victims and then back to his assigned tower at 37th to continue lifeguarding. EMS and Fire were there and jumped in to intubate and start Advanced Life Support.

Three people were transported to the hospital, two adult men and one child. All were fine at the time of writing this save the one we did CPR on, but he’d been moved to ICU and was reportedly stable although still intubated.

David was working the early shift at tower at 37 and, incredibly, spotted the group 4 blocks away. Tower 33 wasn’t guarded yet. David won our “Night Swim” competition this year. The whole team, including our partner agencies, did a great job. But if David hadn’t been so incredibly alert, quick thinking, and such a great athlete, this would have resulted in multiple lives lost.

Teamwork Across Texas Agencies

/in , , , /by

It has been a rough summer on the upper Texas coast up to this point and this has led to some cause and effect incidents that are both interesting and tragic. We’ve had a persistent strong wind for most of the season, resulting in strong lateral current and surf. This has, in turn, led to almost constant strong rip currents near structures and occasional strong rip currents along the open beach. It’s also the reason the troughs between the sand bars have been so unusually deep, even near to the shoreline.

Partly because of the conditions and large crowds there has been a number of heart wrenching water related deaths all along our entire stretch of coastline. But as a result there have been some pretty interesting developments recently that have potential to reduce similar incidents in the future.

A friend from the Sheriff Office contacted me awhile ago to explore the option of synchronizing some of our water safety efforts. It looks like for starters they will be using a modified version of our water safety material on their website and will even use the widget from our flag warning system. This means that if we post a red flag warning of rough surf and dangerous currents the same flag warning will show on their website as well. People can sign up to receive notifications via email or text when we set the flag color for the day and if we change it. Also, if we post special advisories for extra strong rip currents, off shore winds, air or water quality warnings, etc., those warnings will include the Bolivar Peninsula. Additionally, I met with Bolivar County parks representatives recently and they are exploring several options including that of flag warning stations like we have on the seawall, at beach parks, and on the back of lifeguard towers.

As we all know the San Luis Pass has been a problem for years. We’ve reduced the average number of drowning on the Galveston side by an ordinance banning swimming and, more recently, greatly increased signage and dedicated weekend patrols throughout the summer. On holiday weekends we even have help from the County “Citizens Emergency Response Team” or C.E.R.T. These volunteers augment our efforts at keeping people out of the dangerous waters there. This week I spoke at a Brazoria County Commissioners Court meeting about the history and dangers of the area as well as what we’re doing on our side. They are very interested in increasing their drowning prevention efforts. They’ve already put signs on their side which are very similar to ours. They’re looking at putting a law in place similar to our ordinance. This is a great thing.

Quintana and Surfside Beaches are also exploring options.  With re-vamped lifeguard programs at Port Aransas and Corpus now meeting the United States Lifesaving Association national standards as well as the two relatively new lifeguard services at South Padre island the dream of a more standardized network of protective programs for Texas beaches seems to be in reach.

May School Graduates

/in , , , /by

We are having another tryout and lifeguard academy that will start at 7am on June 15th. Information is on our website. Spread the word!

Last weekend we had a big turnout for our lifeguard tryouts. Typically, less than half of the people that show up make it through the process and are admitted into our two week lifeguard academy. The 21 people that made it in may get whittled down more, but it looks like we have a really good crew. Unfortunately, we need more then this group to be fully staffed this summer, so we’ll try for more.

Our goal in the Beach Patrol Academy is to take a diverse bunch of people and make them into a seamless team. It’s always interesting to watch how people very different from each other become fast, lifelong friends in the process of this training and working together for a shared goal. We have one candidate that will make an unusual, but excellent addition to Galveston’s lifeguard service.

I’d like to introduce you to Bill Bower. As you’d imagine the average age in a typical academy is in the high teens or lower 20’s. Bill joined us a few weeks ago by volunteering to go through our Wave Watcher training program, which trains citizens how to spot trouble on the beach, be a tourist ambassador, and helps us expand our footprint. After getting to know a bit about our program as a volunteer, he decided to tryout. And tryout he did!

Bill holds the fastest qualifying time of all our candidates. At 62, this is impressive, but not surprising. He has an extensive background in aquatics. His father was a swim coach. Bill is a three time All American Swimming Champion. His senior year in high school he even broke the national record and went on a swimming scholarship to Tulane University. He worked for years as a swim coach and math teacher and has coached over 50 All Americans. But even more interesting is that while he coached and taught, he also traveled all over the world as a consultant for TSI.

At 60 this Renaissance Man started swimming competitively again and swims about 2 miles a day. He moved from Michigan to Galveston “for love” and is engaged to someone from Houston.

He said he was worried that he wouldn’t be accepted by the group. The first day a young woman sat next to him and said something about him being “brave”. But then they saw him swim.

Bill says, “It’s been a real challenge keeping up with the gifted athletes participating in lifeguard academy. They are an outstanding group and I’m proud to be part of the group. They have welcomed me despite my age…”

From my point of view we are very lucky to have Bill join the team. We’re excited to incorporate his experience and obvious skill in the water into our ranks. But even more, he is an impressive person who will represent Galveston well.

 

Tryout Time

/in , , /by

Lifeguard tryouts are this Saturday!

I’m relieved we’re finally to this point. Spring is always tough for us to staff the beaches since so many of our seasonal employees are either college or high school students. Fortunately, we’ve had a number of our high school guards who have been willing to come out and work the weekends so it’s mostly been the weekdays that have been spotty.

There are several reasons that staffing is a continual challenge. The main one is that beach guarding is hard! Not only is it physically a challenge to pass our swimming, running, and teamwork requirements, but the guards have to go through about 100 hours of tough training before they can “ride the pine” and take their place in a tower. But additionally, beach guards have to work under very challenging conditions in a harsh physical environment. They don’t only work when it’s a sunny, calm, cool day with low crowds. They’re out there when the wind is blasting 30 mph and when the heat index is well over 100. They’re out there when the current is ripping and they have to spend literally half the day in the water keeping swimmers away from rocks and rip currents. They have to deal with obnoxious people, lost kids, injured people and animals, people in crisis who are at their worst, and people who are lost or afraid or panicky.

Many may want to find an easier summer job. But those who are physically, mentally, and emotionally capable and accept the challenge receive plenty of rewards. They get to work in a beautiful environment with an incredibly diverse set of people. They are part of an elite team that is motivated, positive, and inclusive. This team becomes family for most of them. And, perhaps most importantly, they get to go home each day with the knowledge that if they were not there many people would have been hurt or worse. They get to go home knowing that they did their part in making the world a better, safer place and their actions had a direct, positive effect. They may be with people at their worse, but they are also with people at their best for the most part. They are there to celebrate being with family and friends at the beach. And they are there to help when things go bad. This work builds a level of character and confidence that is hard to get elsewhere.

We need guards who are willing to accept the challenge. Tryouts are tomorrow, May 13th at the UTMB Field House at 7am. We’ll start with a 500 meter swim in less than 10 minutes and go from there. We’ll start our lifeguard academy immediately after tryouts. Information is on our website.

If you know anyone at all who may be interested and able to work as a Beach Patrol lifeguard please encourage them to show up tomorrow morning.

It will change their life and save the lives of others.