If you have known me very long, you might remember that I was the Aquatics Director for a parks and rec in my former day job. I lived and breathed water safety and still staunchly promote the benefits of being safe in and around the water.
Although people play in the water with the best intentions, doing so without a life-jacket is a recipe for Danger!.
This past week, I heard the tragic news of a 14-year old boy, who, while playing on the rocks in a shallow area of the American River near Folsom Lake, was swept away by the deceptively cold water and swift current and drowned. His body was found two days later.
Sadly, this will not be the only drowning incident that makes the news.
The temperature in Sacramento this week reached the mid-90s, hot for this time of year, but not unheard of. The largest snow pack ever recorded in the Sierra Nevada mountains will melt quickly into the lakes, rivers and streams within days. The rivers can be treacherous this time of year.
People believe they are good swimmers. I hold that belief about myself. But when the water is COLD and tons of debris like entire trees with branches and roots still intact, floating just below the river’s surface snag onto a person’s body, it WILL take someone under and never let go.
This is the danger of spring snow-melt. As temps heat up in the Northern Hemisphere, no matter where you live, please respect the water and put on a life-jacket.
I practice what I preach in my water sports stand-up paddling and windsurfing. Here are my lifelines when I am out in the water.
Last year I posted several articles about water safety. For more information on proper life-jackets, also called PFDs or personal flotation devices, please refer to Is a Life Jacket in Your Beach Bag?
The above featured image shows Type 2 life-jackets hanging free for use on a large sign. These signs with life-jackets are available in several spots along the Sacramento and American Rivers.
News media oftentimes shows clips of people swimming in the rivers just yards away from where the free life-jackets are hanging. Sad.
This week’s photo challenge saw me coming…for May is National Water Safety Month!
Please be safe and stay out of danger!
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Ouch! Good points…
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I’m surprised you didn’t hear about this in your area.
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May have done…but it most likely got lost in all the other Media Flood of events with all our local BS
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Jealous of the mid-ninety temps! The day we left, the heat wave started. And, we came all the way to California for a warm and mild winter… Glad the drought is over, though and a bit worried about all the snow melt, especially in combination with rain storms. We are very familiar with life jackets. 🙂
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Thank you for this important reminder, Terri.
Like Liesbet, I am very jealous about your mid-ninety temperatures!
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Around here, people get swept away trying to traverse rain-swollen streams. Fortunately, most get out OK, but it amazes me that it happens over and over again. Water can be deceptive and dangerous.
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I wear a PFD every time I go out in my boat.The kill cord for the engine is attached to my PFD in case I’m ejected.The boats engine will stop.There is a big difference between fresh water rivers/lakes & the ocean.With fresh water your almost always close to a shore.Not so in the ocean! So one can be thrown into the ocean with a PFD & die within a few hours from hypothermia.So in these scenarios a PFD is not for saving lives,It’s so your family can get closure.They at least have the body.
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That makes total sense. There’s a science to it all.
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About ten years ago, I was vacationing Eastern Washington. We went to a nearby river where many folks floated downstream on giant inner tubes. I have never been a strong swimmer, I hadn’t gone swimming even in a pool in years, and didn’t have a life jacket, but thought I’d give it a try. After all, the inner tube would hold me, right? I got into the tube but found it very difficult to maneuver comfortably. I couldn’t figure out how to get my tush into the center opening and still see forward. Plus the water in the middle of the river was very fast moving and extremely cold. I fell out of the tube and though I was able to cling to it, I could not breathe. I simply could not catch my breath. The water was so cold, it pressed against my chest. I couldn’t get myself to the shallow edge of the river. Finally someone saw that I was struggling and helped out. Even finally standing at the bank, I could not draw a deep breath for several minutes. I realized I’d come close to drowning, even while clinging to an inner tube.
Thank you, Terri, for posting this timely reminder about water safety, to be remembered before you step into the water.
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Wow, Sharon, how scary, and obviously a deeply moving memory for you! Thank goodness someone rescued you.
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What a senseless tragedy. I’m a big believer in life jackets as I’m not a strong swimmer. Important information, Terri, for all water enthusiasts.
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Thanks, Molly!
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I was taught to always respect the water too, Terri no matter how good a swimmer you are 🙂
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Very sad news Terri. But you are a huge inspiration and hopefully your warnings will be shared around a lot. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Debby!!
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🙂
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful post at #OverTheMoon. I look forward to what you will share next week! Like someone in person today! We hope you’ll come back again next Sunday when we open our doors at 6:00 PM EST. Pinned and tweeted!
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