Rough seas and dangerous rip currents led to a high volume of beach rescues on Friday, with 29 people pulled from the water in Fort Lauderdale and another nine in Pompano Beach.
Seven of the rescues occurred at one location, including a father and his 6- or 7-year-old son. Everyone involved was safely brought out of the water, though four of the seven victims were taken to the hospital.
Peter Barnum, one of the people on shore who raced to the rescue, described the exhaustion of one of the victims, the father.
“He was pretty exhausted. He was on his last leg. That was the father, of course. He was in there longer. He was pooped to say the least,” Barnum said.
Barnum was aided in the rescue by a kite surfer who had a vest and charged into the water. “He was over there, and he had a vest. He went out and got them. We went out and met him and helped bring them in,” Barnum said.
Capt. Mark Beaudreau from Pompano Beach Ocean Rescue said it was a particularly demanding day for responders, noting they also performed two more rescues in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
“It’s one of those days where everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats,” Beaudreau said.
Beaudreau also explained what to do if caught in a rip current: “They want to swim out of the rip current, then in to shore. Swim parallel to shore, then in to shore,” he advised. Authorities also suggest swimming near a lifeguard station.
