I 



ocmn res 



I S IN TREACHEROUS WATERS 



OF THE ATLAN 



It's a brisk spiing day at Kitty Hawk 

 beach. Several swimmers in black wetsuits plunge 

 into the 67 -degree water of the Atlantic Ocean. 



A crowd gathers as an orange and white 

 U.S. Coast Guard helicopter whirls over the beach 

 and flies out 700 yards beyond the shore. 



The helicopter hovers near a boat and some 

 swimmers. Then a Coast Guard flight mechanic 

 lowers a stainless steel rescue basket into the 

 choppy waters. 



With the surf surging four to five feet, a 

 swimmer tows a man toward the helicopter and j 

 lifts him into the basket. 



Within a few seconds, the basket with the 

 man is lifted up to the helicopter door. 



Fortunately, the man is not hurt. He is just 

 participating in a practice mission for Kitty Hawk 

 Ocean Rescue that is the first to include the Coast 

 Guard. 



"The training is as good as you can get," 

 says Cole Yeatts, ocean rescue director of the 

 Kitty Hawk Fire Department. "It teaches the 

 lifeguards about hazards of the water when 

 conditions are bad. It also reinforces everything 

 they have learned." 



In the middle of the ocean, the helicopter's 

 rotorhead generates winds from 70 to 100 knots 

 and so much spray that the swimmers have 

 trouble breathing. They use their hands to create 

 air pockets. 



During the exercise, lifeguards practice 

 being victims and rescuers. Each one jumps off 

 the boat and swims toward the helicopter and then 

 assists with a rescue. 



"I was pleasantly surprised that all the Kitty 

 Hawk lifeguards were in such good swimming 

 condition," says Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st 

 Class Gerald Hoover. 



The joint training also benefits the Coast 

 Guard crew. 



Cole Yeatts looks out in the Atlantic as Kitty 

 Hawk lifeguards jump off a Coast Guard boat 

 into the clioppy sea. 



"It helps us to swim in the surf," says 

 Hoover. "We like to be well-rounded." 



The Coast Guard exercise is the culmina- 

 tion of 96 hours of training for the Kitty Hawk 

 lifeguards, which includes biology lessons on 

 sea creatures as well as buoy drills in the 

 breaking surf. 



"The Coast Guard exercise was the 

 highlight of our training," says lifeguard 

 Rebecca Harris. "It was so cool. I had never 

 been on a helicopter before. It was incredible 

 being lilted up." 



Across the Outer Banks, lifeguards have to 

 be prepared for a variety of emergencies — from 

 swimmers in distress near the shore to boaters in 

 trouble up to 200 yards offshore. 



"Lifeguards have to deal with whatever 

 happens," says Yeatts. "The ocean can be as 

 sweet as a loving mother or as vicious as a rabid 

 dog. A lot of people fail to realize the real 

 dangers." 



Because of the treacherous waters along 

 the Outer Banks, Kitty Hawk ocean rescuers 



By Ann Green • Photographs by Michael Halminski 



have to be in top physical shape, including 

 swimming 500 meters in 10 minutes, and have 

 emergency training. 



"I look for more than being a first 

 responder," says Yeatts. "Lifeguards need a 

 background in emergency services and training 

 in how to deal with a crisis. I look for people in 

 their 20s. The mean age for our lifeguards is 30. 

 Our lifeguards have an average of seven years of 

 ocean rescue experience." 



RIP CURRENTS 



Ocean rescuers also have to learn how to 

 spot rip currents, which occur along the ocean 

 shoreline as well as the Great Lakes, explains 

 North Carolina Sea Grant coastal erosion 

 specialist Spencer Rogers. Rip currents are 

 created when water rushes out to the sea in a 

 narrow path. Often they form in a break in a 

 nearshore sandbar, or near a groin, jetty or pier. 



Rip currents rank as the number one cause 

 of rescues, according to the U.S. Lifesaving 

 Association. In 2000, lifeguards across the U.S. 

 made more than 22,668 rescues because of rip 

 currents. In North Carolina, there were an 

 estimated seven rip current fatalities in 2001 , 

 according to the National Weather Service. That 

 total may not include rescues by other 

 beachgoers, police and rescue squads. 



To ensure safety at North Carolina's 

 beaches, North Carolina Sea Grant and the 

 National Weather Service joined with local 

 communities last year to expand a rip current 

 public awareness campaign. Through the 

 partnership, more than 500 permanent rip current 

 awareness signs were placed at beach parking 

 lots, access sites, crossovers and lifeguard stands 

 along the state's ocean beaches. 



Swimming parallel to shore — rather than 



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12 SPRING 2003 



