Our Keith A stays busy . . .

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . even when he's on "vacation."

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_south_pinellas/st_pete_beach/beach-goers-rescue-family-from-riptide-currents

Way to go, Keith!

BBD

[Pete Mckeon]

Hope to meet one of these days. You are a rare individual with a heart for helping others.:banana:


PETE

[Louis]

Dave, have you been cyber-stalking Keith? ;)

[Steve in SLO]

Good one, Keith. Your Karma Bank is +++.

[Hank Scorpio]

Way to go Keith! I see some throaty barrels headed your way!

[slidey]

Bravo!

[rwsaunders]

Keith....two friends drowned as a result of ocean rip tides in the last seven years. One in Costa Rica and the other in the Outer Banks. Your deed is commendable.

[wooly]

For a second I thought Keith was William and was like "Whoa, he must've been off the bike for a while...". But alas, the svelt rescuer / cyclist makes his appearance. Nice work Bro!

:beer:

[93legendti]

Awesome.

[Bruce K]

Just amazing.

BK

[BumbleBeeDave]

Just watching Facebook!

BBD

Dave, have you been cyber-stalking Keith? ;)

[Keith A]

Thanks everyone. It was truly a humbling experience to realize that you have a person's life in your hands. I was grateful that had the knowledge and ability to help these people. I am also so thankful for the other three people who helped rescue these folks. If we wouldn't have been there and acted as quickly as we did, there would have be five people dead.

Unfortunately, it looks like the lady (Kimela Walker) that I brought in did not make it. When I got to her, she was face down in the water and non-responsive, she didn't show any sign of life the whole time I was swimming her in which was probably about 15 minutes. When they took her away from the beach, she had a slight pulse but was not breathing on her own. Sadly, she leaves behind a young son of only ten years old.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and the rest you can only hope for the best.

BBD

[rugbysecondrow]

Awesome and sad all at once. Horrible that you had to participate in something so tragic, but it really speaks to a greater humanity that people do step up when help is needed.

People are good and this is a great example of it.

[Ahneida Ride]

Wow !!!!! a true hero !!!!!!!!

[Tailwinds]

Incredible. I hope you're taking good care of yourself. Sending you an e-hug from over here.

[merlinmurph]

15 minutes to swim her in? Wow, that must have felt like hours, it's a loooong time to be in the water helping someone in a riptide situation. I'm sorry she didn't make it, but you did everything you could.

At least they could have spelled your name right.

Fantastic job, Keith, regardless of the outcome.

Murph

[wooly]

Keith et al - sorry for my injection of humor in my earlier post. I rushed through the video yesterday and didn't finish it when you came on camera. Thus, didn't realize how serious / fatal the incident ended up being. Nonetheless, you deserve a lot of kudos for stepping and assisting someone in need. We need more people in the world like you. Stud.

[pdmtong]

keith...you gave that woman a chance. sad ending but hat's off to you for having the knowledge of what to do and no hesitation to do it.

[tele]

Keith
the world could use a lot more of people like you, keep doing what your doing.
Kevin

[KidWok]

Keith...good on you man. You got a drink waiting for you in Seattle if you ever come through here. Huge of you to risk your life like that.

Tai

[gasman]

Good on you. You gave it your all to save someone. The world needs more people like you.

[Keith A]

Thanks for the kind words.

It's actually been a hard day for me today. The weather was beautiful (although there wasn't any surf) and I've spent the day with my family at the beach, but it just doesn't feel right to be out having a good time when I know that this family is suffering the loss of their loved one.

I only wish that somehow I could have gotten to her sooner and could have truly saved her and not just brought her body in. I do recognize that I did everything possible, but it doesn't stop you from wanting to have been able to do more.

[Louis]

Does a riptide current tend to drag you under the surface or just away from the beach?

If it's the former then I can see that it would be super-dangerous. If it's the later, then assuming you're willing to wait it out (treading water or floating on your back, which as a kid I remember doing for long, long periods of time) you could then swim safely back to shore away from the current.

I've never been caught in one of these, so I'd be clueless. I suppose not panicking is a good start. (easier said than done)

[Keith A]

Here's a good explanation about a rip current...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current

It doesn't pull you under, but rather out. This graphic shows it well...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Backcomp-clean.gif

There is also an undertow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undertow_(wave_action)) which can pull you out as well, but it isn't as strong as a rip current. However if you can't swim or aren't a very good swimmer, then it doesn't take much before you are in serious trouble.

Not panicking is certainly the key to survival, because fighting against the current is just going to wear you out.

[thwart]

Thanks for the kind words.

It's actually been a hard day for me today. The weather was beautiful (although there wasn't any surf) and I've spent the day with my family at the beach, but it just doesn't feel right to be out having a good time when I know that this family is suffering the loss of their loved one.

I only wish that somehow I could have gotten to her sooner and could have truly saved her and not just brought her body in. I do recognize that I did everything possible, but it doesn't stop you from wanting to have been able to do more.
This is really hard... when you do your all, risk your life, and it's not quite enough... hang in there, Keith.

[AngryScientist]

good work Keith, the world is lucky to have people like you on watch.

[AngryScientist]

Does a riptide current tend to drag you under the surface or just away from the beach?

If it's the former then I can see that it would be super-dangerous. If it's the later, then assuming you're willing to wait it out (treading water or floating on your back, which as a kid I remember doing for long, long periods of time) you could then swim safely back to shore away from the current.

I've never been caught in one of these, so I'd be clueless. I suppose not panicking is a good start. (easier said than done)

the advice you always hear is sound: swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the pull. this is sometimes easier said than done, as an avid surfer myself and aspiring beach bum, i've been caught in a fair share of rips. i can only imagine how hard it is to rescue someone out of a situation like that, and my hat is off to Keith and the lifegaurds/good Samaritans of the world who are up to the task.

the best advice, though i think is that if you arent a strong swimmer, or arent comfortable in strong currents, just play in the water to the point where your feet can still touch the bottom, walking back to shore is always a good option.