Be careful in the ocean!

Just a reminder to be careful when using the ocean. It has no conscience.
There was another drowning at Monastery Beach, in Carmel. It is a very sad story that keeps repeating itself.
Please be careful and respect the ocean.

http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_15442988?IADID=Search-www.montereyherald.com-www.montereyherald.com
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_15455840?IADID=Search-www.montereyherald.com-www.montereyherald.com

 

What a shame.. Somebody trying to do a great thing forgets the most important rule. His own safety first...

Rich

wonder if he had a heart attack or something like that

That totally sucks.
I am very interested in knowing the vitals of the good samaritan.
Strange how all 3 of the original victims survived, even a grandmother, yet that guy didn't.

Why not station lifeguards (for the summer season) on popular  high-tourist-attaction-beaches like that? I would think Monterey County can afford to hire 'em?

Mooch, from what I think I've heard about Monterey County, for all its upscale areas like 17 Mile Dr and Pacific Grove, it's a pretty poor county, because it includes a lot of folks who do seasonal and other unskilled and semi-skilled labor and who need support during the off season.  And most counties these days are pretty strapped for cash, and the part of the budget they have any control over is about 1/4 of the total budget, so if they need to make a 20% overall cut, you can see that the 1/4 is going to take a heavy hit, and lifeguards are probably within that 1/4 th.  I know that in Santa Cruz county the lifeguard staffing is skeletal.    Maybe that doesn't make any sense in one of the richest states in the richest country on earth, but it's what the voters (about 1/3 of those registered, less than that of those eligible) over the years have created by their choices at the polls.
   
Here's another question that perhaps you've thought about, I know I have as I walk along the cliffs above the beaches in town:  I'm a very good swimmer, swim frequently, and am in pretty good shape for my age, and I've actually, decades ago, had lifeguard training, so I have some idea of how to handle a rescue without getting drowned by the person I'm trying to help.  But what if I saw a person in serious trouble 50 yards out from the rocks?  Would, or should, I be willing to strip down from my street clothes and dive in and try to save them, keeping in mind I wouldn't be in a wetsuit, not be warmed up, and the water is 55 degrees?   Would not wanting to live with the guilt if I didn't and they drowned be a sufficient reason to do it?

Monastery beach is a accident waiting to happen. The waves crash with a lot of force there because of the steep inline of the beach. But it is a popular dive spot. When you exit the ocean it is best to have a wave shoot you up the beach the crawl like a mad man to safe ground. Its called the Monastery crawl. People with no water skills even with some skills maybe, should not get in or near the water there.

In the past few years they have installed warning signs that explain how dangerous that beach can be. But they don't seem to deter people from playing in the waves there. Closing the beach or restricting access is a horrible option. And they supposedly don't have the $ to station a lifeguard. It seems like the best solution is to build a Memorial for all of the people who have died there. If the tourists saw a list of the ~18 people who have died there...they'd probably "get it."   

It seems like the best solution is to build a Memorial for all of the people who have died there.

Great idea.  Leave extra spaces...

So sad.
I've fished out of Monastery once, on a relatively calm day, and the only spot that was doable for yaks was a tiny little section. Even then I had to do the "monastery crawl" up the sand, hauling my yak behind me. It's easy to see the potential danger on a decent swell day.
Shoot folks got swept out at Manresa last month too, but at least there are lifeguards there.
Monastery might be too dangerous for guards-at least according to insurance companies.

My condolences the family of the deceased.  He died honorably, and I'm sure he will be missed......judging from this action, he was a stand-up guy.

Dave

Too bad about a guy trying to do the right thing and getting the short end of the stick. I wonder how the people he was going in for feel about the outcome?
I used to fish beaches for stripers on the San Mateo coast. I remember one beautiful day, lots of people out, and a steep beach. Here come a classload of little kids, all wanting to get their feet wet. I'm an adult and I was being very careful there. I mentioned to the caretakers to be careful of the steep beach and was told to shut up. They seemed offended. I think some of those little kids don't know how close they came to something disastrous.
I just kept casting and hoping that no one got hurt. I also wondered what I would do if something did happen.
I think some people just don't get it.

I think some people just don't get it.

I'm pretty sure of it . . . unfortunately.

yup, this sux, i was trippin on that on the news the other night.

Not a bad idea Pat, that tends to have an impact...


I was simply alerted by the nick name "Mortuary beach", I think that says a lot!!

Isnt that or wasnt that nick name even on a sign there at one point?