You hear similar things when going through rescue diver certification in the PADI system of scuba diving. Been several years since doing that, but from what I recall you’d throw a floatation device to / past them if you could.

If you had scuba gear on and had to approach in the water, you’d maintain a bit of distance to assess the situation before making any kind of approach. I think you were supposed to keep your regulator in your mouth when close in case they tried to climb on you, but I could be misremembering that.

To be fair, you don’t need to knock them unconscious, you just wait until they fall unconscious on their own from the whole “drowning” part. At least that’s what they taught us to do if it was too dangerous to approach someone. A lot of the rescue techniques where also specifically designed to grab people from behind/immobilize their arms for similar reasons.

Also I’ll never forget the instruction that if someone panicking / drowning does grab onto you to try to keep their head under water, don’t fight them and try to get to the surface. Instead stay calm and go down once holding onto you means going underwater, they’ll let go.

And as always 1) Reach (ie grab someone from a safe location/ reach out to them with something inflatable that they can latch onto) 2) Row (approach in a boat, particularly in open water) 3) Throw (an inflation device) THEN 4) Go

Going into the water after someone is dangerous and other options should be considered first, even for lifeguards. As a bystander, your first instinct may be to jump right in, but always look for other options.

[removed]

My good friend is a highly experienced waterman and lifeguard and said the same thing, that even he wouldn’t attempt a rescue without a flotation device unless he outweighed/overpowered them by a LARGE margin. He was basically saying he’d let someone like me drown but would save a kid or a woman <140lbs. He said if you do find yourself in that situation then dive DOWN and they’ll let go, someone drowning doesn’t want to go deeper they want to stay on the surface.

I was cliff diving in hawaii with a friend and his teenager just a few months ago, his kid started seriously struggling on the swim back in and needed help… That advice above kept going through my head as I approached him. He’s 16 years old but plays football and is pretty fucking strong for a kid, probably a solid 170lbs+, Thankfully he wasn’t in full panic mode yet and he listened to me while I put him in an assisted backfloat to rest while I swam him in… But if he had panicked and grabbed me I was fully ready to dive down and swim away. I don’t know if I would’ve just let him drown as I don’t think I could live with the guilt just watching from a short distance, but fuck what else can you do?? Just glad he worked with me and didn’t fight me and I didn’t have to make that decision.

The only time I ever rescued anyone I grabbed a random styrofoam floatie board without asking. My daughters friend had an asthma attack while swimming in a lake. Maybe 200 feet from shore. I paddled as fast as I could and got her on the floatie until a boat got to us. It happened so fast. If there's kids or even young teenagers in deeper water having a floatie and constant vigilance is a must. I was the adult in charge and to this day it gives me the willies. What if I didnt have a floatie? Or was distracted? It could have been very bad. I dont think it would have ended well without the floatie.

We had that last summer in a nearby lake. A young teen was drowning, 2 different friends tried to help, in the end all 3 teenagers drowned. I think the oldest one was only 15. I get numb to all the horrible news, but that made me feel sick to my stomach for days.

Also, lifejackets are super sexy everybody, I promise. Please wear your lifejacket.

Was that the three in England?

>easier to save an unconscious person…

This was a solid reality check in rescue training. Every potential rescuer needs to first know that someone potentially drowning will try to climb whatever they get their hands on… including the rescuers head. If there is no floatation device, rescuers have to be insanely careful.

Rescuing someone in rough surf takes WAY more than being in good shape. Tons of people who can run a marathon wouldn't be able to pull a limp (or even worse fighting back) person in the conditions that caused the potential drowning to begin with.

I'd much rather someone in not peak shape but who knows how to move in the ocean, vs an elite athlete who occasionally goes for a swim in a private pool

Falling out of the raft during whitewater rafting is actually pretty normal; it's far from risk free, but as long as you curl up you're probably safe. The rapids come in waves, so in between sections of rapids there's plenty of calm water to get back in the raft.

A few of my friends in middle school actually had their raft guide fall out of the raft mid-rapid. He shouted "get down," but they thought he said "get out," so they all jumped out too. Imagining that poor raft guide's face as six 13 year-olds abandon ship for no reason never fails to crack me up. Everyone was fine haha.

Same.

I used to be a great swimmer, and I’d swim in the ocean all the time. But as soon as I went under slammed my head into a rock (thank god for helmets) it became rrreeeaaaalll apparent how many years ago those beach days were.

Fitness starts in the kitchen for me, too.

Fitness whole stack of pancakes in my mouth, that is.

Definitely also starts in the kitchen. You’re pretty hard limited on your ability to get more fit by the amount of fat on your body

> Weight loss starts in the kitchen. Fitness is a different issue, although related.

Totally disagree. Nutrition and your diet have everything to do with your overall fitness level not just some related piece. This is why so many yo yo over and over and over again. They never figure out their eating.

Not eat a bunch of shit. Re-educate yourself on nutrition.

People hating on that comment that getting in better shape starts in kitchen is hilarious to me. Upset the eaters I guess. Each their own