Double Drowning

[keenfish]

What a horrible tragedy.

Just like the lifeguards here coach to go out and swim away from the current in this scenario it just doesn't look possible. They were locked in. Brutal. RIP

 

[StratoCycleSurf]

There is nothing he could have done to save her, in my opinion. She made the grave mistake by jumping to her death and without thinking rationally he too jumped to his death.

Terrible situation, I don't know what she could have possibly been thinking ...

 

[casa_mugrienta]

 

[QuadFin]

They died at cliffs on Cala de la Zorra.

His body recovered off Cala de la Higuera.

They were holding on to wear girl standing below.

View from where people standing on upper right.

 

[WindowLicker]

That was suicide

 

[estreet]

The coves on either side of that spot, Cala de la Zorra or Cala de la Higuera, look like they may have been okay to land in heavy surf. Big beaches in about a mile both north and south of there. Difficult to say how hard it would have been to swim out of that rocky little cove they were in though. Cliffs like that often have caves under them, and strong currents in high surf.

 

[sussle]

There is nothing he could have done to save her, in my opinion. She made the grave mistake by jumping to her death and without thinking rationally he too jumped to his death.

Terrible situation, I don't know what she could have possibly been thinking ...

A Darwin Award to her, Medal of Honor to him.

 

[gbg]

That was hard to watch.
What a dum dum.
Both of them.

 

[PRCD]

The coves on either side of that spot, Cala de la Zorra or Cala de la Higuera, look like they may have been okay to land in heavy surf. Big beaches in about a mile both north and south of there. Difficult to say how hard it would have been to swim out of that rocky little cove they were in though. Cliffs like that often have caves under them, and strong currents in high surf.

View attachment 116900

Is it a mile to either of those beaches?

I think she was finished when she swam back into the cove to climb up the side. She got forced further and further back at that point. I wouldn't have made it out of there.

 

[QuadFin]

Could they have run up edge to her?

This hole where his wife standing is also in photo bottom. Maybe 15' away to safety?

 

[enframed]

I wouldn't jump in even if it were my wife (I don't have kids).

Because the way the water is behaving in that setup indicates a likely impossible exit.

And even if it were possible in the right moment... you're going to fatigue way too fast.

There is no way you're going to guide someone out of that if you're in the water. No way to pull them to safety either.

I think the only thing to do for the victim in this situation is coach from the cliff.

Exactly.

Short period, whatever, it was a jumbled, mixed mess of a swell clearly, and never let up. Just brutal. I dunno why anyone would jump into that. Guess we'll never know...

 

[Peter1]

A quick looksee of the video at the link reminds me of those two times north of Santa Cruz, that one time south of Montera, and that time near Bodega Bay.

Don't think I'd try to be the hero in that situation.

I'm pretty sure something similar happened when I lived in PG in the early 90s around Lovers Point.

As a lifeguard I was trained not to put myself in mortal danger, but I'm pretty sure if one of my kids was drowning I'd rather die with them than not at least try to save them.

 

[potato-nator]

Agreed. You HAVE to get off the rocks in that situation, or you are getting bludgeoned.

like getting bashed up against the high tide cliffs at Anga.
you HAVE to get off 'em.

 

[jkb]

I'm pretty sure something similar happened when I lived in PG in the early 90s around Lovers Point.

As a lifeguard I was trained not to put myself in mortal danger, but I'm pretty sure if one of my kids was drowning I'd rather die with them than not at least try to save them.

Yep.

If it was my wife or kid, I couldn't live with myself just watching. It would be certain death for them going at it alone.

I would always wonder if I could have saved them and that kind of grief would be all consuming.......until the day I died.

 

[estreet]

Is it a mile to either of those beaches?

I think she was finished when she swam back into the cove to climb up the side. She got forced further and further back at that point. I wouldn't have made it out of there.

Not the ones shown in the screen capture. Those are just around the bend from where they were.

Yeah she didn’t show good judgment in the first place by jumping in, but also it looked like she had an opportunity to swim out before being pushed too far in. I think anyone who knows the ocean halfway well would know how bad a spot that is, at least by the time they were in the water, and swim out to find a better spot.

 

[_____]

This happens in the lower Kern river below the dam every year. A typical example:
- child is playing in eddy/calm area, swims or gets sucked into sketchy area, sinks into undercurrent
- frantic mom or dad/uncle/friend/average joe jumps in to save the kid
- both drown and are found a few days later down river

 

[PJ]

Wow. Just glad I wasn't there. Really glad I wasn't there and it was god forbid my wife or kid. Swimming out would have been the right move but if she knew so little that she jumped in she probably wouldn't have known to swim to sea and the reflex to swim to shore is strong.

I was on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, 1 to 3 foot surf, fairly long period and not rough at all, and found a very strong rip current close to the beach caused by a rip in the sand. I decided to practice in it. The first time I went in and it started taking me out boy was that reflexive instinctive compulsion to swim to shore hard to overcome. It was momentary but even though I knew better everything in me just started swimming to shore. In that moment I realized how easy it is to panic and drown in a rip. Once I had control of myself I just floated out a ways, swam side shore then back in and did it a few more times - it was really fun actually. Then I brought both of my kids out one at a time and practiced with them, too. It was a great learning experience for all of us. In pools I also taught my kids to be a secret agent on a mission - let all the air out of their lungs, go to the bottom in say 4 feet of water, unzip a nylon mesh bag, take a couple of toys out of it, zip it closed and come to the surface with the toys, different things like that so they could learn to not focus on running out of air but to focus on the task at hand. And a lot horsing around and wrestling under water with some fairly short amount of hold down while wrestling, always well within their capabilities and never enough to scare but enough that they were comfortable with the unexpected underwater. I hope all that stuff will pay off some day if they find themselves in a bad situation.

But I never thought much about when do you go in to attempt a rescue and when do you not. Actually I never considered rescuer's danger really - so there's a big gap in my training.

 

[estreet]

I never thought much about when do you go in to attempt a rescue and when do you not.

If I remember lifeguard training right you never risk yourself, the basic reasoning being that you’d be more effective from a safe position, to call for more assistance or have access to equipment, and simply that two victims is worse than one.

 

[sdsrfr]

If I remember lifeguard training right you never risk yourself, the basic reasoning being that you’d be more effective from a safe position, to call for more assistance or have access to equipment, and simply that two victims is worse than one.

look, yell, throw - standard man-overboard drill.

things happen fast and watching in horror is kind of human nature.

if you’re not trained to do a rescue you’re better off yelling for someone who does while keeping constant eye contact on the victim and throwing anytbing that floats in their direction.

med storms can be fierce. 3m @5sec is a lot do energy. i don’t think I could swim in that and not lose my cool. maybe with some flotation but definitely not in trunks and sneakers.

 

[santacruzin]

Maybe with swim fins and flotation. Sad sad situation.