Beware of playa fronton riptide

pinyon

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Jan 17, 2012
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On Monday I was pulled into the VERY STRONG riptide at PlayaFronton. I would have drown had it not been for the young, Dominican man who swam out to save me - and then the boat that came to my rescue. These tides are sometimes called “drowningmachines”. I am a very strong swimmer and was literally minutes from my death.It blew off one of my fins and my snorkel. Visually, if looking from the beach you will see the wavesbreaking on the reef. The area that appears calm in the middle of these waves is the riptide. The current itself starts a lot further in toward the shore. The mistakes I made were: obviously swimming too close to this area. Trying to swim back to shore against the current- and not being able to - I panicked. I had used every ounce of my energy. I was literally drowning – it causes panic. It is said to swim parallel to the shore to try to get out of the current. I think this current was way too strong. Riptides can be as fast as 8 feet per second. Or…. Let the current take you out to sea and let the waves take you back to shore. Another mistake I had made was trying to float on my back with my snorkel in my mouth. In my ignorance I didn’t know that this would not allow me to breathe. I have snorkeled probably close to 100 times in my life and never had the need to try out floating on my back. What saved me was the young man swimming into the current and telling me in a very calm way to CHILL – that a boat was coming. He continued to tell me that in a very calmway. It is beyond me that a person who knew the danger would swim in there to try to save someone. I am humbled.
 
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young seniors

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Feb 1, 2012
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OMG ..... You must have been soooooooo terrified!! So, glad you are okay and thanks for posting for others to be aware of!!

Mrs YS
 

pinyon

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Jan 17, 2012
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Mrs.YS - I was terrified. :( I have spent alot of time in the out of doors and understand the need to know how to be able to stay safe but this phenomena of mother nature took the cake.
 

miozio

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May 23, 2009
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Mrs.YS - I was terrified. :( I have spent alot of time in the out of doors and understand the need to know how to be able to stay safe but this phenomena of mother nature took the cake.
This is another reason to have a guide nearby, some people hike there alone...
 

pauleast

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Jan 29, 2012
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Speaking of mother nature. I hope you thanked the young Dominican hot muscular swimmer appropriately, for saving your life.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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Glad you are OK :bunny:


but who s that Dominican swimmer speaking in a calm voice ?
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
pinyon, Mr.AE is also a very strong swimmer, an experienced diver, former lifeguard, the whole 9 yards. The same thing happened to him and a friend who were snorkling off the south coast several years ago. Both were okay, the lifeguard training took over, but he came out of the water a little shaken and minus a flipper/fin. Mother Nature can be very humbling.

Glad you're okay.
 

pinyon

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Jan 17, 2012
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I am thankful to be alive.....but now... more than that... I hope that someone will heed this warning.

And.... there were three men who helped me..... all were rewarded well.....monetarily.
 
May 29, 2006
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I've been caught in riptides as well. You have to ride it out and then go parallel to the shore until you are out of it. It's counter-intuitive because you get scared and want to get to the beach as fast as possible. But when you try to go directly to the shore, you end up getting tired out and then you get into real trouble.

Everyone who swims in the ocean should see this one minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8c7RJx5pBg
 

Juniper

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Thanks for the the valuable information. While we are at it, Playa del Valle also has very strong riptides and many people have drowned there. The tricky part of the riptides is that the water looks so calm and inviting!!!
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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This is an isolated beach and I have seen very few people swimming in the water there. You need to be familiar with the rip tide and ocean currents before you proceed into the water. If you are not familiar with the conditions than you should not under any circumstances swim out any distance from shore. This is exactly how people become a headline in the local newspaper.

LTSteve
 

pinyon

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The oddest thing to me is that we were boated to this beach specifically as a snorkeling trip by a local guide. Not a word was ever said to us about the riptide......yet he was the one who swam out to me. And..... there were alot of people at the beach that had been brought there by boats.
 

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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It does not surprise me at all that your guide would say anything. Was his language skills that good? It is your responsibility to be familiar with your surroundings. You are not in Kansas anymore. Use this as a life lesson and be happy you lived another day.

LTSteve
 

Me_again

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Nov 21, 2004
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My wife got caught in one at a resort in Cuba. Not a bad one but gave her a short scare, scraped her against a the coral at the side of the gap in the reef. The locals of course denied it was there when I asked them about it later.

They are rip currents really. I like that short video -- good graphics. Here's a longer one: a short-course on . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=alPBqhvEGzg&NR=1

Not a bad effort though I do say it as a Canadian ('course they used some NOAA footage too).
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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It does not surprise me at all that your guide would say anything. Was his language skills that good? It is your responsibility to be familiar with your surroundings. You are not in Kansas anymore. Use this as a life lesson and be happy you lived another day.

LTSteve

Be familiar with your surroundings more than locals in unfamiliar surroundings ? Really ?