Another snorkeler died in waters off of St. John

[mindehankins]

http://stjohnsource.com/content/news/lo ... stling-cay

He was snorkeling on the back side of Whistling Cay. So sad! Just a reminder to be safe and always snorkel with (and watch out for) your buddy!

[hoosierdaddy]

That is so sad. We drove past the emergency vehicles that day and didn't realize something so Awwfull had happened.

[Kevino]

Over the years I have talked to my friend Chris who is a nurse at the hospital and she says the number one medical issue on the island is drowning. Please be careful and always use the buddy-system. Yes, even you tuff guys.

[The2ofus]

I am an avid snorkler. Almost 55 like this poor gentleman. A year and a half ago, while snorkleing with my wife in Jamaica I nearly drowned. I'd been having problems with my new mask where it was leaking through the temple. I was exhausting myself constantly trying to clear the water out. Luckily my wife was beside me. I was struggling and getting very tired very quickly. I yelled at a fellow guest that I needed a life jacket that I'd happened to notice earlier. She heaved it into the water and my wife swam to it and brought it back to me. I am quite confident that if my wife had not been with me as well as the woman who threw the life jacket at us that I would be a drowning victim myself. And thank God that life jacket was there.
'Course Teresa never lets me forget that she saved me that day LOL. But she truly did.
I have always considered myself a very good swimmer and never had any problems before this incident. I have since purchased an inflatable snorklers vest that I will never snorkle without. It was pretty darn scary.
Be safe.

[Tracy in WI]

I am with Ickster, I love to snorkel and would do it on every trip for hours on end. I have competed in triathlons so have the ability to swim.

Once my husband and I rented a dinghy and grabbed a mooring ball at Henley Cay (or one of them) and we jumped in to see the sights. Soon after entering the water, I was kicking and swimming so hard but I was not moving forward. I was caught in a current. As I struggled, my husband was oblivious as he snorkeled away and must have been outside that current. I haven't let him forget that point!

Fortunately, Captain Phil Chalker, the Wayward Sailor was out with a group of guests - he was in a dinghy as they snorkeled with the current. He noticed me and saved my life that day.

I too, now own several inflatable yellow snorkel vests and highly recommend them to others. Looking goofy is worth my life and yours!

I apologize if you have read this story from me before, but it is an important lesson that I learned and feel the need to share.

[stjchica]

Thanks everyone for sharing...and prayers to this person's family~

[liamsaunt]

I'll add another story with a slightly different twist.

Last summer we decided to go to Hawksnest for our first snorkel. My then-10 year old niece had snorkeled the summer prior, but only on our last day. She did great on her first snorkel and went from Gibney to Mermaid's Chair and back with no problems. She had her flotation vest from the prior summer as a precationary measure, and we thought Hawksnest would be a good first snorkel of the trip since it is relatively shallow and the reef is close to shore.

My husband and I took her out and everything was fine at first, but when we got around to the back of the reef we hit a current. It was not a strong current, but it was enough to make her panic. She started freaking out and climbing on me to try and get out of the water. She (accidentally) pushed me under and knocked my mask off, and then would not let go of my hand to allow me to fix my gear. John ended up peeling her off me but by that point I had inhaled a ton of water. I couldn't use my snorkel because I was coughing so much, I coudn't get my breath, and honestly wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it back to shore. I am a strong and confident swimmer but this whole thing happened so fast and I was completely unprepared.

I luckily did manage to get back to the beach without passing out. I think I coughed up about two cups of water and I had water pouring out of my sinuses for a while. Then for the rest of the day I could shake my head and spray water from my nose in all directions! It was really frightening for all of us. She didn't have any other issues snorkeling the rest of the trip, she even did Lovango and Leinster, but after that time I always towed a noodle along when she was out with us, just in case...

I think I am going to buy an adult snorkel vest for this summer's trip and whoever is her snorkel buddy for the day will have to wear it (of course she will always be wearing her vest). It's really hard to control the situation when someone panics in the water.

[mindehankins]

I'm glad you guys are still here to share your stories. This is the reason I've always been afraid to go all the way around Waterlemon. I really hated the snorkel vest, but will have that or a noodle with me, from now on! Rest in peace, Mr. Husted, and wishing peace to his family, especially his daughter, who he was visiting at Maho. Such a tragedy.

[mnfun2bme]

We were att Maho in January when we saw the helicopters over near Waterlemon. It was really a chilling moment to realize that they must be looking for a body. A day later we heard of a drowning that had occured at Waterlemon.
I agree with Liamsaunt.... "It's really hard to control the situation when someone panics in the water."

Stay safe one and all.

[PA Girl]

Liamsaunt provides an excellent example of why a buddy isn't always safety net (her niece). Yet tHank God she had her husband there to save both of them.

In my college years, I was a trained lifeguard. I posted the following here and on TA but in the event it helps someone, I will repeat it. When I was in my early 30s, I swan daily for an hour a day. We were on a day trip and stopped at Waterlemon. I got caught in the current and was completely surprised by how strong it was. I remember thinking to myself that this is how people drown. Because of my training and experience (in the east coast oceans,bays and rivers) I could stay calm and all was ok but I could imagine someone with less confidence could have panicked.

As I remember another forum member saying something like "just because a snorkeling spot is popular doesn't mean it is always safe."

The next day after the incident I described, my mother who can barely swim thought Waterlemon was a delightful snorkel. Conditions can change so quickly.

Now that I snorkel with our 7 yo, I wear a belt and I make him wear a vest even though he is a strong swimmer.

[Connie]

We have been wearing vests. I have a problem with mine. It always slides up and around my neck. Husband seems to think it's because I wear a bathing suit and, of course, he has nothing on top. I now prefer 2 noodles.

I am a good swimmer and almost drowned at Sapphire Beach. I will never forget that fear and panic. This happens in a heartbeat and I don't believe that just because you are a good swimmer you can't get into big trouble in the water.

Just be extremely careful out there. Wherever you go.

[mnfun2bme]

Thanks for bringing this topic up.

I know here on the forum we talk about snorkeling waterlemon and the beauty that lies there. I will say this about waterlemon -- Three years ago we went to snorkel waterlemon and the current was VERY, VERY strong but because I can sometimes be considered a stubborn one, I insisted that we do this. Everyone had been talking about it and I wanted to experience it as well. My group of four women walked past the beach and entered in the rocky area just like I had been told to. I had no idea that once we got out just a short ways, we would encounter such current. I did not struggle like the other women we were with but I will admit it was a hard swim. Thank goodness I did not brave the attempt to circle the cay.... I may not be typing today if that had happened. I blamed the full moon and planned my trip the following year opposite the full moon but we were unable to snorkel waterlemon that year because of the winds and waves.
In 2013, we rented a dinghy with the sole intention of conquering the unconquered-- Waterlemon Cay. With the "moon calendare" on our side, we tied up at the bouy near the cay and circled the cay. Yes, it was beautiful but, in my humble opinion, NO ONE SHOULD ATTEMPT THAT SNORKEL unless they are confident with swimming, have experience with currents and are absolutely certain they can return to the place of origin. Even with the dinghy this year, the two girls who had struggled with that snorkel two years earlier did not circle the cay. I bet that reef (which is shallow in some areas has had coral kicked around by struggling snorkelers. There were many seafans that were not in tact and were dying off and I couldn't help but think that the difficulty of that snorkel and a struggling swimmer may be adding to the problem.

Just needed to put that out there. Please help the newbies to the forum understand that it is not an easy snorkel no matter what time of the month, strong swimmer or not. All I remember reading when I started on the forum is how beautiful it is out there. Sure, people had talked about counterclockwise rotation.... but no one had said, "this is a difficult snorkel." I think it's underrated for difficulty level.

[ccinhbg]

After an incident a few years back, we purchased and always use snorkel vests. Although it may seem uncomfortable at first, once we're in the water and enjoying the sea life i forget it's even on. I'd recommend them for anyone.

[Dixie43]

I am a 52 year old male who goes to St. John frequenty. I've always been athletic but an inefficient swimmer and fearful of deep water. I've experience the Waterlemon current before. My wife was beside and held out her arm when I wanted to panic a bit. It calmed me right down and we swam on in. I purchased a book about conquering your fear of the water and just wanted to share the main takeaway in the book. DON'T PANIC. YOU WILL FLOAT and therefore you will be able to breathe. Snorkel gear is a bonus. She is talking about without it. Here methods are painstakingly slow and deliberate moving very slowly from shallow water to deeper water making you understand the same physical concepts apply. She illustrates with a stick man in a circle. In the circle, you are fully confident. When you start to get uncomfortable, a part of the stick man is outside the circle. You want get back in the circle by relaxing. If you get uncomfortable, think about the stick man getting back in the circle. Her theory is that the way we teach kids to swim is all wrong. If they can swim the length of a pool we say they can swim. The question is, could you be dropped off a boat in Pillsbury sound and survive for hours on end. And I'm talking about WITHOUT snorkel gear. She doesn't even talk about strokes. She talks about being fully confident in deep water. There was an episode in Mangnum PI 25 or 30 years ago when he gets thrown off a boat or something and left to drown. He just treads water all day and night and if eventually rescued. When you can do that, you can swim. JUST DON'T PANIC. Sorry that I rambled. I'm at the office at lunch. If anyone is interested, I'm sure that you can Google the author Melon Dash and get more information. Certainly can't hurt to read it.

[augie]

We've had days at Waterlemon that wore us out (close to panic, but being the "strong one" putting up a brave front) and days where it was literally like swimming in a swimming pool.

Respect the current, and if you're uncomfortable at all, don't "go along in silence" - be willing to say "I'll try this some other day". You might be surprised when everyone with you says "I was thinking the same thing"!