Off-duty Belmar lifeguard saves swimmer caught in rip current

SPRING LAKE – An off-duty lifeguard was in the right place at the right time to save a swimmer caught in a rip current.

Gene Weiss, who also works as a photographer, and three friends visited the Spring Lake beach last weekend looking for a place to surf. Weiss, 51, ran into a colleague from his part-time lifeguarding job in Belmar, who, while standing on top of the Newark Avenue jetty, pointed out a screaming girl.

The girl’s mother was also in the water, struggling against a rip current pulling her away from shore. The woman had jumped into the water to help her daughter’s boyfriend, who had gotten stuck in the current a few minutes earlier.

More: Rip current safety 101: What to do if you’re caught in one

Weiss ran into the water and swam the woman out of the current before returning her to the shoreline with the help of Rumson resident Patrick Boyle. The other swimmer was kept for observation at Jersey Shore University Medical Center after ingesting water, but was released the next day. The girl made it to shore safely.

“It was so random we just happened to be there,” Weiss said. “If it was 10 seconds later, this woman would have drowned.”

Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of fast-moving water that flow directly away from the shore.

The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration recommends swimmers check surf zone forecasts for conditions before swimming in the ocean, and to stay at least 100 feet away from jetties, where permanent rip currents exist.

Rip currents can be identified by a channel of churning, choppy water, with a breaking in the incoming waves. Foam, seaweed and debris might be moving continuously out to sea, and the color of the water might be noticeably different.

NOAA recommends that any swimmer caught in a rip current swim parallel to and then toward the shoreline at an angle. If you can’t swim, float and call for help.

Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He’s won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at [email protected] or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ rip currents: Off-duty Belmar lifeguard saves woman in Spring Lake