Comments on: Body of Teen Swimmer Found Near Town Fishing Pier

By: Deborah & Don Bender

Deborah & Don Bender — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 11:55:29 +0000

Tim, The town says signs have been ordered. Seems like from last August when little Ace drowned to NOW is quite a long time for signs to be made don’t you think ?
Just my opinion.

By: Tim Krawczel

Tim Krawczel — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 11:00:18 +0000

Ten years ago, while the first breakwater rock piles in front of the beach were under construction, the then Director of Public Works recognized the potential public safety risk being created…visitors to the beach might climb on the rocks and needed to be warned that they might be slippery. He took it upon himself to research signage and found there are standards of shape, color and wording for public safety signs. After a few hours research he identified the appropriate signs. At a cost of a few hundred dollars the signs were purchased and installed on the breakwaters. Ten years later, probably with zero expenditure on maintenance or upkeep, many of the signs are still in place. There was no need for a Town Council debate on budget, adding staff, or asking permission from a state agency. The Director took the action because it protected and enhanced public safety. Undoubtedly, the tragedy of the first drowning at the drop off to the tidal channel caught Town officials by surprise. However, it is inexplicable to me that such a horrible event had been repeated, yet there are still no signs in front of the drop off that warn visitors wading out in the water of the potential danger.

By: Melvin W. Williams, Jr CWO, USCG (Ret)

Melvin W. Williams, Jr CWO, USCG (Ret) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 23:33:01 +0000

I remember losing my best friend a long time ago, who drowned off the beach during the summer after completing our first year of high school at Northampton County High. Walter Mendoza, better known by us as “Baby Brother,” was on his way to the beach with Jimmy Wilkins and beckoned me to join them. My father, hearing this, approved, but strangely enough as I got up to join them, something told me to sit back down. I did, but felt uneasy because he and I went almost everywhere together, especially swimming. Some of us used to sneak off to the beach skinny dipping, but this time I didn’t go and sat down to continue my talk with my neighbor. It wasn’t long afterwards that the alarm sounded for a drowning and I knew already who it was sounding for, an eerie feeling that I can never explain even to this day. After many days of searching, his body was discovered and recovered from the rocks in the jetty, the place where I used to fish. Once while flying over the beach as a Coast Guard Aviation Survival man on a search for a drowning victim, the memories resurfaced. I remembered Baby Brother and Jimmy and the pain and hardship of a loss of life due to drowning. The fear factor was known as sinkholes by the community and sometimes cramps. Therefore you couldn’t eat before going into the water and couldn’t step into holes. There was and still is a lack of knowledge about the characteristic water current and flow such as rip tides caused by the Baltimore Channel. Education about water safety and safeguards should be put in place before the beach activity goes into full gear. I’ve read this article about this drowning and the anguish of the family’s grief and again the memories surface and I grieve too. My background includes water survival and to those ASTs get involved “So Others May Live.” Semper Paratus.

By: Craig Richardson

Craig Richardson — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 20:35:16 +0000

Roping off the area is not the answer, all that’s going to do is cause some other accident! What are you going to say about your great idea then? They need floating markers set along the length of the channel that will warn people of the danger of going beyond that point. That way there is no chance of someone, or something getting hung up on a potential hazard. Now I don’t know how long it took the Coast Guard helicopter to get to Cape Charles, but it the town or rescue personnel had their own UAV with a thermal imaging camera, they could have it in the air in minutes and cover the WHOLE beach area in no time at all!

By: Caroline Lewis

Caroline Lewis — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 14:02:46 +0000

I couldn’t help but read the above comments. Being the wife of a retired Coast Guardsman I can feel some of the anguish of these families are feeling. We have been stationed near beaches that have roped off areas for swimmers. No one on jet skis, water skis or anything of that nature is allowed near the roped off area. It is a safe haven for swimmers only. A roped off area is definitely needed. It is a simple solution at very little expense to solve a major problem.

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 13:01:42 +0000

Craig, we no longer go to the public beach, the best place to see neighbors and make friends, because of the jet skis. Anything that deters them from coming to the beach would also make the beach safer.

By: Craig Richardson

Craig Richardson — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:20:58 +0000

Yes it is a tragedy, but Cape Charles beach is one of the safest beaches anywhere. Signs along the drop off to the channel would help, but lifeguards are not needed. If you run rope along the edge of the channel with buoys, the people on jet skis and para-surfers are going to get caught up in it. Both drowning could have been prevented, and it has nothing to do with the town and the way the beach operates. What the town or the rescue department needs to invest in is a UAV with a FLIR camera. The whole beach area could be scanned from above within MINUTES of something being reported — then boats or other rescue personnel can be directed to a location.

By: Stephen K. Fox

Stephen K. Fox — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 13:41:09 +0000

Each time I hear of a drowning at the Cape Charles Beach, I am reminded of an event almost 60 years ago when a young man was drowned at the beach. I can remember his family and friends in deep anguish about the young man’s death….”Peaches (as he was known) drowned”. I have often thought of this tragic event, and last year after the small child met a similar fate, it appeared that the situation compelled a pro-active approach by the Town. That has not happened, but it must be given the highest of priorities. Extension of the beach heightens this concern. Beach goers are lured by the enchantment of the Bay, and perhaps do not use the best of judgment, but warning signs will assist in better judging the circumstances.

By: Mandi Mears

Mandi Mears — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 03:49:15 +0000

It is long overdue that the folks in charge of Cape Charles start focusing on beach SAFETY, particularly now that the new expansion puts swimmers much closer to the “drop off”. Install drop off markers and bring in full time lifeguards Memorial Day through Labor Day. Oh, and here’s an idea, use the revenue from all those parking tickets to pay for the lifeguards. The time to act is NOW. Two drownings in 10 months is too much. What will it take before safeguards are implemented…. A third drowning… A fourth!?

By: Tim Kellam

Tim Kellam — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 23:30:28 +0000

Another drowning in CC Beachfront unnecessary, town can afford King Neptune & new parking they make revenue off of but no lines w/ buoys, or lifeguards!!!!!!!!!!!