Lake Michigan: The Deadliest Great Lake

i'm an immediate pen and i'm struggling as hard as i can to get back to the surface of the water and as soon as i'm almost about to get to the surface another wave is closing out pushing me down thinking i'm holding my last breath someone's going to be informing my wife and kids that i died in a drowning incident in lake michigan lake michigan is the deadliest great lake each year dozens of people drown while swimming or boating in its waters there was a point where we realized he wasn't alive and the horrible thing was knowing he's out in lake michigan somewhere and i kept saying he'll be okay and i said no he won't the lake doesn't give people back why do beachgoers and boaters die summer after summer when activists say drowning can be prevented with its caribbean blue water and sandy beaches lake michigan draws millions of tourists every year [Music] the 22 000 square mile freshwater lake has been a vacation destination for generations its miles of beaches sand dunes parks and facilities make it a point of pride for michigan residents we do still you know really enjoy going down there and and enjoying the beauty of this resource that we have it's just uh sad that you know you can never forget what it took from us this is one of my favorite ones because it's one i've got with my three kids that's the last one i got all three of them everyone who walks onto the pier at grand haven state park passes this photo of andy fox a smiling 17-year-old local boy who died swimming off the beach here in 2003. he was a good swimmer he loved coming down here and just like all the kids when there's waves they want to be down here unfortunately that day he didn't take his boogie board with him andy and a friend were in a rush after school to take advantage of a warm wavy day in early september he didn't know the danger he was in the other kid asked him to come out to the second sandbar and once they got out there it started getting rough and was knocking their legs out the other kid tried to come back after him but he he couldn't get to him and he ended up getting back into shore but andy was just still out there and yelling for help we slept on the beach that night because we didn't want to leave him down there by himself he couldn't do anything but sit there and look into the water and wonder where he was according to data from the great lakes surf rescue project nearly half the people who drown in the great lakes every year drown in lake michigan an average of about 38 people a year the wisconsin illinois border northwest indiana southwest michigan is the most deadliest spot on the great lakes for drownings the area is densely populated and the shore features uniquely dangerous conditions that people might not expect from a lake folks come out of the city want to put their mind on vacation they just don't realize the power of a four or five foot wave out on the ocean you might have six foot waves but they're spread apart on lake michigan they're pounding you one right after the other real close together piers like this one in grand haven line the lake michigan shoreline they're picturesque landmarks but they can create dangerous currents when they get to the pier it's going to be like they're on steroids they're gonna be you know twice as strong there's ways bouncing into the pier it's like a washing machine and it's one of the worst case scenarios a person can get themselves into another deadly hazard rip currents the wave comes in it's got to go back out so as it goes back out it'll find these channels and accelerate its force and speed just think of a river that's flowing pretty good could you swim against that current in a river would you try to no you wouldn't it was a rip current that caught andy fox he didn't know anything about getting out of a rip current and did exactly what he shouldn't tried swimming back straight in unpredictable weather can add to the danger lake michigan is as dangerous or more dangerous than the ocean because storms come up so quickly and by the time you can start heading toward shore the storm and the wind is on he was out and there was a storm and that's what we know carol smith sandy's 23 year old son jacob drowned after kayaking off indiana dunes national park in may of 2019. he had a really wonderful smile and he'd crinkle up his eyes you know i used to think if in old age he'd have all these wrinkles around his eyes because he just had this huge smile he was very experienced he loved being out in the water in life you can only play the odds you can wear the seat belt and do everything right and things still happen but i think if we have lifeguards and good sound warning systems that will help improve our odds there were no lifeguards at the national park where jacob sandy launched his kayak for the last time and there haven't been lifeguards in michigan state parks since the early 1990s it's outrageous that we don't have lifeguards these beaches are the economic engines for your tourism and you're not protecting the people when they come here david benjamin who became an advocate for safety on the great lakes after nearly drowning himself calls lifeguards a drowning person's only hope if someone struggles in the water and they submerge and nobody's watching the water it might be 10 minutes 30 minutes before someone realizes someone's missing a spokesperson for the michigan department of natural resources said lifeguards were phased out of state parks over liability concerns and because of the difficulty and expense of finding and paying for qualified candidates he emphasized personal responsibility saying a lot of drownings happen when people are outside of designated swimming areas or swim on dangerous red flag days a lifeguard could have made a difference and said hey i see lightning or i see you know blow whistle everybody in because there were a lot of families there that day there are other kayakers there so it wasn't like he was off on some unknown place by himself michigan has more coastline than any state but alaska so we should be number one in water safety and drowning prevention we should be the prototype for every other state the voices of victims families can make a difference if we listen to them when andy fox drowned in 2003 there was only one life ring at grand haven state park it had already been put away for the day somebody wrapped miranda grabbed it but it was way up by the guard shack so that was one reason it was important for us to first thing to get life rings out on the beach and the pier and we got rip current signs put up so that people would understand what had happened and how to get out of it andy didn't have any of that knowledge andy's family also hosted a beach survival challenge for more than a dozen years teaching the community how to stay safe in lake michigan there was one kid that actually saved two others from drowning because of the beach games he knew what to do without even thinking about it he just jumped into action and saved the two kids from a rip current carol sandy is also turning her tragedy into action and raising national attention u.s representative haley stevens who went to the same high school as jacob sandy is hoping to allocate 5 million dollars to the cdc to fund water safety and drowning prevention she on the floor of the house proposed this amendment and honored jacob and talked a little bit about him his young adult life was just beginning and he was known for his deep christian faith his positive outlook adventurous and humorous spirit there is so much more we can do to prevent drownings in america for now without lifeguards on most lake michigan beaches it's vital that swimmers and boaters know how to stay safe if you're in the water of the great lakes and you're wearing a life jacket you have less than a one percent chance of drowning i know a lot of times teenagers think it's not cool to have a life jacket on but it's better than not being here if you do find yourself caught in a rip current fight your body's instinct to panic what we advocate is if you're ever struggling water over your head is that you flip float and follow so you flip over your back and you float float to conserve your energy and then follow a safe path swim parallel shore and then back to shore if you see someone in trouble throw them something that floats and put on a life jacket before you attempt to rescue many would-be rescuers become drowning victims themselves i think you just got to realize that water is one of the most powerful energy forms there is water always wins lake michigan is the gem of the great lakes but as we enjoy its beauty and beaches families of drowning victims want us to understand the dangers that lie beneath you

Channel: MLive

Views: 502,686

Keywords: mlive, lake michigan, great lakes, drowning, jacob sandy, andy fox, wisconsin, illinois, indiana, grand haven, water safety, david benjamin, great lakes surf rescue project, lake michigan drowning, coast guard, uscg, holland beach, ludington beach, indiana dunes, indiana dunes beach, chicago beach, lifeguard, life guards, michigan lighthouses, beach rescue, drowning prevention, michigan beaches, lake michigan beach, new buffalo beach, traverse city beach, michigan coast guard

Id: frBpsDjpX6s

Length: 10min 0sec (600 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 29 2020