Nai Harn

[cdmtdm]

I go to Nai Harn everyday for a swim mid afternoon as i have done for over a year , but after the last two days i am re considering , i do not want to come across as some sort of hero , i go to relax , have a swim and body surf if the swell is good oh and look at the scenery .....

In the last two days because of the big rips i have found myself watching and warning other people to keep out of the rips , i swim to the back of the swell and try and catch the one sweet wave in a set , from here you can see the rips working overtime, but the last two days out of necessity i have been keeping others safe , its my nature .... we had one poor life guard volunteer running like hel_l up and down the beach, he has no hope of covering such a big area , i pulled 4 thai men on a sun lounge out of a very strong rip they were headed out and fast unbelievably two could not swim at all !! the others dog paddle and we are talking out in deep water , i watched as an older Thai lady got sucked out so fast her family did not realise until i was dragging her across the rip and out of danger and into shore.... too many incidents too mention, but thankfully the people got out of trouble before being dragged out .

So at the moment i am concerned for other peoples safety when we have such a big swell , tourists and thais are not aware of how quickly life can change if you are caught in a rip , selfishly for me i think the best thing to do is actually close sections of the beach where the rips are , putting a flag up is ok but no one should be in the water around these spots , when the rips gone and the swell drops re open . The question is who does this ? who closes small sections of the beach and monitors the situation ??? it needs attention before any more loss of life . IMO

I will go back today but my conscience tells me to forget about relaxing and keep looking out to warn people and help where needed , when the swell drops back to relllaaaaaxxxxx.

Cheers CdM

[grumpyoldman]

"The question is who does this ? who closes small sections of the beach and monitors the situation ???"

With no real lifeguards it's the beach chair guys like longtime beach chair guy K. Dewey. We had a young Thai girl drown about a month ago and he was really shook up. He was asking me "how can they let their kids go so far in the water when they cannot swim?"

OP, some things will not change unless you want to open up a free swimming lessons program.

Keep draggin em out, when in the water notice the kids getting in too deep and tell them to go in a bit, that's what I do. I average 3-4 rescues a year, my friends who surf during low season, one a week.

[Nirvana]

cdmtdm

Good for you. The world is a better place when people do such deeds as you have done.

Its an outrage that they do nothing on a tourist Island when so much money pours into the country from tourism.

But is much the same in Koh Samui etc.

What to say...that has not already been said.

If anything would be organised by foreigners i guess they would sya its working and fine you.

Nirvana

[cdmtdm]

cdmtdm

Good for you. The world is a better place when people do such deeds as you have done.

Its an outrage that they do nothing on a tourist Island when so much money pours into the country from tourism.

But is much the same in Koh Samui etc.

What to say...that has not already been said.

If anything would be organised by foreigners i guess they would sya its working and fine you.

Nirvana

thanks for the posts , yes my big fear of stepping up and attempting to put something in place is when god forbid a child or adult does drown !!! if what is happening elsewhere in Thai society is any indication then i would be a sitting duck for all sorts of litigation ...... this has to be done by Thais for Thais and paid for by Thais .... i have not seen the statistics on the ratio of Thai to Farang drownings would be interesting if anyone has them ...

Cheers

[TaoNow]

cdmtdm: could you explain how you were pulling people out the rips and to calmer water or to shore.

I am not questioning that this happened -- but I am curious how you managed this.

It is my understanding that the rips on the western beaches are quite strong, and it would be all a person could do to power swim out of the path of the rip -- let alone rescue others being pulled by a rip.

So, how did you manage it? Do you wear fins? Do you have a special technique for spotting the rips? What swim strokes and kicks do you use to swim with or out of a rip?

If the rips can be seen clearly -- as you state -- could you try to snap some photos or describe their appearance on Nai Harn.

I swim at Kata Noi throughout the Monsoon and have not encountered the conditions you describe -- though I realize the beaches all have their own unique character and different degrees of safety.

[steelepulse]

I saw the kayak guy pull out 3 people at one time a couple of days ago. If he hadn't been there, the 2 people that were getting pulled out fast and a 3rd swimmer that went to help would have been seriously in trouble.

[starkey_rich]

I also go to Nai Harn every afternoon and over the last 3 days I was expecting to read there had been another drowning,gangs of young Thai guy's a bit mao getting out of there depth and as stated the rips have been really strong lately.

We must all be down there at same time.

Did anyone see the police guy in full uniform with his gun and binoculars down the lagoon end yesterday.

Don't know what he was up too.

[cdmtdm]

cdmtdm: could you explain how you were pulling people out the rips and to calmer water or to shore.

I am not questioning that this happened -- but I am curious how you managed this.

It is my understanding that the rips on the western beaches are quite strong, and it would be all a person could do to power swim out of the path of the rip -- let alone rescue others being pulled by a rip.

So, how did you manage it? Do you wear fins? Do you have a special technique for spotting the rips? What swim strokes and kicks do you use to swim with or out of a rip?

If the rips can be seen clearly -- as you state -- could you try to snap some photos or describe their appearance on Nai Harn.

I swim at Kata Noi throughout the Monsoon and have not encountered the conditions you describe -- though I realize the beaches all have their own unique character and different degrees of safety.

First up its easy to spot the rips stand on shore and you can clearly see the drag out to see , the water colour is awash with sand and its moving rapidly out to sea , what happens is the swimmers think the waves are dragging them out and that it will stop soon , but it doesnt and all of a sudden they are in deep water and cannot stand , the current drags them out quickly , they fight the current and get exhausted very fast , the best thing to do is swim across the rip as fast as you can not against it , once out you will be stationary and have time to recover to get back into shore . I swim out along side the rip freestyle and then use sidekick to get them out and back in to safe water , first if they have enough energy i try to get them to move across the rip to me , i have no fins , or board but that would make it easier sure , remember i go to the beach to relax and i am a strong swimmer and fitter than most .

Sure i will try and get some snaps when i see a decent one from shore and post it on here .

Cheers

[cdmtdm]

I also go to Nai Harn every afternoon and over the last 3 days I was expecting to read there had been another drowning,gangs of young Thai guy's a bit mao getting out of there depth and as stated the rips have been really strong lately.

We must all be down there at same time.

Did anyone see the police guy in full uniform with his gun and binoculars down the lagoon end yesterday.

Don't know what he was up too.

hey starkey , yes i will be down this arvie but i am up towards the hotel end a bit as the lifeguard guy has a board and looks after the other end , no did not see the cop at my end ..

maybe see you down this arvie

cheers

[Valentine]

It is funny how the Phuket Lifeguard club never seems to get involved in these discussions as they would be the perfect vehicle, under the auspicies of the governor, to provide volunteer lifeguard services as is done in NZ & Australia. Apart from providing a valuable community service surf lifesaving is also a great sport involving many aspects of competition in which young & old can participate.

As the OP has stated rips are very easy to see once you know what to look for. When I used to take my kids to Patong to play on the beach we always picked a spot to swim where there were no holes but even then you could still feel rips tugging at your legs in the shallows. I would tell them to pick an easily visible spot near where we were sitting & always stay in front of that marker when in the water. Parents should also be extremely vigilant & watch their kids at all times as no matter how calm it looks something can happen in an instant.

[cdmtdm]

It is funny how the Phuket Lifeguard club never seems to get involved in these discussions as they would be the perfect vehicle, under the auspicies of the governor, to provide volunteer lifeguard services as is done in NZ & Australia. Apart from providing a valuable community service surf lifesaving is also a great sport involving many aspects of competition in which young & old can participate.

As the OP has stated rips are very easy to see once you know what to look for. When I used to take my kids to Patong to play on the beach we always picked a spot to swim where there were no holes but even then you could still feel rips tugging at your legs in the shallows. I would tell them to pick an easily visible spot near where we were sitting & always stay in front of that marker when in the water. Parents should also be extremely vigilant & watch their kids at all times as no matter how calm it looks something can happen in an instant.

Hi Valentine , yes surf clubs are great for everyone young and old , but as i stated before it will have to be initiated by Thais , i had a great time with my kids at the surf club and used to take the nippers classes on Sundays teaching the real young ones ..... great day out followed by a barbie and a few cold ones .... down the beach yesterday again and noticed a few Thai guys on long boards patrolling at the back of the break at the south end , did the job well ..... rips got stronger around 4 as the swell picked up , incident free for me yesterday ahhhh blisss !!!!

Yes parents dont take your eyes of the little ones for a minute ...... great post Valentine ...

Cheers CdM

[starkey_rich]

hey starkey , yes i will be down this arvie but i am up towards the hotel end a bit as the lifeguard guy has a board and looks after the other end , no did not see the cop at my end ..

maybe see you down this arvie

cheers

Missed yesterday for the first time in ages.Went up to Surin beach.Most of the beach is taken up by beach loungers and now some of the restaurants are even covering the beach with tables and chairs.OH and jet ski's.

No thank you. I will stick to Nai Harn

Down there this afternoon.

Don't know how I will recognize you though.

[cdmtdm]

Missed yesterday for the first time in ages.Went up to Surin beach.Most of the beach is taken up by beach loungers and now some of the restaurants are even covering the beach with tables and chairs.OH and jet ski's.

No thank you. I will stick to Nai Harn

Down there this afternoon.

Don't know how I will recognize you though.

white billabong boardies ... i sit near the little beach shop at the base of the white wooden steps , hotel end of course

cheers

[starkey_rich]

white billabong boardies ... i sit near the little beach shop at the base of the white wooden steps , hotel end of course

cheers

Hi cdm

Had a look for you yesterday but could not see anyone in white boardies just a couple of guy's in black Budgie smugglers.

Will look out for you again

[steelepulse]

Sounds like we need an unofficial TV Nai Han meet up. I make it a few days a week around 6 to watch the sun disappear before it sets.

[cdmtdm]

Hi cdm

Had a look for you yesterday but could not see anyone in white boardies just a couple of guy's in black Budgie smugglers.

Will look out for you again

hi starkey actually i was in the water most of the time yesterday the waves were excellent and only a couple of smallish rips so good fun and able to relax , it picked up at about 4 oclock as per the last week , most days i go around 3 oclock until say 4.30 and always in front of that massage and little shop stand , how can i recognize you ?? i also have a shaved head ......

cheers

[cdmtdm]

Sounds like we need an unofficial TV Nai Han meet up. I make it a few days a week around 6 to watch the sun disappear before it sets.

Hi Steelepulse ..... yes sounds like a good idea and no better place than nai harn , i sometimes situp at the view point where the wind turbine is and watch the sun disappear while sipping a nice cold beer...... very peaceful ....

[starkey_rich]

" most days i go around 3 oclock until say 4.30"

Ahh! that's why I could not see you then i don't get there until about 4.30.

I completely tore the meniscus in my knee last year so look out for some one in OP bordies limping up and the beach a few times.

[cdmtdm]

" most days i go around 3 oclock until say 4.30"

Ahh! that's why I could not see you then i don't get there until about 4.30.

I completely tore the meniscus in my knee last year so look out for some one in OP bordies limping up and the beach a few times.

hey mate , will do maybe see you this arvie if you have time , big swell at about 4 again yesterday some too big to body surf , only one major rip but no dramas from what i could see ..

Cheers

[cdmtdm]

" most days i go around 3 oclock until say 4.30"

Ahh! that's why I could not see you then i don't get there until about 4.30.

I completely tore the meniscus in my knee last year so look out for some one in OP bordies limping up and the beach a few times.

hey mate , will do maybe see you this arvie if you have time , big swell at about 4 again yesterday some too big to body surf , only one major rip but no dramas from what i could see ..

Cheers

if we can believe the press looks like all will be sorted very soon , good...... can go back to relaxing and enjoying the surf , swell massive at the moment ......