'Just an instinct': See the rescue of a Bergen County man from Seaside Park rip current
SEASIDE PARK - The surf turned rough Tuesday afternoon so boogie boarder Michael Lantz decided to take a break.
That's when the 37-year-old Berkeley man noticed people peering out to sea with binoculars.
Lantz couldn't see it at first, but an 81-year-old Bergen County man was struggling in the water about 100 yards off shore. The man got caught in a rip current, Lantz said.
Water rescue teams from Seaside Heights and Seaside Park started to arrive. Lantz didn't wait for them.
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"I could see him splashing," he said. "So I just grabbed my fins and my board and jumped in."
The call about a distressed swimmer in the water off O Street beach came in around 2:55 p.m., Sgt. Andrew Casole of the Seaside Park police said. But he soon drifted toward the Stockton Avenue beach, about three blocks north.
When Lantz got closer to the man, he was paddling.
"He was going against the rip," Lantz said. "Instead of swimming parallel to the shore he was trying to fight it. He was gassed. He had been in the water probably for a good portion of 20 or 30 minutes."
The paddling soon stopped.
The swimmer's fatigue was setting in quickly. Lantz was concerned the man might panic, pulling them both under. The water depth was well over their heads.
"When I got to him, he was rotating from his back to his belly because he was having a hard time staying afloat," Lantz said. "I just wrapped my arms around his back and helped him onto my board. It was too rough for me to bring him in myself. The waves were so rough I thought, 'God forbid he falls off my board. We'll both go tumbling through these waves.'"
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From out there on the water, Lantz could see the Seaside Heights Fire Department's Water Rescue Team launch a Jet Ski. It cut through the surf, picked up a rescue swimmer that started in after Lantz and reached the men.
The Jet Ski brought the struggling swimmer in, and Lantz paddled back on his boogie board through the swirling water.
Rescuers said the man was semiconscious when they brought him in, Casole said.
It wasn't until later on the beach that the turn of events sank in for Lantz.
"It was just an instinct," he said about the rescue. "Somebody needed help and I had the tools to help to do what I could until until more help arrived."
The rescue took place less than two weeks after three people drowned in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Wilmer Chavez, 31, of Howell disappeared Sept. 3 in Seaside Park and his body appeared on the beach three days later. Edwin Antonio Made Sanchez, 22, of the Dominican Republic died Sept. 10 after being caught in a rip current off Beach Haven. Gilberto Mendez Jr., 42, of Roselle Park died after being pulled from the water along with several others the evening of Sept.10, police said.
"It really is kind of the perfect storm," Lantz said. "Between no lifeguards, it's still beach weather, it's still 80 or 90 degrees out, and people underestimate what these storms off the coast can do. It'll just drag you out. You stand no chance."
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Ignorance about how easy it is to get sucked into a rip current, which can appear without warning, can be just as deadly as the water, he said.
"It's just unfortunate that not everyone has been rescued these last few weeks," he said. "These rips are just nothing to mess with. If you don't have fins, or a board or something to rest on, just stay out of the damn water."
What is a rip current?
A rip current is a narrow and powerful fast-moving water current that extends from the shoreline through the surf zone, and ends beyond where the waves break. They can also push hundreds of yards offshore.
Rip current speeds are typically 1-2 feet per second, but speeds as high as 8 feet per second have been measured. They form at low spots or breaks in sandbars as incoming waves push water to the shoreline, which creates an unbalanced surf zone.
A rip current forms when waves of sufficient energy due to the wind push surface water toward the land.
"As the storm moves towards New Jersey, low confidence swimmers should stay out of the water, rip currents can sweep the best swimmers away from the shore and into deeper waters", Lee said. " People should be cautious of extremely dangerous rip currents."
Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seaside Park: Berkeley man saves Bergen County swimmer from rip current
