Flags at the Beach

So I stop by the beach today after meeting a friend for lunch just to get a good visual fix of the Gulf of Mexico. I spot a no swimming flag and my heart skips a beat. I scan the water, I see a few swimmers further down the shore, I see the life guards are calm, not scrambling out to save them, so I calm myself down.

Checking with the lifeguard I find out that the no-swimming flag is a safety flag marking a possible rip current area. Just that area, maybe 15 ft wide. Cool. How proactive of them. I guess I've never seen a no-swimming flag before. This very capable lifeguard goes on to point out, in detail, the characteristics of a rip current, explaining what to watch for and even drew out a diagram. I'm aware of rip-currents but it was good to see the diagram and see the water action at the same time. So I walk away from the beach, happy that 1. I managed not to over react over the flag, actually checking the facts about it before I jumped to any conclusions, and 2. happy that Walton County seems to have good safety measures installed and very capable people looking out for us.

Here's two links for fact checking the latest beach condition info from the fire department and the a description of the beach flag system.