Tourist attitudes toward beach safety raise red flags, questions

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Yellow flags, which urge swimmers to use caution, flew over Panama City Beach near the Russell-Fields Pier on Thursday as two Panama City Beach lifeguards watched several mothers with young children wade into the water.

The Gulf of Mexico can be deadly, even on calm days, said Calyn vonBlankenburg, a competitive open-water swimmer and former U.S. Navy diver who now serves as a local lifeguard.

"They're not looking at the flags," vonBlankenburg said of most beach visitors she observes.

It doesn't always matter.

A controversy is brewing in Destin over its flag system after two people died earlier this month. Lifeguards there reportedly were off duty and the flags were taken down for the evening.

Destin lifeguards take the flags down when they leave at 5 p.m. Other counties, including Bay, leave the flags up all the time.

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However, Destin employs a large number of lifeguards; Panama City Beach has lifeguards in a single location, at the City Pier, in addition to roving beach patrols from the Bay County Sheriff's Office and Beach Police Department. The flags aren't always the same, either. On Saturday, Panama City Beach flew double-red flags, while the Sheriff's Office flew single-red flags on their respective portions of the beach.

Some have suggested that if the warning flags had remained up in Destin, the swimmers might have stayed out of the water. But local lifeguards and other Beach officials said many beach visitors rarely, if ever, glance at the flags.

"It's sort of a mixed bag," said Will Spivey, director of the Panama City Beach Aquatic Center at Frank Brown Park and the coordinator of the city's lifeguard program.

As young families enjoyed the beach Thursday, many said that they do, in fact, pay attention . Candace Atkinson said she will not swim when yellow flags are flying.

"I do not want to be dragged into the ocean," the Panama City resident said. "I'm not a strong swimmer. I'm not chancing it."

Cathy Orf comes down to Panama City Beach with her family every year from Mississippi.

"If the flags are red, we don't come to the beach," Orf said.

But in March, several spring breakers told The News Herald and other media outlets that they would swim no matter the conditions. Many had to be rescued after being pulled into deep water by rip currents or after swimming too far out and getting in trouble.

"There are those that don't care what the flags say," said Capt. Steve Harbuck of the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies now have the ability to issue citations to swimmers who venture into the water during double-red flags, but so far no deputy has issued the citation, Harbuck said.

The attitude is something that lifeguards often face, Spivey said. The swimmers do not look at the "big picture" - mainly that they could die, that a family member swimming with them could die or that a Good Samaritan trying to rescue them could die, Spivey added.

The tide may be turning, Harbuck said, because in the last year it seemed like more people were paying attention to the flags and respecting dangerous conditions. No drownings have been reported off Bay County beaches this year.

"I hope that continues," Harbuck said.