Tragic death highlights dangers

We get used to living in paradise on Anna Maria Island, but it is always worth remembering the dangers which surround us, especially those posed by the sea.
It looks beautiful and serene most of the time, but as this tragic story reported in the Tampa Tribune highlights, you can never let your guard drop in the ocean.

The report says: 'State wildlife officer Terry Noll regularly patrols Longboat Pass, a channel he says is one of the most dangerous parts of Sarasota Bay.
Last year, Noll was declared a hero when he rescued four people who left their boat and were caught in the strong currents that flow from Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico between Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island.
But on Friday, he was unable to save a Central Florida man who was swept under a barge and drowned after he and some friends lost control of an overturned jet ski.
“It was just the wrong spot at the wrong time for the jet ski to roll over,” Noll said.
On Monday, the local medical examiner’s office confirmed that Jose H. Medina, 30, of Deltona died of drowning.
The incident began when Medina, his wife, and a group of friends were picnicking at the southern end of Anna Maria Island, and just after 2 p.m. Medina’s jet ski overturned. It was quickly pulled by the current toward a moored tug boat and barge.
Friends in another jet ski joined Medina in trying to stop the jet ski from being sucked underneath the barge.
Eventually they were able to turn it upright. Only then did his friends notice that Medina was missing.
Lifeguards from Coquina Beach using masks and snorkels tried to search under the barge but could not hold their position in the strong current. Medina had been in the water for almost 40 minutes when a dive team brought him to the surface.
No swimming signs are posted at Long Boat Pass, Noll said. Still, some people try to swim across the pass.'

Read the full article here

So remember, please take care out there. Tragedies such as this are thankfully rare, but one such death on our island is still too many.

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