Swept Away

Thursday, April 18, 2019. It was Senior Skip Day at Christ’s Church Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. A big deal for 17-year-old friends Heather Brown and Tyler Smith. They had been looking forward to this high school milestone all year. Along with six other seniors, they decided to spend the day at popular Vilano Beach, near St. Augustine. Spurred on by brilliant sunshine and temperatures in the eighties, the teens had planned a full day of swimming, sunbathing and beach volleyball. There was a High Hazard flag—a red flag warning beachgoers of “high surf and/or strong currents”— hoisted on the beach’s parking lot flagpole as the teens arrived, but they rushed past it.

TYLER: We drove to the beach in my buddy’s truck, pulling straight onto the sand. We saw the red flag but didn’t think much of it. We knew what it meant but, to be honest, felt pretty invincible. A warm breeze was blowing as we unloaded our folding chairs, sports equipment and grill. The beach seemed deserted. Wow, how lucky! I thought. We have the beach almost to ourselves. I saw no more than five people out there.

From our spot on the shore, we could see a lighthouse. It stood on an island across from the beach. The waters of the inlet between the beach and the lighthouse looked calm. Heather and I and two other friends decided to swim to it. Out in the water, however, we realized the inlet ran much faster and deeper than we’d thought. Our friends turned back. “Do you still want to go?” Heather asked.

The two of us were the strongest swimmers in the group. Turning back would make me look like a wimp. I hesitated just a minute before resuming my stroke. “Let’s go!” I said.

ERIC: That warm day in April, a few friends and I were cruising up the Atlantic coast in my secondhand, 53foot Hatteras motor yacht. The day before, we’d left Delray Beach, Florida, for Brick, New Jersey. That’s where I live most of the year. The marina in Delray Beach, where I usually keep the boat, was under construction, so I had to bring the boat home with me—even though April is less than ideal for cruising up the East Coast. I had a few friends join me for the trip north.

Engine trouble had delayed our initial departure by a day and a half. Then high winds and rough seas kept us inland, slowing our pace and adding days of travel.