CAPE MAY POINT — Off-duty lifeguard Ryan Gibson saved the life of a 10-year-old girl in distress during an after-hours ocean rescue Aug. 12 off Lehigh Avenue beach.
“A little after 6:30 p.m., a young female had gone into the water and the incoming tide had a really strong current that pulls a lot of water to the bay,” Cape May Point Beach Patrol Chief Ben Swan said. “She got pulled out too far to stand pretty quickly.”
Bystanders on the beach had yelled for help and Gibson, who had been hanging out on the beach after work, responded to the cries. He entered the water, despite not having any rescue equipment.
“I ran over, told the people near the rocks to call 911 and the Fire Department, because I knew if I needed to help, they’d be able to help me, since I didn’t have my paddleboard or can,” Gibson said.
Cape May Police Department Lt. Scott Krissinger recalled the events told to him by one of the sergeants on duty, who said a professional photographer and his client were the two bystanders who rushed into the ocean to assist.
“I have to give him props; if Ryan hadn’t been there, this little girl wouldn’t be here today,” Krissinger said, adding that the family wishes to remain private but expressed their gratitude.
When Gibson reached the girl, she was panicked and he told her to take deep breaths.
“The current was too strong, so I couldn’t swim her in without my can,” Gibson said. “I got her and myself up on the rocks.”
Lifeguard cans, also called rescue buoys, are hard, bright plastic flotation devices with a strap and rope used during water rescues.
Swan said the individuals who entered the water kept getting pushed against the rocks. They tried to form a human chain — an emergency rescue method in which rescuers link hands and arms from the shallow shore into the rough water — but were not successful.
“Ryan stayed with the victim, worked his way onto the rock pile and from there they were able to get atop the rocks and catch their breath and walk back to shore,” Swan said, adding that he and off-duty lifeguard Lt. Matt Gibson (Ryan’s brother) arrived at the scene and helped them off the rocks to safety.
The other individuals who attempted to help were also assisted onto the beach. By that time, an ambulance and Cape May Point Volunteer Fire Company responded and were able to assist in the incident; there were no injuries.
“There were a few volunteers trying to help, but I was trying to encourage them not to help in case they weren’t good swimmers, but they were trying their best,” Gibson said. “Normally we’ll go out with a strap and rope to go out with a can so they can hold the can and I’ll be able to swim in with that force.”
Since Gibson didn’t have his can, he was swimming with one arm while holding the girl and detoured to the rocks for easier rescue efforts.
“I really appreciate every single person trying to help in that situation, from the people who called the fire department all the way to the people [in the water],” Gibson said. “Just the courage to go out there and try to help me out was very much appreciated.”
Swan stressed that swimming only when lifeguards are present is critical for safety. Cape May Point lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily during the season.
“Wave activity was pretty small this week; when you look at the water, it looked pretty calm,” Swan said, adding that the tidal currents are stronger during the new moon, which occurred Aug. 12.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spring tides occur twice a month during both the new and full moons, when the alignment of the Earth, sun and moon combines their gravitational forces to create higher high tides and lower low tides. Despite the name, spring tides happen roughly every 14 days, as many as 25 times a year.
“Even if the water looks calm, there are things that [beachgoers] don’t see but we recognize as lifeguards,” Swan said. “We’re very thankful Ryan was on the beach that day because it could’ve gone very differently.”
Gibson said swimming against the current with one arm proved difficult.
“What’s different from Cape May Point to other beach patrols is we have a current that goes left and right, into the bay or out of the bay,” Gibson said. “The very strong, incoming current was going over top of the rocks, almost like a river.”
He explained that even atop the jagged rocks, it’s difficult to see them.
“That was also my main concern when I got her out of the water, [but] she had sleeves on,” he said. “I was a little cut up coming out of the water, but I was putting getting her out as the main priority.”
Lifeguards spent a significant amount of time training for unexpected water rescues, training they hope they never have to use.
“The ocean looked like a lake that day, but what people didn’t know was we had this really wicked current,” Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger said. “Lifeguards train to be prepared for this event and I want everyone to be thankful for them; we take it for granted that all their training keeps us safe.”
Every summer, lifeguards must be re-certified, which Gibson said includes a mile run in less than 7 minutes, a 550-meter swim in less than 10 minutes and a review of CPR and first aid training. He added that every morning the lifeguards do a group workout, which includes practicing rescue drills or first aid units.
“We’re always prepared for something to happen every single day; we’re always training,” he added.
Safety is a number one priority of the Cape May Point Beach Patrol, whose motto is “when in doubt, don’t go out.”
“How many times do we say, ‘Please don’t swim without lifeguards’?” Geiger said. “Here’s an example of why: there was a hazard that family didn’t know anything about and it nearly took a life.”
Geiger added that working as a lifeguard is more than just sitting on a stand and getting a suntan.
“For Ryan, without thought, he just jumped into the water; it was very commendable,” Geiger said.
Krissinger said he reached out to Geiger because he felt Gibson deserved recognition.
“I reached out to Cape May Point officials after hearing the story; Ryan did a phenomenal job,” Krissinger said. “I’ve never pushed for a lifesaving award but I’m really pushing for him to receive some kind of acknowledgment from the lifeguards out there. He really deserves recognition for this.”
– By RACHEL SHUBIN/For the Sentinel
