Two Hours in the Lives of Ocean Lifeguards at Jupiter Inlet

Written by Paul H. Drucker, Ocean Lifeguard, Palm Beach County

On Sunday April 20, 2003 a tragedy claimed the lives of a married couple at Jupiter Inlet. Numerous TV and press reports were done on the incident, but as news reports go, they were merely summaries. This article is an attempt to expand on the events of that day as experienced by the ocean lifeguard crew that handled it all up close and personal.

The Jupiter Inlet is a narrow man-made opening to the sea that is enjoyed by tens of thousands of boaters every year even though it is officially designated as non-navigable by the Coast Guard. Signs inside the inlet warn boaters that familiarity is necessary for safe passage as with any small inlet. As a matter of fact, inlets in general should be approached with caution by ocean-going vessels because they tend to magnify tidal currents and disrupt the normal formation of sandbars. Stronger currents and haphazard shoaling demand the attention and good judgement of any captain even on good weather days.

Jupiter Inlet has claimed several lives and many boats over the years. As far back as the mid 1600s a Spanish galleon is known to have broken up and scattered it’s contents and, I’m sure, crew into the waters of the inlet. In the 1880s Captain Carlin started a lifesaving station here to assist boats that ran into trouble in and around the area. Decades later the Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation Department began their lifeguarding services at Jupiter Beach Park.

Purely out of need, the Beach Patrol began boater rescue operations here, first with rescueboards, then with 2 man rowed surfboats and more recently, the rigid hull inflatable Avons. The lifeguards watching swimmers and witnessing a boat capsize were impelled to respond to these emergencies. In time it was realized that lifeguards filled an important void in nearshore water rescue that the Coast Guard and Fish & Wildlife (formerly Marine Patrol) were not trained in or equipped to handle.

The rescueboat program was so successful saving lives and property that the county expanded it to the Boynton and Boca inlets. Rescueboat operators now are required to have over 100 hours of specialized training and numerous hours of practice in rough surf to be allowed to run these high speed, extremely maneuverable boats during critical incidents. The operators must be experienced, highly skilled ocean lifeguards that are prepared to accept exceptional personal risk and responsibility. They respond with no warning, to chaotic circumstances, in just swimsuits, with courage and dedication.

This day began as any other, up and at work by 7:30am, and mentally prepping for a busy Easter Sunday crowd. The weather was supposed to be great, with a high of 85, sunny and light winds. Any ocean lifeguard knows that with the mixture of a holiday and nice weather, the people will come. Add to that the end of tourist season, with our northern visitors yearning for that last blast of Florida sun and fun, knowing they’ll return to a place where their own sun and fun may not begin for another month or two, and you know it could be a long day.

Anyone with an intimate relationship with the ocean also knows the surf forecast from watching the weather on TV or getting ocean buoy information on the internet. The anticipation of large swells from a low off Hatteras is as palpable in the surfing community as it is for ocean lifeguards, though maybe not in the same way. Lifeguards generally love surf, but it is tempered by the realization that surf means rip currents, and rip currents mean extreme constant vigilance of the shoreline at all times, numerous preventive actions, and probably rescues. A long day indeed.

This Easter Sunday started normally enough with the usual fishermen scattered along the beach and on the Jupiter Inlet’s south jetty, occasional beach walkers, surfers already in the water, and picnickers claiming tables and barbecues early. The sound of a pounding shorebreak greeted the crew of lifeguards that attend Jupiter Beach Park as their workout station and after eyeballing the waves and brief morning banter the lifeguards departed for their daily workout. Some ran the beach, some ran the road and some hit the surf to swim or paddle, after all, our bi-annual requalification test is a month away and everyone wanted to be in good enough shape to stay on the beach.

After workouts everyone dispersed to their assigned beaches to have their towers set up and equipment checked by nine o’clock. On this day, because of the surf, the county inflatable rescue boat (IRB) could not be safely anchored 30 yards off the Jupiter Beach lifeguard tower as it normally would. Instead, a highly trained and specialized IRB operator would be assigned to sit at DuBois Park, inside the inlet, to lifeguard that beach and be near to the boat dock for an immediate response to any emergency.

As more and more carloads of people filed in to quickly fill the parking lots, the lifeguards undertook their daily routines of posting warnings on conditions boards, checking and setting up all terrain vehicles and rescueboards, getting radio checks on their personal and VHF radios, and hoisting flags. This day’s flags were yellow for the obvious hazards of a whomping shore break and rip currents, plus a blue flag for the jellyfish that were coming in. Just to add to the fray was an early sea lice season that had many guards already itching. It was going to be a very long day.

Through most of the day all went well or as well as one could expect. The guards at Jupiter Beach, known as one of the better surfing beaches locally, were busy keeping surfers out of the small 120 yard wide, 50 yard deep swimming area that is their main concern. Numerous whistles and air horn blasts helped keep the surfers at bay while constant scanning of the shorebreak and backwash kept guards on their toes picking out the little children and older folk most likely to lose their footing and need immediate help. Numerous jellyfish stings needed first aid.

The beach was packed, with rumors of a shuttle bus being used to ferry more people in from a nearby shopping center parking lot. As morning passed to afternoon everyone seemed to be enjoying a great day at the beach.

Through the day probably a few hundred boaters came as close to the mouth of the inlet from the intracoastal as they dared, to check ocean conditions and see the swells that had been predicted on local TV. Most turned quickly around from just seeing and feeling the size of the waves rolling into the inlet, but others lingered at the mouth, fighting the out-going tide, to see if they might be able to get outside the now 8 to 10 foot surf crashing on the sandbar 300 yards east. Groundswells were breaking more than a quarter of a mile offshore and reforming and breaking again on the various shoals around the inlet. Although some avid jet skiers were out there jumping waves, only a few boats went out and those that did had to run fast and know this inlet and their boat’s capability to avoid a problems. It was not a good day to go out this inlet.

As 3pm came around the lifeguards began to see the light at the end of a busy day. To an ocean lifeguard 3pm signals a point when many beach goers have had their fill of sun and pack up to leave. A thinner crowd and a successful 6 hours instills confidence that the gnarly rescues may be avoided. Yet, there’s always the possibility at any time, and as the day goes on, those who’ve been imbibing may feel more courage than their abilities can handle. It’s a lifeguard’s lot.

At 3:30pm a call came over the VHF radio in the Jupiter Beach north lifeguard tower from SeaTow that 2 jet skis seemed to be out of power and were being tossed around in the surf. A call was made to DuBois Park IRB operator Robert Wagner to respond and to pick up Lt. Rick Welch inside the south jetty. Within 2 minutes Robert ran to the boat, pushed it in and sped out the inlet to pick up Lt. Welch awaiting him on the jetty rocks. Furious action had begun at Jupiter Beach when the call came in as is always necessary during these rescues.

Matt Grunke in the Jupiter Beach south tower was informed and immediately shut down his tower and responded by ATV to the north tower. Rick ran 200 yards to the inlet. Carrie Eides and Matt, took on the daunting job of manning the north tower. While simultaneously watching swimmers, they scanned the surf for victims and their jet skis, monitored the VHF for ours, the Coast Guard’s, and Fish & Wildlife’s transmissions, and alerted lifeguards at Carlin Park, a half mile south.

As Rick and Robert sped out the inlet they met the raging sea for the first time that day with their minds racing, taking in the size and timing of the swells, the current, identifying the location of victims and monitoring the handheld VHF as best they could over the surf and engine noise. Yelling back and forth to each other they spotted a jet ski being pushed around by 3 feet of whitewater fairly close to shore (150 yards), with 3 people on board. As they raced over to them they realized that they were young people but had managed to remain high and dry. They timed their approach to the craft keeping in mind the possibly severe consequences of being pushed into the victim’s craft by a wave, and their dangerous propeller that can be a savior or a killer itself. Luckily the victims had been pushed safely in by the whitewater and were in a calmer area where the IRB could pull alongside to quickly get the victims in the rescueboat before a larger set of waves came in. Robert as crewman, helped them in and sat them down low in the 14 foot Avon, checked them quickly out, and told them to hang on tight. Rick hit the throttle to get the fully loaded boat slowly up to speed and planed out on it’s thrashing ride. They rode down the faces of waves, barely outrunning the crashing lips and avalanches of foam in this surf. They made the turn into the inlet to DuBois Park’s swimming area to drop them off. The 3 victims were left in the care of the DuBois lifeguard Austin Nuquist and sped off again for the outer sandbar where they knew another jet ski and victim were in harms way.

This rescue would be more difficult because it was in the impact zone – the area of breaking surf where a wave at its full height suddenly hits a shallow sandbar and breaks violently and repeatedly. The faces of these waves were estimated to be 12 feet and the trough of the wave only 2 to 4 feet deep. Every 11 seconds or so the next wave breaks in the same place as the last, each with the power to overturn a 30 plus foot boat and crack the hull wide open. Each wave then continues on as a mountain of 3 to 6 feet of turmoiled whitewater. This is an extremely dangerous uncontrolled environment that only seasoned large wave surfers, jet skiers and ocean rescue specialists dare enter. This is where Rick and Robert knew they were headed.

As the lifeguards exited the inlet they constantly scanned the area where they last saw the jet ski but with the current moving south and large swells between them, maybe a split second glimpse would give them a direction. They spied dark motion outside and raced to it as best they could, avoiding breaking waves and speeding and turning when they could to gain ground. An older gentleman out on his daughter’s new jet ski had seen the skis out of power with victims clinging to each and attempted to assist to no avail. He pulled up to the IRB and Rick asked the man if he could tell the victim to swim away from his craft so that the rescue could be effected without concern for the two crafts colliding. He did so, and after circling the victim briefly waiting for proper IRB positioning and time between waves, they sped in, hoisted him into the boat. Waves were battering the bow of the small rescueboat and it had filled with some water. They had to go, now, and sped away. The fourth victim of the day was safe and it turns out, was the father of one of the previous victims.

Rick and Robert were very glad that this last man, indeed all the victims that day, had life vests on. A recent Florida law requiring personal flotation devices (PFD’S) for jet skiers can save lives by keeping a victim’s head above water and by buoying them up higher in the water thereby making them easier to see. Ocean lifeguards always wear PFD’s in the rescueboat.

Rick and Robert had their adrenaline really going now and when it was reported that the kids’ jet ski abandoned in the surf was washing toward the guarded swimming area they responded again to tow it to safety. Meanwhile, Matt swam out to it to keep it from beaching in the busy swim area.

The trip out to the jet ski was less hurried than a victim rescue would be, but now they must do a tow in choppy surf; no easy matter. By this time the tide was running out the inlet fast and hard, and creating large standing waves by the action of big incoming groundswells mixing with the full outgoing tide. This is also a dangerously uncontrolled situation with large peaky waves bobbing up and breaking very close to one anther in an extremely random and unpredictable way. Many boaters have taken on water in these standing waves as they rode the face of one wave and plowed their bow into the wave ahead.

There was no problem getting out the inlet. To avoid the standing waves they cut close to the jetty to turn south and may have upset some jetty fishermen. They got quickly to the jet ski, hooked it up to the tow rope and started off. Jet skis don’t tow well especially in surf, but they moved steadily ahead with Robert keeping a close eye on the line that could tangle the propeller in an instant and cause calamity. As they again cut close to the jetty the fishermen cheered them; after all, this was the third trip that day. As they towed the ski into DuBois Park they didn’t know that Matt Grunke rescued two people in a rip at Jupiter Beach as he swam in from holding the ski.

They also did not realize that a Coast Guard inflatable and a Fish & Wildlife boat had responded to distress calls on the VHF about the jet ski victims already retrieved. Even though the lifeguards had announced the safe rescue of all victims over the VHF, the two agencies apparently did not hear the communication and proceeded out the inlet. An observer later noted that both boats seemed to have difficulty traversing the impact zone. Both boats went somewhat vertical going over large swells and the Coast Guard boat was seen to be raising sand over the shoaling and was later reported to have loosened motor mounts. Both boats headed south to return in the deeper and calmer Palm Beach Inlet.

Lo and behold, as Rick & Robert delivered the kids jet ski to DuBois, another jet ski in distress call came in. They rushed out again to the outer sandbar, smack in the middle of the impact zone. Now, drifting south and bobbing in large surf was the older gentleman who had come to the others aid earlier. Thankfully, he had his PFD on and would pop up every time several feet of whitewater flowed over him. As before, the IRB circled and waited for the best moment to approach the victim safely and swooped in during the briefest of breaks in the swell to grab him and go. Again the surf pounded against the bow of the boat and holding on to anything was all anyone could do. The man was apparently bleeding from a laceration in his chin and so the IRB made the fourth trip with the fifth victim speedily into the inlet for first aid care at DuBois Park on solid ground by a dry lifeguard.

Back at Dubois Park though, Austin was juggling his attentions madly. He had a crowd that had been called out of the water because his partner was on IRB duty, victims and a jet ski being delivered to his beach, and now a c-spine incident caused when a beach patron dove in the water and hit his head. Luckily, after Carrie’s swimmer assist, Ocean Rescue Captain Julia Leo was available from helping at Jupiter Beach, having responded there to be backup where she was needed most, and then went to DuBois to help there as best she could.

Thinking that they may be done for the day, Rick and Robert were discussing the breakdown of the boat when the fourth victim came up and requested the possibility of them retrieving his valuables from the front compartment of his partially sunken ski. They agreed only upon knowing that all beaches were manned. One more trip today.

They took off in the IRB, now feeling somewhat comfortable in the surf and gratified that they were able to assist so many in a short period of time. The trip was uneventful except for the repeated rolling and tumbling Robert endured wrestling with this 400 pound machine to retrieve the man’s possessions as he got hit again and again by the surf. The tide was fast heading toward dead low and the mountains of waves were getting steeper and the troughs shallower.

At 4:30pm each day the IRB is broken down for the day, cleaned, engine flushed and gas tank filled for the next day’s action. And so Robert did his tasks, and threw the cover over the console and seat and returned to the DuBois tower. Rick returned to Jupiter Beach, showered and contemplated the reports he would be doing, maybe tomorrow. Everyone involved assumed the worst was over and in 30 minutes they’d be going home on this Easter Sunday.

At 5:06pm a call came over the tower VHF radio from SeaTow Captain Phil Tollman alerting lifeguards to a boat with 4 people not responding to his advisory not to traverse the inlet. It turns out that Phil had sat for most of the day, there just inside the inlet and was the source of many alerts. Many people do not use their VHF radios constantly and even when they do surf and engine noise can drown out the transmissions. The boat maintained speed out the inlet and the lifeguards at Jupiter and DuBois Parks initiated IRB response before anything happened.

Once again, Robert ran for the boat and Matt raced Rick to the jetty on the ATV. By the time the IRB pulled up to get Rick leaping off the jetty rocks, SeaTow had witnessed the 27 foot boat jump two waves, lose an occupant overboard, and pivot turn quickly. Due to reports after the accident we know that another occupant jumped overboard. Apparently the husband of his spouse leapt to her rescue.

At once, the boat was seen to be out of power and floundering in the large surf of the impact zone. Phil Tollman responded immediately to the boat and miraculously was able to hook a line to it as two victims clutched the interior of the sinking boat for their own survival. Phil reportedly saw the others in the water, but knew that his chances of stopping, and not having more victims, was slim to none.

The IRB proceeded out to the general area, but not having been able to see the action proceeded to do a search pattern for two victims in the break zone. They passed SeaTow on the way out. Moving through the impact zone, scanning intensely, trying to hear any radio transmissions, Rick and Robert sped along the backs of 10-foot waves hoping for any sight of them on the boiling ocean surface. They turned again and again, shouting to each other over the thunderous sound of the pounding surf, running north and south, dipping over shoulders and crashing through feet of whitewater desperate to find the victims. As seconds went by, the frustration they felt increased. A call from the VHF suggested a possible sighting just inside the impact zone and to the north. They responded immediately and within seconds caught sight of the people in the water.

Still in very rough whitewater, Rick maneuvered carefully up to the submerged pair and Robert leaped out the boat to make contact with both face down victims at once. No one had a PFD on. He heaved them both backward to pull their faces from the water but there was neither movement nor gasp for air. The victims, later to be identified as husband and wife were found with the man’s arm around his wife, but lifeless. As Rick pulled up to the scene he left the controls of the boat for an instant to grab the man’s clothes and hold him close to the boat. Robert boarded the boat and strained to get the woman aboard over the high-inflated rubber sponsons. He then grabbed the man and both lifeguards struggled to get this large man into the IRB.

Rick quickly took the controls again and hit the throttle full ahead realizing that seconds count. Although the boat had been hit several times by feet of whitewater, filling it during the rescue, the lifeguards knew the weight of the boat might help them from capsizing. They had been pushed in quite a ways and were still were not safe from the ocean and anymore mayhem, but now the gravest lifesaving efforts of the day must begin. A call was made for paramedics.

Robert had all he could do to just secure the people in the bouncing boat. The slowing and speeding up Rick had to do to negotiate the choppy surf made the IRB pound and veer with every wave. As the smoother water of the inlet was gained Robert began the task of trying to find pulses as Rick pushed the IRB to its limits, trying to plane out for speed and realizing the seconds ticked away. The small boat labored with the full load of people and water splashing around, but as speed increased the water drained out the rear scuppers. As Robert realized that neither victim had a pulse he, alone with the 2 victims, took the best action he could. He began alternating compressions on first the female, then the male victim in the cramped area in the back of the small boat. The bumping of the boat eliminated the possibility of effective respirations and so compressions would have to do. SeaSport Marina inside the inlet is our designated place for transfer to paramedics. The trip in the inlet probably took a very long 1 minute.

At the marina paramedics had not yet arrived and so the lifeguards began full on CPR on each victim. After a couple of more minutes a marina worker recommended they move the boat to a lower floating dock. They did so, interrupting their CPR, and an off-duty firefighter and on-lookers moved the victims onto the dock while Rick and Robert and the firefighter continued CPR, sharing a protective mask between them. Compressions and respirations continued further as paramedics came on scene to begin their advanced life support procedures on a solid, quiet dock, gloved and protected from any possible bloodborne pathogens. Rick and Robert continued CPR as they prepped themselves and their equipment. When the lifeguards left the dock it was strewn with the debris of a rescue scene; tubes, dressing wrappers, IV wrappers, etc. They left not knowing any final outcome.

When they finally returned to Jupiter Beach long after quitting time they were exhausted and dazed as only people can be after a life-changing event. They would never forget this day to the ends of their lives and may even need counseling to get them past the lingering flood of feelings that is inevitable after a day like this. They went home to their own families with a new perspective on life and death.

The next day Rick saw a news report of a capsized vessel at Jupiter Inlet and went to work early to check it out. As he prepared to paddle out to the bow of a submerged boat bobbing in the ocean he was told that all victims were accounted for. Turning around someone grabbed his hand and shook it hard. Phil Tollman of the SeaTow said, “What you guys do in that little rubber boat is incredible.”

In 1986 the Beach Patrol, in conjunction with the Jupiter Inlet District produced a video to help area boaters run the Jupiter Inlet safely. Amongst other things the video recommends some basic safety procedures.
1. Know your capabilities and your boat’s capabilities.
2. Be Coast Guard equipped.
3. Know the weather forecast.
4. Visually inspect the ocean conditions for several minutes before going out.
5. Always wear PFDs.


Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue lifeguards and IRB operators work year round, from 7:30am to 5:30pm, at 13 oceanfront and inlet parks for the Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation Department. About 17 IRB operators serve the public at the county’s three most dangerous inlets, risking their own safety and providing immediate response to any water related emergencies within 3 miles of their assigned beaches in any weather or surf conditions. Ocean lifeguards are attempting to be recognized by the Florida Retirement System as deserving inclusion into the Special Risk category of retirement.

On Easter Sunday, April 20, 2003, the North District Ocean Rescue beaches reported 18,100 in attendance, 61 first aids, 2 major first aids (requiring an ambulance), 285 preventative measures taken, 2 rescues, 1 assist and 7 IRB rescues.

Our sincere condolences go out to the family of the victims of this unfortunate accident.


Written by Paul H. Drucker, Ocean Lifeguard, Palm Beach County