(*Updated 2-20-2024) Who didn’t learn “HOMES” (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) in their school days? I remember it like it was yesterday. It’s a Michigan summertime rite of passage. We head Up North or West to our chosen lakes and make the most of summer. Some of my favorite memories include the waters of our Great Lakes. I love the Great Lakes, but we need to up our game when it comes to education and awareness of the dangers. This is particularly important when on the beaches of Lake Michigan. Understanding Lake Michigan rip currents is important.
I was on South Beach in South Haven… August 9th, 2022. Two unresponsive swimmers were carried out of the water; neither survived. I watched as two people were desperately given CPR on the beach and taken away in ambulances, praying that by some miracle they had survived. It was beyond heartbreaking. I watched the boy’s mother crumple to the ground on the beach when she realized what had happened and there was nothing anyone could do. As a parent, it hit me hard. These drownings were most likely the result of rip currents.
Most Lake Michigan Beaches Do Not Have Lifeguards
I contacted the South Haven Visitors Bureau and The Chamber of Commerce. I suggested they raise the price of beach parking to help cover the cost of bringing in lifeguards for North and South beaches. Kate Hosier, the chair of the South Haven Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors returned my call. The response: “It’s not that easy.” She said they had tried to bring in lifeguards but couldn’t find enough staff. Kate informed me that they had “discussed it as a community” last year and they found that lifeguards were not warranted. She also told me that “people can drown when lifeguards are on duty too.” While I appreciate that Kate returned my phone call, she was not as receptive as I had hoped. In the end, I was left with a feeling of “mind your own business.”
In researching this topic, I found that Muskegon started charging for parking in 2020. The parking raised a million dollars in its second year (2021). If I had to pay 15 dollars to park (instead of the current fee of $10 a day), I would gladly pay that to have lifeguards. Before we get into that, let’s all get some lifesaving knowledge:
Understanding Lake Michigan’s Rip Currents
What Is the Flag System?
Green means good weather, yellow means caution and red means stay out of the water. The beaches have the flag somewhere in the vicinity of the beach. Most beaches have a flag system. I wasn’t aware of it on South Beach in South Haven until August 9th when the couple drowned. There’s one small flag up by the parking lot, but they do offer a text system too. Here’s the South Beach flag and signage. According to Kate Hosier, South Haven has “way more” signage than most of the Lake Michigan beaches.
South Haven’s South Beach flag and signage
To subscribe to the free Beach Flag messaging system, send a text message with the word “Beaches” to 888777. According to Brian Hinz, the SHAES executive director, “In a return message you will receive the current beach flag postings,” said Hinz. There’s also an option to get alerts whenever the flag goes to red.
When the two people drowned on August 9th, the flag was yellow. It was changed to red after. The biggest hurdle with the flag system is being aware of it and having staff to change it in a timely fashion. This especially holds true for tourists who aren’t aware of the very real dangers of rip currents.
