Disaster at Sea: Two Boys Drown in Gulf of Mexico

An adventure with a group of young people ended in disaster as two fourteen-year olds perished in their overturned kayaks in the Gulf of Mexico.

The two became separated from their group, which came from Darlington High School in Rome, Georgia, and drowned. The entire group became disoriented and had to be rescued by the United States Coast Guard after the seas became too much to handle.

Had a very strong reaction to this story as everyone was hoping that the kids would be found alive and well. Hope was lost this afternoon with the announcement that the boys had been found dead. 4½ miles into open water is a long ways for a group of young teenagers.

Two of the leading causes of drowning in aquatics (in general) are boating mishaps and exceeding physical limitations and disabilities. Key questions that need to be asked: did the trip exceed the physical limitations of the group, given their ages? Did the kids have enough experience to be kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico? Was the supervision qualified to lead a foray like this? Did they do training beforehand and know how to handle themselves adequately to go onto a large body of water? Was the buddy system used properly? It doesn’t help the group if the two strongest kayakers or the two weakest kayakers were teamed up.

The author of this piece, a fifteen-year veteran lifeguard, took his first kayaking trip last year and found that he was not equal to the task as it was the first time he was in a kayak; nearly all of his boating experiences centered around canoes, rowboats, whitewater, motorboats and a limited amount of sailing time. Had he chosen any other form of watercraft (probably not sailing either), he would have been fine, but he didn’t properly train and was badly unprepared for what awaited him on a mere river. He had to pull out of the trip midway through because he tried to ignore the severe pain that he was in that had developed from being in such an uncomfortable position. He failed. He won’t make that mistake again.

The thought of going into the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic or Pacific without any type of training in an unfamiliar class of watercraft is unthinkable. Whatever happened in the waters off of Florida, it must be investigated fully; and it will.

May God bless the families of the lost, the members of the group who lived, and the school and community from where they came. May they be comforted by His healing hands.