Droning on the beach
Andrew Smith, a regular Florida guy, left work on May 15th and made the last-minute decision to go to Pensacola Beach to try shark fishing in the waters there. To attract the fish Andy chums the surf with dropping bait from his drone and then tries to hook the sharks. He had only been there 10 minutes when a girl ran up to him and his friend while asking if anybody could swim – which, due to seizure disorder, Smith could not. The girl’s friend, meanwhile, was being sucked farther and farther away from the shore and into the water by a rip current that had ensnared her. “She was running and screaming, and nobody else out there could swim” either, Smith said of the girl seeking help. Smith said he looked down at a drone he had and got an idea. He could have the drone fly a flotation device out to the girl in distress, who had been battling the rip current for about five minutes and realistically could not keep it up much longer. “The drone can swim [even if] I can’t,” he said he thought to himself.
Andy’s first rescue attempt did not go well. Fazed by strong winds at the beach that day, he released the life preserver vest too early – a potentially costly mistake that nearly overwhelmed Smith. “I was shaking pretty badly, It was nerve-wracking.” Andy composed himself, got another flotation device donated by an onlooker and loaded it on his drone. Smith said he flew the drone back out and lowered it more slowly than the first time. He had seen the wind take the first drop away for the girl. Knowing “that was the last opportunity we were going to have,” Andy carefully lowered the drone until the life preserve was in the girl’s hand before pressing the release. It worked, Smith recounted. “She climbed on and started floating,” he said. First responders arrived about five minutes later. Local paramedics, police and lifeguards all said to him that the girl “wouldn’t have made it” if his and his drone’s second flotation device drop attempt failed, according to Smith. Instead, she managed to get back to the beach and received a clean bill of health after a medical team evaluated her.
Robert Nay filmed the video below of the rescue and remarked that he had “never seen anything like that” in his life. To Robert, it was “apparent the young girl was losing steam very fast,” and he hailed Smith as “a true hero”, the news outlet reported. Smith explained that the drone he had with him is how he positions bait when he shark fishes. Had the emergency happened a few yards down the beach he would not have been allowed to make the rescue as Fort Pickens beach is a no-fly zone for drones. One red flag indicating hazardous conditions because of a high surf and strong current was flying on the day of the rescue that Smith pulled off. Complicating matters was the fact that lifeguards were not scheduled to patrol the beach until after Memorial Day on 26 May. The girl’s father: “He … called me his guardian angel,” Andy said. “It was pretty crazy.”
Surf’s and Drones up
A man got lost on a camping trip. Rescuers scoured the wilderness until a medical emergency team finally spotted a solitary figure across a wide chasm.
“Charlie Smith,” someone shouted, “is that you?”
“Yes, it is,” came the reply. “Who are you?”
“We’re from the Red Cross.” “I gave at the office!”
Where do pigs surf in Hawaii?
Bay-kona
Did you hear about the shop that sells sentient drones?
They’re flying off the shelves
Apple just approved delivering iPhones and iPads by drone.
We now have skeet shooting with really good prizes.
May 21st Birthdays
1964 – Carol Lawrence, 1991 – Sarah Ramos, 1993 – Olivia Olson, 1987 – Ashlie Brillault
1952 – Mr. T., 1998 – Kevin Quinn, 1993 – Hutch Dano, 1996 – Josh Allen