Don't stand in 'deadly' ocean in St. Vincent's, N.L., whale

Don't stand in 'deadly' ocean in St. Vincent's, N.L., whale-watchers warned

Too many people ignore signs and walk in the water, says Mayor Verna Hayward

When her toddler runs toward the waves, Roshell Rausch sprints after him, pulling him back.

On the beach of St. Vincent's, N.L. — where her family is scouring for humpback whales — she doesn't take any chances.

"Those waves can be deadly," Rausch said.

But not everyone is so cautious. Some St. Vincent's residents are fearful of potential deaths, saying people are ignoring warnings and stepping in the dangerous waters.

Tourists flock to St. Vincent's beach in the summer, where humpbacks can swim metres from the shore. But the ocean has strong riptides and a steep, sudden drop-off into the deep, says Mayor Verna Hayward.

If you get washed out, she says, "chances are you're not coming out of it."

The town has put up warning signs, but not everyone listens.

"It's very dangerous. It's not a place to tease the waves," said Hayward. While the whales aren't bountiful right now, she says, more whales will bring more people.

"We don't want to have a tragedy."

Local resident Orla Moylan Hegarty says she's often seen people getting too close to the water, and children roaming "freely" in the ocean.

She's been trying to warn people in her community Facebook group.

"The riptides, the currents, they could be really strong and they could knock anybody down and just kind of suck them out without warning," said Moylan Hegarty.

Ontario tourist Yumna El -Merhevy was sitting safely on the beach, but says she didn't realize the risks of standing in the water.

"That is not something I knew," she said.

"I wouldn't have thought like the tide would be able to just take you by just standing."

As she watches her son, Rausch worries about people ignoring warning signs across the island.

"The ocean's incredibly dangerous, and I think that it's easy to forget that when you get sucked in the beauty of it," she said.

Laura Howells is a reporter and radio producer in St. John's. She's worked in Toronto, Hamilton and Whitehorse. Get in touch at laura.howells@cbc.ca.