COASTAL OBSERVER

Emergency workers were able to rescue a Kentucky man struggling in a rip current on the north end of Pawleys Island last week, the same area where a swimmer drowned last summer.

Pawleys Island Police drove their truck onto the beach at Pearce Street, where the town created an emergency access this spring. A plastic Mobi mat was installed the day before the rescue.

It was installed without a state permit, which is still being processed.

“It was a huge, huge help,” Midway Fire Rescue Chief Brent McClellan said. “The town, the mayor, Town Council deserve credit. It’s already saved one life.”

The man, 41, was treated on the beach for exhaustion, shortness of breath and swallowing saltwater before he was taken in the back of the pickup to a waiting ambulance on Pearce Street, police said.

Police were on the beach within 5 minutes of getting the 911 call, Chief Mike Fanning said.

Detective Jono Fairfield, who went into the water and kept the swimmer afloat until Midway arrived, estimated the direct access saved 5 to 8 minutes.

“It was just amazing how quickly they got there,” said Roy Woolwine, who was on the beach and among the people who tried to help when they heard a man yelling that his son was caught in the current.

Woolwine was staying in a house nearby and learned about the emergency access project from Mayor Brian Henry while they were playing golf a few days earlier. “How ironic was that,” he said.

Woolwine was glad the town decided to seek forgiveness rather than wait for permission because he was also struggling in the water, although in no immediate danger, he said.

The emergency access was one of several steps the town took since a Georgia man, 38, drowned last July while trying to rescue swimmers caught in a rip current.

“It was almost exactly the same spot,” Fanning said.

The town installed warning signs and rescue buoys on the north end beach. It also created a video to make visitors aware of rip currents and how to escape the fast-moving water by swimming parallel to the shore.

Planning started in the winter with Midway Fire Rescue to replace the walkway at Pearce Street with an ramp that would accommodate emergency vehicles. Unlike other access points, there is no parking along Pearce Street.

Town Administrator Dan Newquist met at the site with staff from the state Department of Environmental Services’ Bureau of Coastal Management on March 30.

“They were aware of our project before that,” Newquist said.

With the beach season approaching, the town decided against a permanent structure. It planned to install a plastic Mobi mat like the one it used at First Street to provide handicapped access to the beach.

The nonprofit Adaptive Surf Project offered to provide the mat, Newquist said.

The project gained urgency after storms altered the flow of Midway Inlet at the island’s north end and emergency vehicles were no longer able to get farther south at high tide because erosion had created an escarpment on the beach.

“I had already started a permit application on the e-permit site,” Newquist said. “It ultimately got stuck in the e-permitting queue.”

The state considered the installation of the 10-foot-wide, 50-foot-long mat a major project because it required disturbing the dune and vegetation. The permit request was placed on public notice June 22 with a 30-day comment period.

“My gut feeling was this was taking longer than it should,” Newquist said.

He asked Coastal Management staff about a provisional permit. He also asked about the consequences of installing the mat before a permit was issued.

“I decided that we’re going to do it anyway,” Henry said.

He sent the agency a letter explaining his decision the day after the project was placed on public notice.

“We respect the permitting process,” Henry said, but “public safety concerns” required the town to act.

The town will follow the conditions typically applied to access mats and mitigate the loss of dune and vegetation, estimated at about 60 square feet.

“We hope that the Bureau of Coastal Management understands the predicament that we are facing,” Henry wrote.

“The Department understands the Town’s position and concerns for public safety,” Vanessa Diaz, environmental communications coordinator for Environmental Services, said in an email. “The Department is continuing to review the application, with a public notice period closing on July 22, and is working expeditiously to ensure a timely decision on the application.”

The mat was installed last Thursday. Woolwine and his wife were on the beach Friday morning when they heard a man screaming.

“Help my kid. Bring him a float,” the man called.

People started moving in his direction. Woolwine’s wife grabbed a boogie board and swam out to the young boy and the father.

“They got the kid on the boogie board, and then I went out to help the guy,” Woolwine said. “I was kind of helping him in, and then I kind of got into distress.”

He found he was in water over his head. Another man came out to help. Woolwine’s wife got him a life jacket.

“Then the guy broke loose again and floated out into the riptide,” he said. “That’s when the emergency guys showed up.”

Without a vehicle access, rescue crews look for the closest house and carry their equipment down the walkway.

“By the time you get to the beach, you’ve exhausted all your energy,” Fanning said.

Another problem is that people who call 911 are often visitors who don’t know the actual address where help is needed, McClellan said.

Staff from Coastal Management were at Pearce Street this week to meet with the town. Newquist said he thinks they will view it differently from someone who does work in the state’s jurisdiction without seeking a permit. The town wants to maintain good relations with the agency, he added.

“Swimmer safety issues are clearly priority No. 1 for the town,” Newquist said. “I have no regrets.”