Mac and Cody, Lifesavers

It was another day at the beach for lifeguards Mac Walsh and Cody Arsenault …until they heard the screams from way down the beach.

Eighteen-year-old Walsh never thought he’d spend his first week on the job saving the lives of at least seven people. And Arsenault, also 18, based on the very limited number of rescues he’d performed as an Watch Hill lifeguard last summer, didn’t anticipate what was to come Tuesday afternoon.

“Whoa. It’s unreal because last year, basically no rescues. Now, after Sandy we have all these awesome sandbars, which are great for surfers but not for swimmers because they’re making all these weird currents and riptides,” said Arsenault. “Plus, with this mass influx of people coming in to see Taylor Swift’s house, people that don’t know the beach, the ocean; yeah, not good.”

Walsh and Arsenault described what happened Tuesday afternoon as they sat watch. From a point down the beach near the rock wall on East Beach, Arsenault noticed some people in the water, but “not too far out,” he didn’t think much if it. Until, as Walsh recalled, they heard someone yelling to them: “Help, help!”

The training kicks in, they both agreed and are now laser-focused on the scene: One person was having trouble getting back to shore after getting caught in a rip tide. Then a number of people went to his aid and all got caught in the same tide.

“They were panicking. It was complete panic,” Walsh said. “I was fine. I knew what I was trained to do.” But the current was “extremely strong.”

Arsenault realized quickly, he said, that the situation was grave. He grabbed the tope and reel life saving floatation device and ran toward Walsh and the swimmers. At this point, someone had called 911 and the Coast Guard was contacted. The rescue team based in Walpole, MA was being organized.

Arsenault said that Walsh, who was in the water trying to help the struggling swimmers, “who were seriously all really, really panicking,” had hold of the male swimmer “that was really in trouble.”

“He was saying, ‘I’m drowning, I’m drowning.’ He wasn’t kicking anymore. Mac gave him the trop and was trying hard to get him to grab on. Mac is a really good swimmer and he basically had to carry this guy like dead weight to the tope. He was drowning. Mac got him though.”

The two lifeguards were able to get each of the in-distress swimmers on to the trop line and, meanwhile, a large number of people, were on the beach and began pulling that line of nearly 10 people – two lifeguards and up to 8 swimmers – to the shore.

“It was pretty crazy, pretty hectic, trying to maneuver all these people on to this line. We just did our job,” he said.

All in a days work, Cody & Mac? Yeah, right. These kids are heroes!

Here's the original story:

Update: Stonington Teens, Both East Beach Lifeguards, Rescue Kids From Drowning