Please help calm my vero beach fears.

[Tinker74]

I have just booked a OVIR at Vero... ..And Iam really excited about this...It will be our first visit to vero!...Actually Iam really excited about thiswhole vacation..i have used a lot of points for this one

First 6 nights in a studio at BCV..Then 2 nights (weekend) at Vero in Ocean view room.. ..then 5 nights AKV concierge level 1 bedroom..

Can't wait till next July!

BUT,....Iam starting to get REALLY worried about Vero....The Ocean I mean.
You know..sharks...riptide..I made the mistake of googling and discovered a 9 yr old was killed by a shark in 1998 ...Also the current seems to be really strong...AND there is NO lifeguard??

I myself will not go into the ocean..I can't swim...and my dd8 is not keen either..she prefers the pool ...but my fearless 16 yr old boy and my DH Iam worried for.

They really want o boogie board and rent kayaks and stuff,...Its giving me nightmares.

PLEASE...put this in perspective for me/..Can anyone give me some good stats?...Am i being silly?

I do have a lot of fears...and iam a worrier by nature..but I have got over my fear of flying by looking at the facts and putting it in perspective..Iam hoping this will help with Vero.
I have found a list of things to help...such as ,..not wearing bright colours in the ocean..or sparkling jewrelly...no cuts...Don't go in early morning or late afternoon...stick together and don't go too far out.

Am I being too over cautious?

Thanks for any help!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I do not think that you can be overly cautious about the ocean. There is no life guard at the ocean directly in front of VB resort. However, there is a very small state park just to the north and there is a lifeguard there. I did a search and found this site:
http://international.visitflorida.com/cms/uk/index.php/id=242
which highlights the beaches and gives the facilities of local areas in and around Vero Beach.

We've been to VB lots of time, and the ocean swimming conditions vary a lot. It can be very calm or rough, and when it's rough, there are lots of people out on boards taking advantage of those condions. Our DGC went in with their dad, I was in the water with my DSis. You can enjoy the ocean experience as you see fit.

Best wishes. I hope you have a wonderful time. My whole family loves VB resort.

Bobbi

 

[rigsby25]

I am 5 ft. tall and I had trouble when a wave hit above the knee. I got knocked over a couple of times. A lady walking a dog told my husband and I to stay in front of the hotel because to the left and right were something called rip tides. Mostly we just went in ankle to knee deep. We didn't actually "swim". The pool is good for that.

 

[llyolf]

While there isn't lifeguards, they do have the guys that take care of the rentals. It's not their job, but they always have seemed attentive when I was there. Also, they make a point to list the conditions on a board. In fact, when it's dangerous, you'll be able to tell because they won't rent out the Jet ski's.

I'd say check on conditions and make your decision from that.
Whatever you do, ENJOY THAT OV room! we got one of those at the end of a Disney World trip. We had a pretty miserable time at Disney. The two mornings waking up to the sounds/sights of the ocean out our BR probably rank at the top our Disney stays!

Bless ya,
Paul

 

[fluffykim]

I agree that the undertow is rough.

We never "swam" but rather got knocked around by the ocean. Kind of like at Cocoa Beach.

We are from Cape Cod and found the water rough, fun, but rough

the pool is amazing though

 

[CalicoKitty2000]

I've lived in Florida near the beach my entire life. Just do your research and make sure that your family understands what precautions to take.

I wouldn't worry about the sharks as much as the rip tide, but attacks do happen. You are right in not wearing shiney stuff. I don't even go in the water when AF is visiting just to be safe (but my husband laughs at me and says I'm being silly). Just remember that sharks do not like to eat humans, when bites happens it is usually because they have mistaken a human for their food. And attacks don't happen that often (odds are like 1 in 8 million). I will tell you this, not to scare you, but for you to realize the odds. My husband runs shark fishing trips and the summer months are the best for catching sharks. They fish not very far from the beach in maybe 15 foot of water. There are SO many sharks on the beach, and only a few attacks happen. Also, I think we only have like 1 aggressive species of shark, and we do not have great white's (responsible for most shark attacks) like hawaii. Oh, and one other thing, it seems like attacks happen when the water visibility is low, I remember once there being more attacks because there was alot of dredging going on. So you could check the visibility while you are there.

On the rip tides, one thing to remember is not to fight them. If you fight the rip tide, you will get too tired and that is when people drown. If you get caught by it, you are suppossed to swim parallel to the shore until it subsides and then go to land and walk back. Also, if someone isn't a strong swimmer, I wouldn't venture out too deep if the ocean is rough. When it is really rough, it is enough to knock me over.

These are just a couple of pointers. I wouldn't worry too much, just do you research and be aware of the conditions while you are there. I understand your worrying though, when we go somewhere that I am not familiar with the area or the threats, I start having nightmares too.

Hope this helps. If you are like me, I find peace in learning everything I can about a situation that scares me.

 

[CalicoKitty2000]

I did a quick search and found a page on the International Shark Attack File site (I aparently can't post a link because I only have 6 posts on this site). Just google "International Shark Attack File" and click on the first link that comes up, you will find more data that you will know what to do with.

So, for the Vero Beach area, there have been 17 attacks from 1882-2007 and only 1 of them was fatal (the one in 1998).

You said you like statistics, so I hope this helps and doesn't make things worse for you.

 

[wdw1972]

Oh my goodness - please don't take offense, but you did ask.....yes, you're being silly & ridiculous! Get a grip woman!

There are NO lifeguards on most of the FL beaches - people use a little common sense and are fine. If you can't trust your kids to stay at the water's edge (knee depth) with the waves, then limit them to the pool or just stay up at WDW and forget about Vero. Sharks are in ALL oceans, but who would really be concerned about a shart attack 11 years ago????

But, bottom line - if you can't get a grip on these unrational fears, you probably should book the nights up at WDW and spare your kids the frustration of being at the beach with a parent who can't have fun or let them have fun. How many millions of people survive beach vacations in FL each year?? Why would you think you'd be the extraordinarily rare exception?? You're probably more likely to be hit by a bus before you even get there

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Oh my goodness - please don't take offense, but you did ask.....yes, you're being silly & ridiculous! Get a grip woman!

There are NO lifeguards on most of the FL beaches - people use a little common sense and are fine. If you can't trust your kids to stay at the water's edge (knee depth) with the waves, then limit them to the pool or just stay up at WDW and forget about Vero. Sharks are in ALL oceans, but who would really be concerned about a shart attack 11 years ago????

But, bottom line - if you can't get a grip on these unrational fears, you probably should book the nights up at WDW and spare your kids the frustration of being at the beach with a parent who can't have fun or let them have fun. How many millions of people survive beach vacations in FL each year?? Why would you think you'd be the extraordinarily rare exception?? You're probably more likely to be hit by a bus before you even get there

Overly cautious is an understatement! I agree, stay at WDW......

 

[blondietink]

When we were at VB in August we had a blast. The ocean was much cooler than in some other areas of the ocean we have been in. The waves were good for boogie boarding and you didn't need to go out very far to do it. We did not see any rip currents when we were there.

To use the jet skis you have to swim quite a ways out to them and need to be strong enough to pull yourselves up on them without the benefit of touching bottom. The kayaks are fun. The state park up the beach is well known as a hot surfing spot as the waves can get pretty big there.

The guys that do the rentals have a chalk board listed with the current water conditions so read that for information. If your 16 year old is a good swimmer then he should be fine as long as he pays attention.

 

[Teachckg]

A Comparison of Shark Attack Fatalities
with Dog Attack Fatalities in the U.S.: 2001-2007


Year Number of Dog Attack Fatalities Number of Shark Attack Fatalities
2001 23 3
2002 15 0
2003 25 1
2004 22 1
2005 28 1
2006 31 0
2007 31 0

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Total 175 6



Source of fatal dog attack statistics: National Canine Research Foundation/www.dogbitelaw.com.

Source of shark attack data: International Shark Attack File, August 12, 2008.


© International Shark Attack File
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida


I think this will help---- We are going in June and it got me wondering....but this puts my mind at ease!

 

[dort]

Last year while we were at VB the lifeguard from the public beach just down from the resort walked up and warned everyone of the rip tides and advised against swimming. You can always go down there where there is a life guard.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Last year while we were at VB the lifeguard from the public beach just down from the resort walked up and warned everyone of the rip tides and advised against swimming. You can always go down there where there is a life guard.

Is that the beach that's near the pizza place on the corner of Wabasso Rd.?

 

[dort]

Is that the beach that's near the pizza place on the corner of Wabasso Rd.?

Yes, thats the beach, by Boppy's little store. Usually when the life guard is on duty, he has a flag out; red, yellow and green I think. It was red last year when he came down and warned about the rip tides. After that I looked each day to see what flag was out.