Beaches packed this holiday weekend

Lifeguards warn of rough waters

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – With such beautiful weather, Jacksonville residents are taking full advantage. Officials say at least 20,000 people are hitting the sand and water. Lifeguards are reporting some rough waters, and beach goers need to keep that in mind.

Those with the life saving corps say tomorrow even more people could be on the beach. They say the tide is a bit rough this weekend. Saturday there were a number of rescues before 6 in the evening. Lifeguards are urging beach goers to get no more than waist deep in the water.

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"What happens is you have a sand bar and then you have a deep slough. When you have a sand bar, what happens is people get out on that same bar and they get trapped out there because when they're coming back that slough is very deep and its running very hard," said Captain George Paugh with the Life Saving Corps.

Safety is something many beach goers don't take lightly.

"Have some type of floating device, keeping an eye on them at all times, and making sure when they're in the water, that they're safe at all times," said Alanda Williams who was at the beach with her little girl.

Lifeguards say if you or a loved one are in trouble, they need to swim toward a lifeguard and get their attention right away. If they blow their whistle, you must listen to what they say.