“Be smart about what you do,” MCSO urges if you’re on the water for the 4th

STUART, Fla. — Martin County sheriff's officers were keeping a close eye on more than 2,000 boats on Stuart Sandbar. It's on days like the Fourth of July that officers are warning people to be especially vigilant and cautious.

As the tide went out on the sandbars off the Stuart coast, boaters arrived.

“I just come to the sandbar to have a good time with my family and friends,” said Martin County resident Jessica Mabee.

“Well, look what we have out there, beautiful crowds, beautiful ships and people going crazy on the Fourth of July,” said Martin County resident Christina Ozzi.

Martin County Sheriff's deputies, along with the FWC and Martin County Fire Department, heavily patrolled the boating areas. A total of seven crews were on the water.

“We’re headed to what’s called Stuart Sandbar,” said Buddy Sprott of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit. “Everybody congregates there. Thousands of boats come in there.”

They were on high alert, monitoring everything from heat exhaustion to swimmers in distress.

“Tell me about your job today,” asked WPTV reporter Cassandra Garcia.

“We're basically focusing on high visibility patrols, which means we're just going to try to be everywhere and anywhere in the county,” Sprott said.

The news comes after eight drownings have occurred in Florida waters in less than a month, with the sheriff's office stressing Thursday the need to be aware of currents.

Sprott said: “There was a young male trying to swim across the current. People tend to underestimate the strength of these currents. He tried to swim, he went about 5 to 6 metres and got swept into the mangroves.”

Boaters said they are doing their best this July 4 to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“We got caught in the currents the other day. We were out there and the currents were really bad and luckily we had a life. [ring] “It's something they threw at us because the current took us away very quickly,” Lisa Campagna said.

“We make sure everybody knows how to swim. If you don’t know how to swim, you wear your appropriate life jacket,” Mabee said. “You just have to be aware of what’s going on around you and use your best judgment in what you do.”

MPs are urging parents to keep an eye on their children when they are near water and strongly recommend swimming lessons, regardless of age.

“We have everything that is surrounded by water. Swimming lessons are the most important thing you can do for your child. You have to get them familiar with it so they can save themselves when every second counts,” Sprott said.