Despite tragedy, divers not deterred at ‘the cribs’
July 14, 2012 at 7:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
ROBIN WASHINGTON COLUMN: Chalk-written homages to 13-year-old Jeffery Carlos Watson Jr., who died a month ago near “the cribs,” are gone, but it’s doubtful everyone would heed their warning were they visible. Continue Reading
Nothing will deter anybody from doing anything if they want to do it badly enough. Not deaths, not mishaps. Of course they will regret it when they are lying in a bed for the rest of their life paralyzed as a ward of the state. Such is life.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
42 
16
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
25 
43
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
7 
35
Like I said, this is going to be the DNT’s new “Deeps”. Nothing but a story in search of a problem.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
36 
10
What’s the number of people that swim at the Deeps or the Cribs vs. the number that get injured? I can get injured driving a car, or flying a plane, or walking down the street… Obvisouly we are not going to talk about banning those activities as well… Or maybe we should ban swimming altogether? Swimming at the Cribs is dangerous but diving off a swallow dock on Pike Lake is not? It is unfortnate that somene died but unfortunately accidents do happen. If we try and ban everything that is unsafe what is the acceptable level of risk where we stop banning things? Is your level of aceptable risk the same as someone else’s? I guess this is just a long winded way of saying that there was a tragedy but a knee-jerk reaction to stop everyone from enjoying the same activity is not a realistic solution.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
62 
6
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
7 
30
I recall reading an article years ago, when the News Tribune was another slow summer and looking for news, about why the City can’t do anything about it.
It was something to do with the structure being completely submerged with no access to land, making it part of the “landscape” of Lake Superior. Because it doesn’t pose a hazard to navigable waterways and shipping lanes you can’t just remove it.
It’s the same reason why you can’t just blow up, or remove Castle Danger, or any shoal, reef, or underwater structure.
Also, I use the Icehouse , and The Deeps, as a perfect example in teaching my children that all water, and Lake Superior especially, needs to be respected, and approached with a healthy amount of fear. This is not to say that they can’t have fun, or that I won’t encourage them to enjoy themselves, only that they need to be aware that water is inherently dangerous.
I would rather they take the extra minute or two out of their enjoyment to analyze the situation, than rush headlong into a tragedy.
But that’s just me.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
44 
3
Tad, that shool was Monroe. 26west and 1 st. I meant school. lol
Like or Dislike:
9 
6
Well, at least I knew it was a school.
Like or Dislike:
10 
2
In reality, in terms of jumping, this is about the safest place around. In open water, with plenty of depth, near shore. I believe the death was the first in over 30 years there. And I’m fairness, the child who tragically died, died of drowning. Cold water at the time, and described by his family to be a fairly poor swimmer.
People die in lakes every year. It’s just an unfortunate reality. This location is not prone to rip currents, due to the rocky bottom. Sand erosion in channels cause rip currents, on days where waves come in, and the outgoing water cuts channels.
Undertows only occur when two water bodies meet. Such as a river mouth and a lake, like the shop canal. An undertow cannot occur in a lake, without the second feature.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
25 
2
I’m = in , shop = ship.
I’d add, this is also one of the lower jumping spots. 15-20 feet to the water, and you are jumping from flat concrete, not rocks and clay, and the wall is vertical, unlike natural spots where often you have to clear a significant distance.
Anyways, feel terrible for the family’s loss.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
23 
3
Natural selection – Darwin was right.
Like or Dislike:
7 
14
I guess I should clarify an earlier comment. When describing conditions that can cause an “undertow”, I omitted an obvious one in our area. A waterfall into a relatively stagnant pool. Like the deeps. Locally near the fall, you can have a strong downward current.
The key is an abrupt change in water velocity at the surface.
It just makes me cringe however to hear undertow though, because for do long people have incorrectly used it to describe all sorts of drownings where a swimmer fights against a rip, longshore, our any current for that matter. Very few spots actually have an undertow, but swimmers often tire fighting currents, and go under….hence the common use of undertow.
Like or Dislike:
13 
0
Speaking of dangerous, I wonder if people still hang from the underside of the railroad bridge on the Lester river just down from 61st ave E. and Superior Street and let go to drop into the water below. People used to do this in the early 80′s when I used to live about a block from there. This was back in the days when there were always big parties at Brighton beach and various places within Lester park. Things have calmed down a lot since then. LOL, I still have a clipped article from the DNT from those crazy days called ” Under aged revelers make park parties a habit”
Like or Dislike:
9 
1
If you don’t let kids test their own boundaries when they are young, they will not know where the boundaries are when they get older.
Which is why we should not let this tragedy take something as benign as jumping off the Cribs away from our kids. Yes, they should be told about it and learn of the potential dangers of jumping there, but it is no more dangerous than swimming on the beach.
Like or Dislike:
7 
0
Not anymore dangerous than swimming at the beach, EXCEPT for the 10+ tons of cement and rebar that you could crack yourself on for the rest of your short life.
Like or Dislike:
6 
5
Well said
Like or Dislike:
3 
2
Yea, if you are dumb enough to jump TOWARDS the cement. Do you often do that? Your posting history would seem to indicate that you enjoy jumping headfirst into cement and rebar.
I kid, I kid.
Rip currents and large waves can be very dangerous at local beaches, and if you are not smart enough to avoid swimming during these conditions you can get yourself killed. Just like if you are not careful at the cribs and you slip and fall.
Like or Dislike:
6 
1