Don’t forget Mother’s Day is May 12!
CLEARED FOR
TAKE
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LOOKING FOR A WAY to try out several of your favorite local watering holes without having to drive? Look no further than the monthly Craft Crawl. See Page 2.
“Highway 5 on Mission Bay Drive” www.PacificNissan.com
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER GROUP
(858) 581-3200 • 4433 Mission Bay Drive, Pacific Beach
THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013
BEACHANDBAYPRESS.COM
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Firsthand experience: jetpack flights come to Mission Bay By ETHAN ORENSTEIN dd soaring through the air with a water-propelled jetpack to the long list of recreational activities available in Mission Bay. Jetpack America offers an experience unlike any other. Hovering high above the water gives a different perspective to Mission Bay. The feeling is foreign at first, but quickly becomes exciting. As the water pressure explodes out of the jets, participants experience weightless flight as they float higher and higher. A flight session, which starts at $159 for a 15-minute flight, begins with a brief instruction FLIGHT TIME Staff writer Ethan Orenstein goes airborne as he learns to maneuver the jetpack. DON BALCH video and the Jetlev R200 equip- The experience is offered by Jetpack America at Mission Bay Sportcenter. ment orientation. After that, it’s into a wetsuit, life vest and helmet. That’s also about when the But the instructor and a kill switch strapped to the particinerves start to kick in. pant’s wrist can immediately shut off the engine. A shut-off No amount of athletic ability can prepare a participant for from high up can make for an entertaining splash-landing for the first time they strap into the buoyant 30-pound, carbonthose on shore. fiber jetpack harness and wade into the water. For the first It’s unnatural at first. Most people don’t fly around on jetflight, an on-shore instructor controls the throttle and offers packs. But after a few minutes of becoming comfortable with advice through a helmet headset radio, but turning, mainturning and moving on the water’s surface, it becomes easier. taining height and moving forward is left to the participant. There’s a tendency to white-knuckle the grips while gaining Two control arms adjust the angle of the jets, which are proheight, but smooth, relaxed adjustments really are the key. pelled by water pumping through a 30-foot hose attached to The instructor explains how to increase and maintain height a 200 horsepower, four-stroke-engine boat unit. and, with a little practice, people are 10 feet in the air and flyThe trick is making gentle adjustments and keeping the ing with no hands. control arms aligned. Uneven adjustments cause sharp turns SEE JETPACK >> PG. 5 and can send the flyer dangerously close to the boat unit below.
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PB BANK HIT BY ROBBERS ON TWO STRAIGHT DAYS — Police and federal authorities are probing robberies at the same bank location within a two-day span. In the first case, investigators are looking for a man who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank at 1302 Garnet Ave. on May 3. Police said the suspect walked up and handed the teller a demand note at about 1:30 p.m. The teller gave the man an undisclosed amount of money before he fled on foot northbound on Fanuel Street. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male in his mid-60s, about 5 feet 8 inches with a medium build with slicked-back hair and a full beard. The suspect was wearing a dark blue shirt, jeans and was carrying a blue backpack. In a second bank hit at the same location, a man identified by police as Roosevelt Bracks, 33, walked up on May 4 at about 9:30 a.m. and handed the teller a demand note. The teller gave Bracks an undisclosed amount of money. As Bracks was fleeing, the teller contacted the security guard and informed him that the male leaving the bank just robbed the bank. According to police, Bracks crossed the street and hand-
ed a female the money. The female fled south on Fanuel Street. The security guard apparently walked up and detained Bracks until police officers arrived to arrest him. Bracks was positively identified by the bank teller. The second suspect is described as a black woman in her early 30s, about 5 feet 5 inches, with straight hair. She was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with a red liner and gray shorts. The police department’s Robbery Unit continues to investigate. DISCOVER PB “COAST OF PB RESTAURANT WALK” — The annual “Coast of Pacific Beach Restaurant Walk” will take place on Tuesday, May 21 between 4 and 9 p.m. The cost for the event is $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the walk, and includes samples from 27 local restaurants in the Pacific Beach area, along with special deals from local retailers along the restaurant walk route. The proceeds generated by the event will go toward Pacific Beach neighborhood cleanups. For tickets, addresses, a list of participating restaurants or more general information, visit www.pacificbeach.org. — Keith Antigiovanni
Summer brings more beachgoers, more injuries, more vigilance for lifeguards s the weather and water
Awarm, people come from all
over to visit the beach. The increase in beachgoers puts lifeguards on high alert for all types of medical emergencies. San Diego Lifeguard Services sergeant and union spokesperson Ed Harris said San Diego lifeguards are good at spotting emergencies and capable of treating all types of medical situations, but the massive crowds make it harder during the hot summer months. “The more crowded it is, the more challenging it becomes for us to spot people in distress,” Harris said. “As it gets more and more crowded, more things happen. So when you talk about medical aid especially, every-
thing that happens to humans hapon the beach,” Harris said. stingray stings. Harris said rip curpens on the beach.” In the water, lifeguards deal with rents are of biggest concern in the Many emergencies have nothing everything from rip currents to spring, after heavy winter surf digs to do with the water holes in the sand. or sea life. Harris said Harris said the rip every year lifeguards currents tend to make a few cardiacease throughout arrest saves, which is the summer as the why each lifeguard holes are filled in vehicle is equipped by south swells. with shock devices. During the win“We literally have ter, Harris said millions of people more experienced going to the beach people are in the every year. We deal water and — with a wide range of whether it’s big medical aid, every- SUMMER’S DANGERS More visitors means more injuries like stingray surf or a medical thing from seizures stings, but lifeguards also contend with cardiac arrests, seizures and strokes. emergency — resto strokes. In fact, Here, lifeguards haul in an unconscious swimmer at Sunset Cliffs. cues are serious. people have babies COURTESY PHOTO BY LIFEGUARD MARINE SAFETY LIEUTENANT DOMINIC LERMA “In the sum-
By ETHAN ORENSTEIN
mertime it’s just the volume. It’s more the standard rip-current rescues. Due to the numbers, you get more often people going to dive into the water and hit their head on the bottom. They’re not as experienced,” Harris said. “We get it all the time. We get people that take surfboards to the head or they cut their leg with the fin of the board, or run into each other or over each other.” As the water warms, stingrays come closer to shore and stings become a common injury too. “It’s not uncommon for us to have a couple a day, but I’m sure you’ve seen in the past where we SEE INJURIES >> PG. 3