The beach and alcohol consumption seem to be a natural, until as one hapless business traveler learned, too much booze can weigh like an anchor if you get caught in an undertow. Thanks to the quick actions of two Cendant executives, the man's alive to tell his own fish tale.

The incident happened in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in October 2002. Cendant Corporation's Real Estate Services Division was sponsoring an incentive trip for its top clients affiliated with the Century 21®, Coldwell Banker® and ERA® franchised brokerage networks, says the company, when a break in the agenda allowed a few folks time to relax on the beach.

Jason Carrier, 24, director of mortgage development for ERA Franchise Systems, Inc., was new to the company and had arrived two days early to assist in the event’s preparations, says the company. He met others including Todd Heatherington, a CENTURY 21 broker from the Washington D.C. area. They would meet again - in the water - to save a man from drowning.

One afternoon, Carrier arrived on the beach with an hour to spare in his agenda.

Recalls Carrier, "The sun was too hot on my fair skin, so I ventured down to the beach and I was admiring the clarity and didn't know about the dangers of the water. I could tell the water was powerful and pulling my legs beneath me and so I got beyond the undertow and was treading water and relaxing.

"A boat was venturing close to shore and a guy jumped off," continues Carrier. "I assumed he was staying at the hotel. He was a big man and I hoped he was a good swimmer, because he was about 60-odd yards from the shore. A couple of minutes went by, and he had not moved. He had underestimated the current, and then I heard the word I thought I would never hear - 'Help!' I wasn't sure that was what he said, and then he said it again, so I immediately swam towards him and got to him in about 20 seconds. He immediately grabbed me in desperation and dunked me under the water. I thought, 'Uh, oh' and looked out for my welfare. I swam away, and said, "Do you want me to help you? If you don't, you'll drown."

Heatherington, 39, a West Point graduate and former lifeguard, was on the pool deck with his wife when he heard the first muffled cry for help.

"I looked at Brit and said, 'Was that a call for help?'" says Heatherington. "When I looked out, I thought the guy appeared OK, and then he screamed a second time. I jumped off the pool deck and ran across the beach and swam out to pull the guy in."

While floundering apart, the drowning man admitted to Carrier that he was drunk and that he would try to control himself. Making the rescue a greater challenge was the beach itself.

According to Heatherington, unlike most beaches which have standing room for at least fifty feet, this particular beach did not have such a continental shelf. A sharp drop off after a few yards made swimming more treacherous. He said later that he had been told that at least one person a year drowns off this particular shoreline.

Last year it was a three-year-old girl.

"They were about 30-35 yards off the beach, when I jumped in," says Heatherington. "I observed that he was dunking Jason. Through panic and shock, he was not being the most amenable victim."

As Heatherington got into the water, the drowning man was under control. Carrier hooked his arm through the drowning man's arm and was attempting to pull him toward shore, but the undertow was proving great.

The undertow continued to the last five yards to shore.

"I was swimming only 15 seconds or so by myself, but I was completely exhausted," recalls Carrier, "and then Todd arrived and hooked his arm around the man and helped dragged him in. We got him close to shore, it only lasted 40 to 50 seconds, and I felt like I was on the treadmill. A lifeguard told us to wait for a wave to come in and toss us on the beach. Beach waves propel you to shore. The three of us collapsed on the beach."

Carrier says, "I'm not a good swimmer, adrenaline got this guy in. Once we got to shore we looked at each other and the guy collapsed, he had nothing left. We sat with him, got him some water, and he got his composure back, and other people came and asked if he was OK. A medical staff member came down and did his blood pressure and that was the last we saw of him."

Both Carrier and Heatherington remarked that out of all the people on the pool deck, only two people tried to save the man. Many came up to the heroes later, remarking that they wouldn't have attempted the rescue.

"These weren't people in their nineties," says Heatherington. "They told us they were glad we were there, because they couldn't have done the same. Even the doctor said he can assist on the beach but not in the water."

Carrier says the event taught him that he has inner strength he didn't know he had. "I should have played the lotto that day," jokes Carrier. "I had the opportunity to be of assistance, we helped that guy save his life. People have told me it may never happen again, there are others who were more qualified. The more I look back on it, it was an interesting feat. The fact that only two people went out to save the guy says to me that as a person I'm willing to put others in front of myself. The strength comes from within. I didn't have the physical strength to save him, it was mental."

For Heatherington, it was just another walk on the beach. "Each rescue is different," he shrugs.

Aw, twern't nothing, folks.

Published: January 8, 2003

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