It’s hard to say which was more shocking, witnessing the near drowning of an elderly man and a young boy or the refusal of a couple on a nearby motorboat to help rescue them. Either way, it was an afternoon to remember.

We had taken our small whaler to the end of the Norton Point breach at the Katama side for an afternoon of summer bliss. Those familiar with the Norton Point breach will know that the current rips through the opening literally at a rate of knots. Extreme caution is called for in this particular stretch of Island waters; the current that whips you around the point is something to be enjoyed and feared in equal measure. We always enter the ocean there with trepidation, so I was stunned to see an elderly man, fully clothed, walk off the end of the breach and into the chop. It wasn’t immediately apparent what he was doing (suicide?) but I soon realized that he was attempting to rescue a child who had been swept out into the current and was in trouble.

It fast became obvious that they were struggling to stay afloat and that the elderly man was not going to be able to rescue the child. Both were going to drown. The two words often used to describe drowning — quick and quiet — came to mind.

My friends and I ran toward the point having scooped up a life jacket that was lying on the beach. My friend Robert took the life jacket, and although not the strongest of swimmers, was about to go into the water to assist the man and child. Very fortunately another member of our party, 21-year-old Adam Levinson, who had spent several summers working as a lifeguard, was at hand and without hesitation he took the life jacket and dived into the surf. Being acutely aware of the danger associated with the rescuer, I watched with extreme trepidation as my young houseguest navigated the swirling waters.

Meanwhile Robert’s wife, Laura, went to raise the alarm with people on a boat that was beached about 150 yards away. She shouted to them that we needed help and that two people were drowning. To her amazement and dismay the couple lounging on the motorboat refused to help and responded by saying that they didn’t think their boat would handle the chop.

We all then ran shouting loudly onto the next couple sitting on the beach near another boat, and they agreed to help. The husband started to gather up their stuff. His wife appreciated the urgency and told him to “go” and they and Robert jumped into their boat to race to the rescue. The couple were soon to discover that the two drowning people were in fact their son and his grandfather.

Adam Levinson had managed to get the life jacket onto the little boy and was also trying to keep the elderly man above water. They scooped the boy into the boat and then managed to haul in his grandfather, who literally seemed to be on his last breath. Given the rush of adrenaline and shock I felt in witnessing this incident, I can only imagine what that couple — the parents and daughter of those drowning — must have felt.

We informed The Trustees of Reservations ranger of the incident and complained about the refusal of the first couple to come to our assistance. The ranger confirmed our own view that the boat would in fact have had no difficulty navigating the chop.

Fortunately for the old man and his grandson, we happened to witness their plight and our friend, Adam, was at hand and prepared to risk his life to help them. His courage has to be contrasted with the indifference and callousness of the couple lounging in their motor boat while two people were at risk of drowning a short distance away. Good Sa-maritan and ?

Moira Shipsey lives in Dublin, Ireland, and Katama.