A warning for Ingleside On the Bay residents who enjoy practicing water sports: According to mayor Jo Ann Ehmann, you should be on the lookout for ships passing through.
"Just be aware," she said.
Ehmann posted a warning on Facebook to all residents, especially new residents, about the wake from the ships passing through the La Quinta Channel.
"The parents need to be aware that if the kids are out there, they need to have life jackets on (and) be able to swim," she wrote. "Because (danger) can happen in an instant."
Residents have told KRIS 6 News in the past that ships' wakes have damaged or destroyed their properties,
Leslie Rozzell lives off the channel, and said it can be an unexpected surprise if you are out in the water and not paying attention to the wake from the ships.
"Particularly when the vessels are coming down the La Quinta Channel," she said. "They are sitting low in the water, and are displacing a lot of the water."
Rozzell told us she's seen people swimming, using paddle boards, and pedal boats during calm days.
"The fact that it's a calm day doesn't mitigate the issue with the swell from a vessel," she said.
Ehmann said she wrote the post to make all residents and tourists aware of the large ships that move through the channel, just so everyone in the community stays safe.
"They need to pay attention, especially if they have kids," she said. "They need to be aware; where their kids are, what they are doing. That they know that this is going to happen so that they can kind of prepare themselves for it."
