From the Canal Front in Bonita Springs
A friend of mine took this picture for me a few weeks ago. Recently, I purchased my own new home on the water, (new to me, anyway. It’s in Bonita Springs in the Bonita Farms area where homes are on canals. From the left, person number 1 and person number 3 were getting a primer on canal and water safety. 1.) What to do if you’re near the water’s edge and 2.) what to do if you fall in the water at Grandma’s house.
You can never be to safe where water and kids are concerned in southwest Florida. There are pools, canals, lakes, ponds, rivers everywhere so you always want to make sure that kids are aware and don’t panic if they do fall in. Both littles where told what to do, where to go to get out of the canal and not to panic. It doesn’t mean that any of the grown ups in this picture would not panic just at the sheer temperature of the water touching our flesh.
At any rate, we are all less afraid of the water and, more importantly, have a plan of what to do even if we do fall in. First and foremost, standup … the water isn’t deep and odds are you’re in 2-4 foot of water depending upon the tide. Like most homes in Bonita Farms, Brendan Cove, Paradise Village, Plan of Riverside and Heitmans with gulf access in Bonita Springs, there isn’t a lot of draft for huge boats. The popular vessels in the area are fishing boats, pontoon boats, etc. Outboard engines are easier and preferred to use due to tide fluctuations.