BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Sunday’s drowning, where 15-year-old Prestyn Smith from Lake Worth lost his life became the focus of training on Tuesday for Boynton Beach Fire Department's Ocean Rescue team.
"They’ll put a buoy in the water last place seen, they'll do a grid pattern on the area and overlap until a search and recovery hopefully successfully transpires," said Tom Mahady, Ocean Rescue Chief for the city of Boynton Beach's Fire Department.
The training happened north of the drowning at Oceanfront Park.
"Sometimes the body could go hundreds of yards from the last place seen, especially if there's a sweeping current, and sometimes it's a day or two after the fact," said Mahady.
He said the wind, waves and currents from Sunday were a big obstacle in finding the missing teen, whose body was recovered five hours later.
"How could we have done it better? What could we have done different? What other resource could we have utilized and during the training?" said Steven Permenter, the Ocean Rescue Captain with Boynton Beach's Fire Department. "This morning we came to the realization that we truly did everything that we could be doing, that the conditions were not ideal by any means."
WATCH: Capt. Steven Permenter tells WPTV it took him and four other people to fight through the currents
Permenter was hurt after taking on too much water on Sunday, trying to save the victim's mother from a rip current.
"With those conditions it did make it very difficult," said Permenter. "Getting out there, getting crushed by the waves, and then having the rip currents pulling the legs underneath both of us, every time I went to go kick and try to help keep the mom above water, my head was getting crushed under water."
Tuesday's training was prescheduled, and was part of their monthly training.
They also have an extended weeklong training once a year, and crews have to pass a qualification test to be part of the team.
"Being out there it was exhausting and then it's understandable the mother was trying to help her son, so she tried to leave my side and the buoy and tried to rescue him," said Permenter.
BBFD Ocean Rescue said they have lifeguards every 50 yards with people limited to swimming out no more than 30 yards so that rescue crews can get to an emergency in less than two minutes.
"They're all heroes, it's difficult thing to go into a situation like that," said Daniel Barnickel with Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue. "Two lives were saved and it's very tragic that a life was lost, because a lifeguard was not on duty yet. From my understanding, lifeguards that weren’t on duty yet were able to respond.”
WATCH: Teen drowns, sibling rescued in rough seas at Gulfstream Park
“According to Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue’s statistics, Palm Beach County lifeguarded beaches had 6,543,809 visitors and Ocean Rescue responded to 120 rip current rescues last year,” Barnickel said.
According to the National Weather Service, there have been 13 rip current deaths in Florida so far this year.
"For people that are going to be coming to the beach before a lifeguard is there, what's the best recommendation for them knowing about the danger?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez.
"First, go to a guarded beach and don’t go in the water until lifeguards go on duty," said Barnickel. "Second, if you go on any weather app and there is a rip current advisory, you’re going to see that at the top of the weather app."
You can also check for beach hazards and advisories on Palm Beach County’s website here or call 561-624-0065 for conditions in north Palm Beach County, and 561-629-8775 for south Palm Beach County.
"Sunday, it was a red flag for high hazard," said Barnickel. “These rip current tragedies are preventable by always swimming at a lifeguarded beach when lifeguards are on duty.”
More of WPTV's coverage on this drowning:
Boynton Beach
First responders recount trying to save 15-year-old at Gulfstream Park
Boynton Beach
