“Seems NC is not the only state this summer with struggling swimmers.”
Several people a year drown on the beaches in Alabama and northwest Florida. Mostly tourists but some locals as well. We have some hellacious rip tides. The ones on the east coast seem to get more national media attention. I think this year may have been exceptionally bad for them.
Think you are right = of course being in NC, I see the stories about NC coastal drownings most often.