Heroic is the word community members are using to describe actions by Saeed Phillips on March 17 on the Frederiksted Pier.
“Saeed was on the pier and used his guts and swimming skills to save this youngster,” Les Burke, a former Navy diver and Phillips’ mentor, told the Source.
A video of the rescue has been attracting viewers on the Internet (hundreds of likes and shares).
Phillips says, at first, he thought his friend Eliza was just kidding around but then he saw it was serious. Phillips jumped back into the water, put the friend on his back, swam him to shore, and checked if he needed CPR. Phillips learned CPR and rescue from a program Burke teaches which is affiliated with the Caribbean Centers for Boys and Girls. The program is called Jr. Scientists in the Sea. Burke described it as “ a program to engage St. Croix’s most precious resource to protect St. Croix’s most endangered resource. We teach SCUBA diving, rescue diving, coral ecology, and many other programs.”
Burke has been teaching the class for three years and Saeed, 16, has been part of the class since its inception. Burke said 20 Crucian students have been certified to scuba dive through the program.
Neil Canton, executive director of the Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls, told TV 2 News, “Because of the Clubs, it was a big plus for preparing him (Phillips) for what needed to be done when that need came.”
Burke added the rescue showed, “the benefits of, not only being a swimmer, but being a strong swimmer.”
Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls is no longer affiliated with the National Boys and Girls Club. The Caribbean Center building in Christiansted was destroyed by the 2017 hurricanes and is still uninhabitable. The club building in Frederiksted survived the hurricanes and is being used.
The Frederiksted Pier is a popular swimming area for youths on the west end of St. Croix. It is under the jurisdiction of the V.I. Port Authority which allows swimming, diving and fishing when cruise ships are not in. Since cruise ship visits to St. Croix have declined, locals jokingly refer to it as “the longest recreational swim pier in the world.”
Students enrolled in JSIS spend six weeks learning to scuba dive and are certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. They earn designations in coral reef conservation and also learn CPR.
“JSIS is a program that creates aquatic stewards. It gives the students pride in their island and prepares them for a post-secondary education or work,” Burke said.
