Professional ocean lifeguard patrols ramping up for summer

Both the City of Lake Macquarie and Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council are preparing their professional lifeguarding services for the 2022/23 beach season.

Lake Macquarie Council has advised that its lifeguards have been put through their paces ahead of the patrol season to ensure they remain among the best in the world in beach safety and fitness.

More than 40 lifeguards, set to patrol the city’s four beaches when the season kicks off on Saturday 24th September, were recently put through a battery of tests at Blacksmiths Beach to ensure they’re up for the task.

Advising that the drills included simulated surf rescues, jet-ski operations and quad bike manoeuvring in soft sand, City of Lake Macquarie Team Leader Beach Lifeguards, Lucas Samways advised “we’re expecting more than one million visitors to our beaches during the season, and these lifeguards are the first responders to everything from life-threatening situations to minor cuts and bruises.

“We’ve got to make sure they are ready to take it on. That’s not just in terms of fitness, but their ability to use all the tools at their disposal and handle emergencies in a cool and calm manner.”

Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said fitness and proficiency standards set for Lake Macquarie City Council lifeguards were among the toughest in the world, noting “we set the bar high to ensure our beaches are as safe and welcoming as they can possibly be.”

While attendance was down 40% at the council’s beaches last season due to the prolonged wet weather, lifeguards still performed 160 rescues and provided first aid to almost 900 people.

Samways added “last season’s wild weather meant we lost a lot of sand along large parts of the coast, and a lot of that is yet to return.

“That means conditions have changed in some areas, and we’ve got more submerged or partly exposed rocks at places like Redhead Beach.

“It creates more hazards, so we want people visiting the beach to be particularly mindful of that in the weeks and months to come.”

Lake Mac lifeguards patrol four beaches from September to April, at Redhead, Blacksmiths, Caves and Catherine Hill Bay.

Samways pointed out that many of the most serious and tragic incidents happened at other spots outside the patrolled areas.

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service closed an area south of Catherine Hill Bay known as the Pink Caves permanently in July after the drowning deaths of two people swept off rocks.

Samways went on to say “it’s so important for people enjoying our beautiful beaches to swim between the red and yellow flags, follow lifeguards’ instructions and stay out of the water on days when the beach is closed.”

Sydney’s Northern Beaches Council has advised that professional lifeguards are now patrolling its Dee Why and Freshwater Beaches with red and yellow flags to be in place all its beaches from 24th September.

The Council’s professional lifeguards share the responsibility of keeping the area’s beaches safe with volunteers from 21 Surf Life Saving Clubs.

Throughout the week, on weekends and public holidays, a combination of volunteer surf lifesavers and professional lifeguards manage beach safety, with the Council advising “they work together to ensure visitors and residents are safe and comfortable whether on the sand or in the water.”

Last year over 9.7 million people visited the area’s beaches with 1,372 rescues and 4,045 first aid cases requiring attention.

There were also 373,573 preventative actions undertaken by the lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers primarily involving directing swimmers to swim between the flags, away from rips, and directing board riders to steer clear of the flags.

Images: City of Lake Macquarie going through training for the 2022/23 beach season (top, credit: City of Lake Macquarie), City of Lake MacquariSenior Beach Lifeguard Troy Ham demonstrating the abilities of the jet ski (middle, credit: City of Lake Macquarie) and one of Northern Beaches Council's lifeguard team (below, credit: Northern Beaches Council).