Sunshine Coast beach patrols were hard at work during the weekend recording 39 rescues and more than 2000 preventative actions as powerful seas and hot weather created a dangerous cocktail.
Sunshine Coast Surf Life Saving duty officer Ben Campbell said it was an “insanely busy” time as lifeguards and lifesavers also made 96 first aid treatments.
Bokarina and Wurtulla beaches were closed both days while Kawana beach was closed on Sunday due to wild surf.
Locals and tourists flocked to the water amid sweltering conditions, but there was a 2m swell and plenty of water movement, which forced patrols into action.
“It was definitely challenging,” Mr Campbell said.
“The tides and sweep caused most of the problems, with people getting sucked into deeper gutters outside the flags.”
He praised Mooloolaba club-members for their actions at the most popular beach.
“They did really well to handle the conditions,” he said.
“Mooloolaba had a fair few flash rips popping up which was the biggest danger there.
“Beaches like Mooloolaba and Noosa are mainly protected but those flash rips can pop up anywhere and are quite unpredictable, so people should keep their feet on the sand at all times and stay waist depth.”
There were 10 swimmers rescued at Mudjimba and 29 of the 39 rescued around the region were outside the flags.
“It was an insanely busy weekend …. it was a good effort by volunteers,” Mr Campbell said.
He expected the conditions to ease during the week.
“The swell is dropping,” he said. “It’s declining through the week.”
Mr Campbell said the weekend’s significant surf attracted droves of boardriders.
“So many people were getting pitted (barrelled), with up to 300 surfers at Coolum (at one time) and also at Sunshine.”
