The Gold Coast is renowned as Queensland’s iconic beach destination but more people have hit the sand and surf on the Sunshine Coast lately, with patrol members carrying out a host of rescues.
While more than 80,000 people flocked to the shoreline of the ‘Goldie’, about 170,000 people made the most of the beaches on the ‘Sunny Coast’ during the recent King’s Birthday long weekend.
Another 17,000 were at the former and about 26,000 were at the latter last weekend (October 7 and 8), and seven of the eight rescues in Queensland were on the Sunshine Coast over that period.
Surf Life Saving Queensland general manager lifesaving and education Peta Lawlor reminded beachgoers to swim in patrolled areas.
“Every one of those (rescues) took place outside the red and yellow flags,” she said via a Surf Life Saving Queensland media alert on Monday.
“The flags indicate the safest place to swim, and also where surf patrols are able to assist those in need quickly.”
The annual Coast Safe Report, compiled by Surf Life Saving Queensland, was last month released on the Sunshine Coast, where 10 of the state’s 14 beach-related drowning deaths occurred from September 2022 to May 2023.
Ms Lawlor expected people to continue visiting beaches in earnest in coming months, in the lead-up to a bumper summer holiday season.
“While the school holiday period has now come to an end, good weather will mean beach visitations remain high and we ask all beachgoers to ensure they stay safe,” she said.
More than half a million people swam outside the flags on the Sunshine Coast last summer, prompting warnings from local surf officials for beachgoers.
“The surf is unpredictable and even if it looks inviting, there can be dangerous conditions underneath,” a Surf Life Saving Queensland spokesperson said then.
There were more than 1.5 million visitors to Sunshine Coast beaches last summer and more people are expected this coming summer, due to warmer than usual conditions associated with El Nino.
