A torrent of incidents in the surf during the New Year’s long weekend has prompted an appeal for beachgoers to be more vigilant.
Patrols made 126 rescues and more than 9200 preventative actions from Friday until Monday, when more than 46,000 people converged on Sunshine Coast beaches.
Regional chief lifeguard Anthony King implored locals and visitors to be cautious in the water and pay heed to lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers.
“A lot of people go out that little bit too far at times and that’s where we see a lot of those rescues occur,” he said.
“They go just beyond their depth and get swept out of the flags area.
“The surges, when we get these swells, is what sweeps them away and they need to be rescued.
“It (the spate of rescues) is a reminder to heed the warnings of the lifeguards.
“They write information on the chalkboards on the beach and communicate with people to stay waist depth.”
Mr King said swimmers were at particular risk when they were in the surf around high tide.
“There’s a lot more water moving inshore then, but once the tide drops it gets a bit more stable,” he said.
Relatively long periods of swell (about 12 seconds) created powerful surf of up to 2m during the long weekend, while wind gusts, predominantly from the south-east, exceeded 50km/h.
“There were pretty rough conditions during the past week, with an onshore wind and a groundswell from a low-pressure system near New Caledonia,” Mr King said.
“So it’s been pretty busy (for patrols).”
Twelve beaches were closed on Friday, 11 were closed on Saturday, four on Sunday, eight on Monday and six on Tuesday, when the surf was still relatively wild despite the wind backing off.
Conditions were expected to mellow during the next few days, but Mr King said beachgoers should stay on guard.
“The swell is meant to decrease, and beaches should open …. but open beaches are still going to have those large rips and holes, so we still want everyone to heed the warnings of the lifeguards and swim between the red and yellow flags,” Mr King said.
Sunshine Coast Life Saving Services co-ordinator Shane Urban said “it was so busy on the weekend” and volunteer lifesavers at various clubs had done a tremendous job, including at a couple of mass rescue events.
“We had volunteers on jet skis, in helicopters, operating drones and communications,” he said.
“They give their time, away from their families, in order to keep our beaches safe and to support the paid lifeguards.”
An estimated 326,485 beachgoers were also on the Sunshine Coast during the traditionally-busy four-day Christmas long weekend. Volunteer lifesavers and employed lifeguards patrolled multiple beaches, with 30 rescues and 4300 preventative actions.
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