Beach Safety: Tips From the Local Beach Patrol
Everyone gets this message: Beach safety is the universal theme linking all patrols, the public, communities and emergency services.
The more that’s said, the better.
Sophisticated technology has expanded the philosophy in recent years. It can include the cutting-edge, ever-expanding collection of tips found on the Sea Isle City beach patrol website and the dramatic video posted by Upper Township guards about how quickly tragedy can occur in the water.
The perpetual instruction weaves thread upon thread, generation to generation.
Here’s an overview of tips highlighted, discussed, and practiced by local patrols.
Beach patrol safety in Sea Isle City and Upper Township has a unique twist.
Sea Isle City has one of the most impressive lists of tips assembled on any website, anywhere.
Upper Township, meanwhile, has delivered a powerful message, compiled by patrol members themselves in a terrific video posted on its website.
SEA ISLE CITY
Chief Renny Steele has long been a safety aficionado. His Sea Isle Patrol has compiled an excellent collection of safety tips. Here is an excerpt:
Do not play around or climb on rock jetties and groins. Fish hooks and broken glass frequently collect around these structures. Additionally, permanent rip currents often form near jetties and groins.
To protect against both UVB and UVA rays of the sun, periodically apply sunblock (especially after swimming or exercising) whenever on the beach. Additionally, protect your eyes with sunglasses. Use an umbrella and hat when sitting on the beach for an extended period of time.
Poor or non-swimmers who are using flotation devices, especially a device not attached to the body, should never be more than waist deep in the ocean. Loss of a floatation device in water overhead can result in tragedy.
Do not feed the seagulls; occasionally they bite. Additionally, food meant for humans is harmful to their health.
Follow the 30/30 rule during an electric storm. Leave the beach and seek safe shelter when less than 30 seconds occurs between the sight of lightning and the sound of thunder (flash-to-bang count). Do not return to the beach until 30 minutes have passed after your last flash-to-bang count. Whenever the lifeguards vacate the stand, move the stand 10 yards past the high tide line, lower the beach warning flag, remove the stands equipment, and leave the beach due to lightning, you should also leave the beach.
Never dig parallel to the sand’s surface (a tunnel). Eventually the tunnel will collapse and suffocate anyone inside the tunnel. The sides of a hole dug in sand can also collapse. Dig holes only to a waist-deep depth. If more than one person is in the hole, the depth should be waist-deep for the shortest person in the hole. Holes should not be left unattended and should be filled in before you leave the beach.
Make sure beach umbrellas are anchored securely in the sand. Do not use an umbrella when high winds could possibly carry the umbrella down the beach and injure beachgoers. When an umbrella is flying down the beach, never approach it head-on. Approach an umbrella from behind as if you are chasing it.
Rip Currents
If caught in a rip current, remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly. Do not fight the current by trying to swim directly to shore. Swim parallel to the shoreline until you are no longer in the rip. When out of the current, swim toward the shore.
Head, Neck, and Back Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are a serious problem in shore break (a wave that crashes directly onto the sand or shoreline instead of breaking further out in the ocean), usually associated with body surfing or diving headfirst into a wave and hitting the ocean floor. Most spinal-cord injuries are preventable.
Do not dive headfirst into unknown water.
Do not dive toward the bottom into oncoming waves. Hold your hands out in front of your head and dive through the wave. Another safe method of negotiating the waves is to squat down and allow the wave to roll over top of you.
Always be aware of the wave action. Do not stand in the water with your back to the waves.
UPPER TOWNSHIP
Beach patrol members assembled and produced a chilling video that runs on the beach patrol website in the beach safety section. It depicts a drowning that occurs when two people momentarily lose attention. They begin by running into the water on an unprotected beach, right in front of a sign reminding them not to do so.
The man leaves the ocean, signaling to the woman that he will be right back. He has to check something on his phone. The woman is pulled away by a rip current and drowns, despite the best efforts of emergency crews called to the scene.
This is an excellent production. It provides the perfect contrast to the repetition of a spoken word. There is no dialog in this video, but the importance of safety measures, underscored via music and the concern on the face of the performers, is superb.
Among the facts revealed in the video is that there are 10 drowning deaths every day, according to the United States Lifesaving Association, that 80% of them occur in unguarded waters, and that lifeguards are trained to detect rip currents. This knowledge can save the life of swimmers.
Besides being expertly done, the video reveals what can happen when safety rules are not observed.
Credits are given to Gaige Bobbit for the drone, Ryan Fisher and Brooke Handley as swimmers, and Colin Stewart for directing and editing. Special thanks went to help from the Strathmere Fire Department.
The video is a product of new technology mixed with modern thinking.
So there you have it. Or part of it.
Everyone can add their own insights. But this collection is an excellent place to start, compiled by experts.
