Rip snares St Clair surfers

A board rider was rescued after getting into serious difficulty at St Clair Beach yesterday as strong winds posed problems for surfers.

An easterly swell and strong northwest winds created a rip yesterday afternoon, which caught out several surfers at the Dunedin beach.

Three required assistance from surf life-savers.

In the most serious incident, a surfer was rescued after getting into difficulties at the point by St Clair Hot Salt Water Pool, said Surf Life Saving New Zealand spokeswoman Maddy Crawford.

``Two of our guards were watching him, realised he was struggling, and took a boat out to rescue him.

``They reached him in the nick of time before he got swept around the point.''

Beach users were urged to be careful while strong winds persisted.

 - Mike Houlahan