With summer approaching, lifeguards are getting ready for another busy summer at Taylors Mistake.
Voluntary patrols began on November 15 and will continue every weekend until March 15. Lifeguards will be on duty from 1-5pm on Saturdays and 11am-5pm on Sundays.
A typical ‘day in the life’ of a lifeguard on a Sunday usually consists of arriving in the morning and training, whether that’s the senior surf suad training, canoe crews out paddling, or assisting with our nipper programme on a Sunday morning.
Prior to the start of patrol, lifeguards will begin to prepare all the equipment required for a patrol to ensure we have everything ready to go from 11am, we also assess the conditions to locate the safest area on the beach to put our flags. Throughout patrol we have regular rotations, from keeping a lookout from the club, being on the water’s edge between the flags whenever we have swimmers or doing a water patrol with a tube or on a rescue board.
With so many environmental factors around Taylors Mistake we are always on our toes to ensure public safety at all times, and constantly reassess the conditions throughout the day to maintain the flags in the safest swimming zone for the public.
As a volunteer lifeguard, it is a great way to give back to the community and spend our summers at the beach.
My tips for swimming at the beach this summer include choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the flags, ask a lifeguard for advice as conditions can change, don’t overestimate your ability and know your limits, keep young children within arm’s reach at all times, never swim or surf alone, when fishing from rocks you should always wear a lifejacket, be sun smart and if in doubt, stay out.
Also, if you are caught in a rip current, relax and float, raise your hand to signal for help, ride the rip until it stops, and you can swim safely back to shore.
