Four of Northland's main surf beaches will have lifeguards patrolling them from this weekend - but there'll be no paid lifeguards patrolling Baylys Beach this summer, while Ahipara will start getting patrolled by paid guards from December.
Labour Weekend is the unofficial start of summer in Northland and it's also when lifeguards start patrolling some of our surf beaches.
Ocean Beach, Waipu Cove, Ruakaka and Mangawhai Heads will start being patrolled from Saturday until April 2, while Ahipara will have paid guards from December 16 to February 6. However, lack of funding means Baylys Beach, on the west coast, won't be patrolled this summer, Surf Life Saving New Zealand said.
The surf lifesavers are a crucial part of Northland's summer beach experience, saving lives and preventing injury in the water and on the beach.
Surf Life Saving NZ said the summer of 2016/2017 was the coldest summer in the last five years, with a deep La Nina cycle in the waters around New Zealand which caused more south-westerly breezes than summers in recent years.
Despite the cooler summer, daily peak headcounts around the 6 patrolled Northland beaches were 23 per cent higher than averages of the five summers prior.
This increase in beach goers resulted in a relatively busy summer for the lifeguards, with a total number of beach visitors (measured by daily peak headcount) at 16,728. Although the number of people visiting the beach were higher, the increased focus on preventative measures meant that combined rescues and assists were down 63 per cent on the five year average, with lifeguards only needing to perform 31 rescues and 66 assists.
Medical and First Aid interventions by lifeguards over 2016/17 were also down 81 per cent on the five-year average with lifeguards involved in 21 major first aid incidents and a further 132 minor first aid incidents across the 6 beaches.
Overall there were around 1.6 incidents per 1000 beach visitors across the Northland beaches which is about 50 per cent lower than the average for the whole of the Northern Region.
Volunteer patrols are provided at weekends by Far North SLSC, Whangarei Heads SLSC, Ruakaka SLSC, Waipu Cove SLSC and Mangawhai Heads SLSC. These are supplemented by paid lifeguards during the week.
Last summer paid lifeguards were also provided at Baylys beach on a seven-day week basis.
In total, Surf Life Saving provided paid lifeguards for a total of 33 weeks across all 6 locations, which was similar to the 2015/16 and 2014/15 seasons.
Some beach safe tips from SLSNZ
• Always keep a very close eye on children in or near the water. Don't overestimate you or your children's ability to cope in the conditions. Preferably be in the water next to them at all times on a surf beach.
• Get a friend to swim with you - never swim or surf alone.
• Watch out for that rip - rips are calm, deep patches of water close to shore that can sometimes have waves breaking to the side. Rippled, discoloured or foamy water with debris can also mean there is a rip present.
• Be smart around rocks: whether fishing or exploring at the beach, rocky outcrops can be very dangerous in large surf. When fishing, always wear a lifejacket. Never stand on a rock outcrop that is already wet (a sure sign waves will be washing over it) and always face the ocean; never turn your back on the sea.
• If in doubt, stay out!
• If you spot someone in trouble at an unpatrolled beach, ensure your own safety and dial 111 and ask for police.