Mount Maunganui beach has been the busiest it's been in years, lifeguards say. Photo / George Novak
Mount Maunganui beach is the busiest it's been in five years and easily 10,000 people have been along Tauranga's coast each day, lifeguards say.
But it has been a "horrifying" holiday period with fatal drownings up 180 per cent nationwide between Christmas Eve and January 5 prompting a reminder from lifeguards for holidaymakers to know their limits in the water.
A man, thought to be in his 50s, also died after getting into difficulty in the water at Mount Maunganui's Arataki area yesterday afternoon.
Water Safe NZ reported 14 preventable drowning deaths over the holiday period - the average is five - and eight happened only four days into 2022. Four happened while swimming at beaches.
One man in his 60s died yesterday and two children were in critical condition after a boat flipped on the Tairua bar near Pauanui on Wednesday.
The same day a 5-year-old child died at Mangamate Waterfall.
On Tuesday, people were urged by Waihi Beach Surf Lifesaving Club to stay out of the water after a large number of rescues in one day and one person was taken to Tauranga hospital in critical condition after a water-related incident in Mount Maunganui.
Jamie Troughton, chair of the Mount Maunganui Surf Lifesaving Club, said the recent deaths were "horrifying".
"We've already surpassed last year's [summer] drowning figures with two months to go -just reminds us to really stay on top of our game."
He said Mount Maunganui beach this holiday season is the busiest he's seen it in five years because of the "phenomenally warm water".
Troughton said the Tauranga Harbour was 23C on Wednesday: "definitely hottest I've ever seen it".
He said two rescues, 14 assists, and 150 preventive actions were done in Mount Maunganui the past two weekends.
He was concerned for holidaymakers who don't live by the beach and advised them to know their limits around water.
"It's a potentially lethal environment."
Chaz Gibbons-Campbell, lifesaving manager for the Eastern region team, said there has been easily 10,000 people, if not more, spread across Mount Maunganui to Pāpāmoa beach a day this holiday season.
He said most rescues have been people being swept off the sand bar into a rip and "kind of getting bashed around by a few waves" before needing help to come back to shore.
Paid lifeguards also had to give a person CPR and first aid assistance on Tuesday after a medical event, he said.
Gibbons-Campbell said one of the main reasons people were getting into trouble was by swimming where there were rips or deeper water.
He said the key thing to remember when caught in a rip was to stay calm.
"The currents aren't gonna take you out to Australia. They will just take you out just past where the waves are breaking."
Gibbons-Campbell said to remember the three R's - relax, raise your arm, ride the rip, "you're gonna last a lot longer than if you were panicking."
He said volunteers have also been patrolling the beaches on the rescue jetski, with Mount Maunganui and Omanu lifeguards also providing extra support.
Gabriel Brockelsby, head lifeguard at Mount Maunganui Surf Life Saving Club, said there had been a big increase in beachgoers since last season.
"I think that has coincided with some pretty challenging conditions."
Tauranga Coast Guard unit manager Dane Robertson said he was unaware of any boating-related incidents involving the Coastguard.
"Everyone seems to be pretty safety conscious and most people have their life jackets on."
Head lifeguard at Whakatane Surf Life Saving Club Carla Reid said guards were doing more rescues than usual, however, she blamed conditions rather than numbers.
"We've got rips everywhere the last couple days, we've had them in really prominent swimming places.
"Everyone's been really proactive working and pulling our head together so we can handle the more difficult conditions than we've had in the past couple years."
Water Safe NZ key safety messages include
• Always taking a buddy
• Swimming between the flags at patrolled beaches
• Active adult supervision of children around water
• Watching out for rips
• Always wearing a lifejacket on boats and while fishing from rocks or net fishing. Boaties and paddlers need to take two waterproof forms of communication with them when they head out on the water
- Preventable fatalities include recreational and non-recreational drowning deaths. They do not include fatalities classified as "other" (arising as a result of road or air vehicle crashes, homicide, suicide or of unknown origin) as these are not considered applicable to the prevention and rescue efforts of the water safety sector.
Source: Water Safety New Zealand