Whanganui lifeguards give safety advice in and out of the water as patrolling season starts

Lifeguards at Whanganui's Castlecliff Beach (from left): Harrison Smith, Olivia Gilbertson, Lucy Reid and Finnian Sinclair. Photo / Finn Williams

Lifeguards at the Wanganui Surf Lifeguard Services have begun their patrolling season as the school holidays for 2023-24 kick off.

Patrols will be out on Castlecliff and Mowhanau Beaches from midday to 6pm through to February 6.

Lifeguard Finnian Sinclair said when on patrol, lifeguards arrive at the beach at 11.45am to prepare their equipment and assess the conditions.

“We go for a swim - like this morning, all of us went in for a condition swim to go and see what it’s like, which way the current’s going, what’s happening, look for any rips and decide where to set up the flags at the safest point,” he said.

Harrison Smith said the rest of the day was spent monitoring the beach and making sure people stayed between the flags.

“They usually do most of the time, which is good, and if they don’t, we just tell them to get back [between] them,” he said.

Their busiest time was usually between midday and 2pm, and the busiest days tended to be public holidays.

“It’s like Christmas, Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year’s, all those public holidays, or just generally really hot days,” Harrison said.

Junior surf co-ordinator Daniel Comp said the most common issue people faced was getting out of their depth in the water.

“Generally, people sometimes not listening to lifeguards’ advice, so they get there and they’re swimming beyond their limits,” Comp said.

This was especially true at Castlecliff, where a lot of young children come to the beach due to its proximity to the suburban community.

Tidal conditions at the beach could also be an issue.

“At the moment, we’ve got a permanent rip out here at Castlecliff Beach - it’s [been] working pretty much constantly for the last three or four months,” he said.

Signs have been put in the sand to alert people to not swim in the area of the riptide.

Signage alerting people of a riptide at Casltecliff Beach. Photo / Finn Williams

At Mowhanau Beach, the major issue for lifeguards is having to close the main beach at high tide due to water levels, with the swim area being reverted to the area of the beach near the Kai Iwi playground.

The other main problem at Mowhanau is not in the water but in the sand, with cliffs falling nearby adding exposed shellrock into the beach surface.

“So a lot of people at the front of Kai Iwi Beach, for the first five or 10 metres, they’re actually touching all the rocks and sharp shrapnel and stuff like that,” Comp said.

The best ways for people to keep themselves safe at the beach this summer are to swim between the flags, listen to the lifeguards and read the beach conditions sign posted at the entrance to the beach.

A sign relaying beach conditions at the entrance to Castlecliff Beach. Photo / Finn Williams

Comp gave extra advice for people at the beach with small children.

“If they’ve got young ones, this is a really important message for the parents: keep them within arms’ reach, within hugging distance,” he said.

If people found themselves caught in a riptide, the lifeguards advised to use their three “R”s: relax and float through the rip; ride it out; and raise your hand to alert the lifeguards.

People can also check the Safeswim website for beach conditions and to see if it is safe to swim, when lifeguards will be on duty and what the conditions will be like before they head to the beach.

After February 6, volunteer weekend patrols will be in place until March 2.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.