Sun, surf and southerlies made for an unpredictable beach season for Lake Macquarie City Council’s lifeguards in 2025/26.
It comes as professional patrols wrap up on Monday 27 April… until the September school holidays.
With more than one million visitors enjoying the LGA’s four “official” beaches, local personnel completed almost 100 rescues, almost double the number from the previous year.
“The fluctuating weather means we haven’t had the consistency we would normally see over summer,” team leader Hayden Copping said.
“It’s been a real mixed bag of conditions.
“We’d get a perfect beach with ideal surf one day, then a southerly forcing us to close it the next, only for it to go back to being idyllic a day or two later.”
Lifeguards also recorded 48 “major incidents”, where other agencies such as NSW Ambulance or the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service were involved.
“They basically refer to anything that requires further intervention, whether it’s a broken bone or a more complicated, multi-agency rescue,” Mr Copping said.
Broken and dislocated bones were the biggest contributor to the incident logbook, with 14 in total across the season.
“We’ve had some difficult rescues at unpatrolled locations, too,” Mr Copping said.
“There were eight… at Moonee, Frazer Park, Dudley, Swansea Heads and Swansea Channel.
“At times, the people who were rescued were literally seconds away from drowning.
“So, it’s a massive credit to our lifeguards and other agencies involved that we were able to avoid fatalities.
“It is testament to the dedication, skill and professionalism of our lifeguard workforce.”
Redhead proved to be the city’s most popular beach with an estimated 327,000 visitors, followed by Caves Beach (311,000), Blacksmiths (200,000) and Catherine Hill Bay (154,000).
Another 34,000 were recorded at Hams Beach during the six weeks patrols extended to cover that stretch of coast.
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