More than one million visitors are expected to visit Lake Macquarie’s coastline this beach season, after it officially kicks off Saturday 24 September.
From then until April, the city’s 40 lifeguards will be responding to everything from life-threatening situations to minor cuts and bruises every day.
On Tuesday morning the group was put through its paces, taking part in drills that included simulated surf rescues, jet-ski operations and quadbike manoeuvring in soft sand.
Team Leader Beach Lifeguards Lucas Samways says it’s vital all members of his team are prepared for patrol season.
“We’ve got to make sure they are ready, not just in terms of fitness, but their ability to use all the tools at their disposal and handle emergencies in a cool and calm manner,” he said.
Fitness and proficiency standards set for Lake Macquarie City Council lifeguards are among the toughest in the world.
Despite prolonged wet weather affecting the last season, the group still performed 160 rescues and provided first aid to almost 900 people.
“Last season’s wild weather meant we lost a lot of sand along large parts of the coast, and a lot of that is yet to return,” Mr Samways said.
“That means conditions have changed in some areas, and we’ve got more submerged or partly exposed rocks at places like Redhead Beach.
“It creates more hazards, so we want people visiting the beach to be particularly mindful of that in the weeks and months to come.”
Lake Mac lifeguards patrol four beaches from September to April: Redhead, Blacksmiths, Caves and Catherine Hill Bay.
Mr Samways said many of the most serious and tragic incidents happened at other spots outside the patrolled areas.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service closed an area south of Catherine Hill Bay known as the Pink Caves permanently in July after the drowning deaths of two people swept off rocks.
“It’s so important for people enjoying our beautiful beaches to swim between the red and yellow flags, follow lifeguards’ instructions and stay out of the water on days when the beach is closed,” Mr Samways said.
Real-time condition updates for each beach, including patrol status, water temperature, swell and wind, are available at lakemac.com.au.
