Fun float helps with water confidence

Pacific Surf Lifesaving Club volunteers Helen Jackson, left, Danyon Spiller and Todd Hamilton, right, on the club's inflatable pontoon.

Napier's Pacific Surf Life Saving Club believes its latest "attraction" will encourage safe swimming on the city's Marine Parade beach as well as providing young people with a new way to have fun in the sun.

The club's distinctive blue and yellow pontoon had its first outing for the summer last weekend, and was a hit with bathers on Sunday, club committee member Sherrise Spiller said.

Anchored between the flags marking out the beach's safe swimming area, the pontoon is intended to provide an added attraction to encourage younger swimmers to stay within the zone patrolled by the club's lifeguards.

"It encourages the kids to swim out past the breakers and get used to not touching the bottom and being water confident," Ms Spiller said.

"Marine Parade is not a dangerous beach as long as you respect it, like any other piece of water.

"There were heaps of people on the beach on Sunday, but they were spread all the way along the beach. Hopefully this will encourage more to come down to this [patrolled] end."

The Pacific Surf Life Saving Club bought the pontoon last year but poor conditions meant it wasn't able to be used on many patrol days, she said.

"But this summer is looking a lot more promising," Ms Spiller said.

Other Hawke's Bay clubs have recognised Pacific Lifesaving's initiative in purchasing the pontoon through an inter-club "innovation of the year" award.