The "unprecedented" uptick in drownings over the 2021/2022 summer holiday period was alarming. Video / NZ Herald'
Hawke’s Bay surf lifesavers are wary of a new year rush on beaches after a busy first week of the season saw them conduct seven rescues on beaches south of Cape Kidnappers.
All seven rescues from Christmas Eve to Thursday were at monitored sites at Waimārama and Ocean Beach, while the three other sites Waipatiki, Westshore and Ahuriri Beach have yet to have any significant dramas.
Brendon Hamilton-Gibbs, Surf Life Saving regional guard supervisor for Hawke’s Bay, said as well as the rescues, lifesavers had completed eight assists and three searches (the most notable for since-found kayakers off Waimārama Beach).
He said they had also carried out 321 “preventative actions” involving 4746 members of the public during that same period.
“Preventative actions are what we are about, prevent the rescues before they happen, and there has been a lot of those,” Hamilton-Gibbs said.
“It is about getting the public to swim between the flags because we can’t patrol the whole beach and there are areas of the beach that are unsafe for swimming in.”
He said the change from patrolling a section of Marine Parade to patrolling Ahuriri around Hardinge Rd and East Pier had been very positive so far.
“We were kind of sending a mixed message by putting the flags up on Marine Parade, suggesting ‘it is a dangerous place except for between these flags’, which isn’t actually the case.”
Harry Machiela of Pacific Surf Life Saving Club, which patrols from Perfume Point to Port Beach. Westshore Surf Lifesaving Club patrols Westshore Beach. Photo / Kirsten Simcox, Napier City Council
He said there were a lot of tourists and locals that came by and he hoped that with lifeguards in place even more people would visit Ahuriri Beach.
“We’ve got a lot of swimmers up there [Ahuriri] so it is really taking the service to where it is needed.”
He said there will be lifesavers at those beaches every day during the summer - paid ones during the week and volunteers during the weekend.
A festive season dip at Te Awanga. Regional guard supervisor Brendon Hamilton-Gibbs said there had only been one rescue in the past week but many preventative actions across Hawke's Bay beaches. Photo / Paul Taylor
Brian Quirk, Surf Life Saving Westshore education director, said there had been no rescues at Westshore so far that he knew of after a wet start to the season.
“The last week was pretty wet, so numbers have been way down and we are on zero rescues at the moment.
“Surf conditions have been relatively flat, we haven’t really had a big sea for a while.”
A Surf Life Saving spokesperson said people should choose beaches with lifeguards and swim between the yellow and red flags.
The spokesperson advised people should watch out for rip currents, read and understand safety signs, know their limits, closely watch children, swim with friends, be sun smart and call 111 for help from the police if they see someone in trouble in the water.
The most recently published Land Air Water Aotearoa (Lawa) water sampling results advise that all monitored Hawke’s Bay beaches are currently safe to swim at, though some lagoon or stream areas that flow into beaches have been marked as unsafe.
Swim spots at the Tūtaekurī River, Esk River, Ngaruroro River, Pōrangahau River and Lake Tutira have been marked as currently unsuitable for swimming by Lawa, using data compiled by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council on December 19.
Lawa also has cautions in place for those looking to swim near the Clive River boat ramp and Tukituki River Black Bridge, Walker Rd and SH2 Bridge near Waipukurau.
