Lifeguards are bracing for a “new norm” after a “hectic” summer where weird weather saw Bay of Plenty beach rescues nearly triple.
They warn beachgoers need to be more aware of conditions and their limitations to break the “drowning link” and hope new coroner-directed safety measures being rolled out at Tauranga beaches will make a “massive difference”.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand figures showed there were 268 rescues on beaches - including Mount Main Beach, Tay St, Omanu, Pāpāmoa and Pāpāmoa East, Maketu, Pukehina, Ohope, Ōpōtiki, Waihī, and Bowentown - during the 2022 to 2023 summer patrol season. That was up from 94 the season before.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s eastern region lifesaving manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell said more than 700 lifeguards in the region put 35,284 hours either into patrolling the beaches over summer, with the majority of rescues during patrol times in the late December to January period.
Gibbons-Campbell said 268 rescues was “higher” than in a normal summer, but the region had been battered by some “really challenging” surf conditions, including easterly swells.
The weather had created sandbanks on the coast from Waihī to Pāpāmoa East, he said.
“A lot of our rescues this summer were due to the tropical cyclones we have had over the coast that were pushing consistent swell down to the eastern coastline.
“Usually, the eastern coastline is relatively flat the majority of the time, but this year it was really consistent. Each week we had a new cyclone being pushed in from the tropics.
“This meant we had consistent swells right through Christmas, New Year, and into January and February.”
Water Safety NZ reported there were nine drownings in the Bay of Plenty in 2022, up on the 10-year average.
The Bay of Plenty Times reported in March that Tauranga had its wettest summer since 1984, and third-warmest summer on record, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).
The season before had fewer cyclones and fewer people visiting beaches due to Covid-19, Gibbons-Campbell said.
“There have been so many hectic weather events in the last months that maybe this is the new norm. It has been a really weird and hectic summer.
“Our fine weather days among the rain saw a lot of people flock to the beaches when there was still large surf rolling through right across the coast.”
On a single day - December 28 - lifeguards performed 83 rescues between Mount Main Beach, Tay St and Omanu.
Gibbons-Campbell said more education was needed to help stop the number of rescues from rising again this summer.
“The ocean is challenging. It is always changing, it is never the same as the day before. People need to be more aware of the conditions and their own limitations.
“That is what we need to do to bring those rescue numbers down. We need to educate people. Break that drowning link earlier rather than later.”
Gibbons-Campbell said a recommendation by Coroner Ian Telford to urgently place public rescue equipment and signage on Moturiki (Leisure Island) after Tauranga father Reon Wikeepa drowned trying to save his daughter in November will help inform people about beach safety.
Gibbons-Campbell said: “Educating people about the hazards will help save their lives.”
“Those were some good outcomes of the tragic situation, and something I am really proud of our lifeguards doing.”
Telford also referenced the safety recommendations in his findings into the accidental drowning death of Kerry Huggard, 64, at Mount Maunganui beach in February.
Tauranga City Council spaces and places operations manager Warren Aitken said it was committed to having signage and flotation devices on Moturiki Island by the end of June.
“We have the posts in place and are on track to achieve this. There are three flotation devices, which will have information signs next to them, as well as a sign at the entrance to Moturiki.
“We are working with Surf Life Saving New Zealand to undertake a coastal risk assessment along the rest of the coast from Main Beach to Karewa Parade, which will determine an implementation plan and where other signage and flotation devices will be installed.”
Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service patrol captain John Svensden said new signage and rescue equipment on Moturiki would make a “massive difference”.
“The moment those flotation devices are installed, they will make an immediate difference to the community.”
“Having the backing of a coronial report is fantastic and means that it is actually going to happen, and it will make a difference straight away.”
Svendsen, a Volunteer of the Year finalist in the 2023 Bay of Plenty and Coromandel Awards of Excellence, said he was on patrol when Reon Wikeepa died trying to save his daughter in November.
“My eldest daughter was the patrol captain, and my youngest daughter was a lifeguard.
“Half of my family was there looking after him. It was a pretty rough situation.”
Svendsen, 45, said there had been a lot of changeable weather conditions that were “pretty bad” this summer, with rain forecast on and off since January.
“Climate change is absolutely going to change our beach. We have seen a big change just this summer, with the storms we have had. They have changed the way our rips work and the steepness of our dunes.
“This hasn’t stopped people from going out into the water, and that is where the increase in numbers is. A lot of it is just due to people not understanding their ability in those conditions.”
His message heading into summer was for people to look at the conditions.
“If the seas look a little angry, it is a good idea to stay out and understand your ability. Don’t go into the water too overconfident, because that is when people tend to get themselves into trouble.”
Andrew Mcdowell of Pukehina Surf Rescue said the Bay of Plenty had a “bit of a struggle” with different water qualities from the pollution and deterioration of the foreshore due to large swells and weather conditions.
The 56-year-old, who is also a Volunteer of the Year finalist, said he encouraged beachgoers to swim at a patrolled beach and between the flags.
“Never swim alone if you can prevent it. If you are a strong swimmer this is okay, but you have got to know the water. If you are in a rip, remember to relax, ride and raise.”
Source: Chaz Gibbons-Campbell.
Harriet Laughton is an Auckland University of Technology journalism student.