“Don’t drink alcohol and jump in the water. If you are hesitant about your ability don’t go in...the sea is a different beast.”
He said their focus as lifeguards was primarily to monitor inside the flags, but they did keep an eye on the boat ramp at the southern end and the river at the northern end.
“We will put rip signs up and advise people to swim between the flags and we will actively talk to the public and move them on.”
His advice for people visiting from out of the area was to talk to the lifeguards and understand the hazards and potential risks.
“One thing we stress to the public is these conditions change hourly as the tide goes in and out.”
Laurie said the summer looked positive with 20 lifeguards trained for this season and a further 90 to 100 people qualified to help from now until the middle of March from 10am to 5pm.
“The lifeguard situation is a continual revolving door.”
He said quite a few of the new trainees this year were “parents or older people”.
Laurie said paid regional guards would monitor the beach during the week from the middle of December to the end of January.
“It runs with the school holidays because ultimately that is our busy time at the beach.”
Laurie said over the years he had noticed an increase in parents putting their young children in life vests or bouncy aids and he encouraged this behaviour.
“It’s great, it gives you as a parent a bit of confidence if little Johnny is not that good at swimming in the sea and it gives him confidence.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
