Chaos at the beach over long weekend

Monday, 29 January 2018

It was a busy Sunday for the Sunset Beach Surf Lifeguard Service (file photo).

Lifeguards were swamped over the scorching Auckland Anniversary weekend as thousands flocked to the shores of wider Waikato.

Plentiful rips, strong currents and jam-packed beaches led to dozens of rescues for surf and lifesaving clubs at busy beaches on Sunday.

Thousands of beachgoers and a strong rip near the shore kept lifeguards at Sunset Beach at Port Waikato hopping over the long weekend (file photo).

Whangamata carried out 26 rescues, including a mass rescue of 10 people in one go.

Port Waikato lost count, but it was over 20 rescues.

* Northern surf lifesavers carry out 17 rescues during scorching weekend

* Fifth straight title for Mt Maunganui lifeguards at NZ surf life saving champs**

President of Sunset Beach Lifeguard Service Malcolm Beattie said he had never seen anything like it in his 40 years at the Port Waikato club.

'It's been unbelievable. You can't get near the beach, it's just so crowded.'

By 2pm, around 2000 people jammed the beach - with 800 in the water at any one time, Beattie said.

'There was a strong, strong rip on the outgoing tide, so we had lifeguards in the water all day just plucking people out as they went past them and taking them back to safety.'

When the car park filled up at 10.30am, people started parkingon the sand.

The 12 lifeguard volunteers - supposed to finish at 5pm - stayed an extra 90 minutes to ensure the hundreds of people still in the water remained safe.

Monday was about the same, he said.

Most of the beach facilities were over 40 years old and struggling to handle the stampedes of people, Beattie said.

'We've only got one access to the beach now and it's a rocky, bumpy, dirty, old road down to the beach … It's very dangerous.'

Beattie said he has raised his concerns with Waikato District Council, but worries something tragic will have to happen before it is fixed.

Whangamata Surf Life Saving Club members were flat out with 4500 people on the beach.

A mass rescue of 10 adults and children in one go kept them especially busy, club president Nathan Hight said.

'[The group] got caught trying to swim back from Clark Island back from the main beach and got the tides a bit wrong and so ended up in a spot of bother. That was all go for us.

'It was a case of setting out boats and leaving flotation devices with the people in the water, taking the kids and stuff out first and going through a priority list of getting them out.

'They all ended up at the beach safe and sound. That could have ended up quite nasty if we hadn't been here.'

Strong rips and holes along the shore caught beachgoers off guard, Hight said.

'And just the sheer volume of people out there. People have got caught and we've had to bring them back and that's what we're here for.'

A surf and lifesaving eastern regional championship at the Mount Maunganui Beach meant it may have been the safest place to be, with 850 lifesaving athletes gracing the beach.

But after around 5000 people crammed into the sandy shore, the club was still swamped with 14 rescues, Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service patrol captain Kent Jarman said.

A couple were mass rescues of four and six people.

It was smooth sailing for Raglan - notorious for its dangerous conditions - with one assist and 13 minor first aids, many for jellyfish stings.

Education was a huge part of keeping swimmers safe, Raglan Surf Lifesaving club secretary Jess Reilly said.

'We actually get quite a few people who don't even know that you're meant to swim between the flags, which is really surprising. Raglan is obviously quite a tourist town.'

And the club spend a lot of time explaining to fully dressed people the dangers of swimming in clothes.

'That is also really common,' Reilly said, 'fully clothed. I've seen people in jeans before. I'm looking at a man right now fully clothed.

'It gets deep so quickly and with clothes and jeans, especially, it gets pretty heavy.'