No lifeguards at Nelson's beaches leave swimmers at mercy of their own skill level

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

The rip at Kaiteriteri as the lagoon empties is strong and can catch swimmers unaware.

There are no plans for life guards to patrol Kaiteriteri Beach this summer despite near drownings at the popular holiday spot.

Kaiteriteri Beach is one of the busiest beaches in the Nelson-Tasman district, getting between 700 and 1500 beach-goers a day in the peak season.

The beach's only patrol is launch warden Raymond Mockler whose main job is to oversee the boat ramp and the beach.

Mockler said a lifeguard service was unnecessary as the beach was safe and the main problem was parents not looking after their children.

Kayakers, stand up paddle boarders and swimmers in the tidal rip at Kaiteriteri Beach.

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'In the day you can drink on the beach before 4pm, so some people are not looking after their kids as well as they should.'

However, Tasman harbour master Dan Cairney said the strong tidal currents when the beach's lagoon emptied could make the beach dangerous. He believed a lifeguard service would be 'great to have'.

The lagoon at Kaiteriteri Beach can look deceptively safe but the water rushes out at speed catching some people unaware.

Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve chief executive David Ross said that it was open to investigatings lifeguards, however he also believed the beach was 'really safe' as it was not a surf beach.

Ross acknowledged the lagoon's tidal current was an issue and said the board was reviewing warning signs in that area.

The signs are currently only in English.

Earlier this year cardiologist Krys Milburn and his family helped rescue several people, including two young girls, at Kaiteriteri Beach.

Nelson Surf Life Saving Club says it needs a club room at the beach as it currently stores its boats on Wakefield Quay.

He believed if they had not been there the girls would have drowned.

Milburn said Kaiteriteri attracted a high number of tourists and people who were not good in the surf and believed the danger lay in the lagoon on the outgoing tide.

He thought the warning signs were in the wrong spot and no one paid attention to them.

In 2017, Alan Bruce and his 14-year-old son Lachlan rescued three people at Kaiteriteri. Bruce also rescued a father and son at Kaiteriteri seven years prior.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand chief executive Paul Dalton said the which beaches that were patrolled was usually historic and depended on where communities had clubs. However, some clubs looked outside their own beach area to ensure they were not missing a substantial amount of beach-goers.

For example Mirangi Bay in Auckland in peak season patrolled its club beach and two or three other beaches.

Tasman District Council community relations manager Chris Choat said the Kaiteriteri Recreation Reserve Board was responsible for the area, however the council would support it if it believed there was a need for a review with Surf Life Saving NZ.

Tahunanui Beach only has lifeguards patrolling it 36 days a year.

Nelson Surf Life Saving Club president Marcus Gardner said near drownings occurred at Kaiteriteri almost every year.

'That's the sort of place where it's really good to have lifeguards, but as a volunteer organisation we just can't put people everywhere.'

Tahunanui Beach is another popular beach in the region without regular or paid patrols. The beach is patrolled by volunteers, but only at the weekends during summer.

Gardner said the club needed a base to make patrolling safer and less complicated.

'In bad weather it makes it difficult to keep patrols on the beach because we don't have a building to work from where you can view the beach.'

It takes an hour to set up and pack down the lifeguard tower, boats and other equipment, which means less hours protecting swimmers.

The club was working with the council on a building concept, but the majority of the costs would have to be fundraised.

In 2011, Surf Life Saving New Zealand recommended a paid contract lifeguard service should patrol Tahunanui Beach on weekdays in summer. However, this was never implemented.

Surf Life Saving NZ also recommended more coastal safety assessments should take place Nelson area, which are yet to be completed.

Over the past five years there have been 10 preventable drownings in the Nelson-Tasman region.

Kaka Point Beach, southeast of Balclutha, has a week-day paid lifeguard service, despite last season only having a total beach-goer headcount of 13,455 swimmers in the summer compared to Nelson's Tahunanui Beach which had 43,639 on the 36 days it patrolled.

In the five previous summer seasons, Nelson lifeguards have conducted 49 rescues and 89 assists. Christchurch's New Brighton beach, had 12 rescues and 48 assists over the same period. They also have a funded weekday paid guard service.

Surf Life Saving NZ chief executive Paul Dalton said regional lifeguard services were funded by regional and district councils, which determined how much money was spent and at what beach.