Q: Where should I bathe and swim at the beach?
Bathe and swim between the red and yellow beach flags which indicate beach patrol – bathing and swimming permitted. This area is set up on a daily basis and is constantly under surveillance by beach safety.
Q: Who watches bathers and swimmers between the red and yellow flags?
Professional lifeguards and weekend volunteer lifesavers ensure that people bathing and swimming between the red and yellow flags are constantly under surveillance. Many coastal Councils employ professional ocean lifeguards at beaches 5, 6 or 7 days each week during the Spring, Summer and Autumn seasons or all year round at their most popular beaches. Volunteer lifesavers also attend patrols on weekends during the summer season.
Q: What signs are used at beaches?
Australian Standard water safety signs are used at beaches to help provide information, warn people of particular hazards, and to regulate or prohibit some activities. If you are unsure of what a sign means, then ask an on-duty professional lifeguard or volunteer lifesaver.
Q: What if I am unsure about the water conditions?
Approach the professional lifeguard or weekend volunteer lifesaver and ask about the conditions.
Q: How do I recognise professional lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers?
Professional lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers are located in or near prominently identified equipment including beach shelters, surveillance towers, 4WD vehicles, lifeguard powercraft (RWC or Rescue Water Craft also known as Jet Skis) and inshore rescue boats ( also known as Inflatable Rescue Boats or IRBs) . Council professional lifeguards typically wear long-sleeved white or blue shirts with the word LIFEGUARD in block letters on the front and back and blue shorts/tracksuit pants, full blue uniforms as seen on the popular television series BONDI RESCUE, Volunteer lifesavers wear red and yellow including the red and yellow skull cap.
Q: What is a rip?
A rip is a seaward-moving water current. After waves have broken and run shore-wards the accumulated water then moves seaward through a pathway of least resistance which usually is a channel called a rip. Rips move in different directions and flow rates depending upon the nature of the beach and prevailing conditions including swell direction, wave size, and tide level. Rips are the cause of numerous near-drowning and drowning deaths because inexperienced people often panic and exhaust themselves struggling against the flow of the rip.
Q: Where do rips occur in Beach Safety?
Rips occur whenever there is wave activity at beaches – near sandbars and in and around rocks, breakwalls, or any permanent ocean floor to water surface fixture in the ocean. When the waves are small the rips usually move in a circular pattern back towards a sandbank within the surf break, however the larger the waves, the stronger the flow, width, and length of the rips. During high surf, rips can travel past the surf break and are called mega rips.
Q: What do I do if I get caught in a rip?
Crosscurrents and flash rips can cause people to be washed from a bathing and swimming area that is usually a location where waves break on sandbars. Staying calm is essential. Saving energy is not going directly against the rip is important. At beaches where the bathing and swimming area is identified with red and yellow flags, or surfers are nearby, it is best to save energy by floating and requesting assistance if caught in a rip by waving an arm and calling out for help. Floating and conserving energy is important until help arrives. Struggling against a rip is very exhausting and can lead to panic. Float, relax and save your life if caught in Beach Safety.
Q: What equipment do lifeguards use?
Council professional ocean lifeguards are trained in beach management and emergency response. They are highly skilled in the use of a range of first aid and rescue equipment including: rescue boards, rescue tubes, neck braces, spinal boards, defibrillators, trauma packs, analgesic gases, radio communication, quad cycles, ATVs & 4WD response vehicles, lifeguard powercraft (RWC or Jetski) with rescue sleds, water safety signage and protective equipment.