Busy beach but good conditions says lifeguard service

REPORTING BY JULIA WADE

Guardians of local waters, Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Service (MHVLS) spent hundreds of hours keeping a vigilant eye on the hordes of sun-seekers who packed out the surf beach through the recent holiday season.

However MHVLS president Jon Drucker says although the beach has been very busy over the summer, generally conditions have been quite safe.

“Lifeguards have performed a number of preventative actions and first aids as well as a handful of rescues and assists but we’ve had no major incidents… though there have been numerous near miss incidents with boats crossing the Mangawhai Bar.”

Although official up-to-date statistics for the 2019/20 season were not available at time of print, so far MHVLS lifeguards have volunteered more than 1000 patrol hours, and with the cyclone season just ‘heating up’, and MHVLS anticipating the possibility of more powerful and consistent large surf, lifeguards will be continuing their attentive watch.

“Our first cyclone swell these last few days was a bit underwhelming though there was some sizable surf from late Tuesday through Wednesday,” Drucker says. “Large surf has a tendency to reconfigure the sandy ocean bottom which can expose rocks and cause holes making rip currents stronger and more prevalent. We ask that beach goers continue to swim between the flags, follow lifeguard directions, and do not overestimate their abilities or swim alone.”

MHVLS would also like to thank the community for their great support during the club’s recent Door Knock fundraiser.

Says Drucker: “Especially like to recognise all the local merchants and businesses that continually support our lifesaving efforts, thank you everyone.”

Although there was plenty of wave action and energy in the water, January’s eastern cyclone was ‘a bit underwhelming’ MHVLS president Jon Drucker says, but adds swimmers should never underestimate mother nature.