Surf lifesavers in the Northern Region were kept exceptionally busy on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, responding to numerous major and minor incidents, and conducting a total of 15 rescues and 12 assists at Northern Region beaches across the weekend.

As beachgoers chose to celebrate their holiday festivities with some sun and sand, many beaches saw swimmers getting caught out by the conditions, and becoming stuck in rip currents.

Paid and volunteer lifeguards cumulatively worked 2686 hours across the three days, and collectively took 956 preventative actions in order to keep beachgoers safe, in addition to the rescues and assists.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region (SLSNR) Lifesaving Operations Manager James Lea says there were some common behaviours exhibited by those rescued or assisted to safety over the long weekend – in particular people not following common sense when it came to water safety.

“A key issue is that many people don’t understand the beach conditions and become overconfident,” he says. “They over-estimate their own ability and underestimate the conditions, which can change very quickly. Firstly and fundamentally, we urge beachgoers to swim within the patrolled area between the flags.

“Visiting the SafeSwim website, people can also see the conditions at the beach they want to visit. Alternatively, we would recommend they speak with a lifeguard before they enter the water, and heed any warnings. We saw many people being caught in rip currents over the long weekend, either outside of patrolled areas or outside of patrolled hours. These rescues were all completely avoidable.”

Lea says that lifeguards are present to support the public to enjoy the water safely, but beachgoers must also exercise common sense. “We’ve had instances of people being told repeatedly to move to the safe area between the flags, then getting into serious difficulty. It’s important to listen to the lifeguards; they know the risks and dangers. Have a chat to them about the conditions.”

Lea says that some members of the public were needlessly placing themselves in harm’s way, which could divert resources away from lifeguards’ regular patrol duties.

“We urge the public to work with us to keep themselves safe,” he says. “By cooperating with lifeguards, you make everyone that little bit safer.

Northern Region Christmas weekend Activity

Saturday 24 December (Christmas Eve) Patrol Statistics

On Christmas Eve, Far North responded to a 17-year-old boy who was catching waves approximately 1km away from the flagged area, who had hit a sandbar and dislocated his shoulder. By the time lifeguards arrived, an ambulance had already been called by the boy’s family, so the lifeguards provided some ice to help comfort the patient while waiting for the ambulance.

Waipū Cove assisted a mother in searching for her seven-year-old son, who had been missing for over an hour. The lifeguards formed four groups of two and searched the beach on foot, before the mother was approached by a friend who had found her son. The family were very grateful for the lifeguards’ help. Lifeguards at Pākiri also assisted a patient who got into difficulty in the water.

On Auckland’s west coast, the black ironsands struck again, with United North Piha responding to a patient who had burnt the underside of his feet on the hot sand walking down the beach without footwear. The patient’s friends flagged down the lifeguard ATV for assistance in transporting their friend. A timely reminder for West Coast beachgoers to take appropriate footwear with them to the beach.

In Raglan, the lifeguards were kept on their toes with feeder currents and were constantly performing preventative actions and welfare checks for people who appeared to be close to getting into trouble. Soon enough, there was a real emergency to respond to. The tower spotted three patients in difficulty, to which the IRB, Rescue Water Craft, and a swimmer with tube and fins responded. When the IRB arrived, one patient grabbed onto the IRB, appearing panicked, but the crew were unable to get him into the boat on their first try.

As the next waves swamped the boat, the patient let go, but was fortunately pushed into shallower water where he made his way back to the beach. Once on the beach, he was much calmer and left with his family and friends in a stable condition. The Rescue Water Craft picked up a young boy who was being helped by other members of the public, and returned him safely to his family on the beach. Similarly, the lifeguard who responded with a rescue tube was able to clip in the young female patient and swim her slowly back to the beach where she too was reunited with her family.

Christmas Eve patrol statistics:

Sunday 25 December (Christmas Day) Patrol Statistics

Christmas Day was exceptionally busy for many clubs. In Northland, Mangawhai assisted St John staff with a patient who had come off a biscuit behind a jetski and was injured after hitting the dry sand. The ambulance was already en route by the time lifeguards responded, so they were able to quickly locate the patient and then hand them over directly to the ambulance. Shortly following this incident, lifeguards witnessed more jetskis driving recklessly fast, and remind all those who own powered watercraft to that they must abide by all Maritime laws, including speed limits.

On the west coast of Auckland, Muriwai assisted a patient back to shore after they entered the water and got into trouble south of the patrolled flag area. Meanwhile, lifeguards at South Piha assisted a number of patients out of the south end of their beach, where a dangerous rip lies next to a cove of calm water. Among the patients were a boogie boarder who lost their footing, an inexperienced swimmer who got a cramp, and their friend who swam out to try and rescue them but ended up getting in trouble themselves. They also rescued another patient, bringing their total to one rescue and four assists.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region urges the public not to try and save people themselves, as it unfortunately often ends up in the lifeguards doing double the number of rescues, and says they should instead alert lifeguards.

At Sunset, three rock fishermen were trapped by the tide. Lifeguards responded with fins and tubes to swim them to an adjacent beach, where the Rescue Water Craft was able to pick them up and transport them back to the waiting IRB, which then brought them back to the beach. While this rescue was occurring, a fourth patient was spotted trapped on the cliffs by the rising tide, and was retrieved with a rescue board and returned to the IRB with the other patients. All four left the beach slightly damper than they were anticipating, but going home alive to spend the rest of Christmas Day with their families.

Christmas Day patrol statistics:

Monday 26 December (Boxing Day) Patrol Statistics

Lifeguards at Ōmaha responded to a major first aid, after a 16-year-old male dove into a sandbank while swimming. The patient suffered possible spinal injuries and was feeling pain in his back and neck, as well as being unable to move. The lifeguards safely put the patient onto a stretcher and carried him out of the water to safety, where an ambulance met them at the nearest beach entrance and the patient was transported to hospital.

On the west coast, five minutes after patrol had finished for the day, lifeguards from Piha Surf Life Saving Club and United North Piha Lifeguard Service jointly responded to a late callout, rescuing three swimmers in difficulty in the Lion Rock rip. Thankfully, all patients were rescued and left the beach shaken but safe.

Boxing Day patrol statistics:

Combined statistics (Christmas Eve-Boxing Day, 24-26 December):

2023 Season Beach Safety Messages from Surf Lifesaving Northern Region:

§ Choose a surf lifeguard patrolled beach and swim between the flags

§ Read and understand the safety signs – ask a surf lifeguard for advice as conditions can change regularly

§ Don’t overestimate your ability or your children’s ability to cope in the conditions

§ Always keep a close eye on very young children in or near the water – always keep them within arm’s reach

§ Get a friend to swim with you – never swim or surf alone

§ Watch out for rip currents, they can carry you away from shore. If caught in a rip current remember the 3Rs: *Relax and float, *Raise your hand and *Ride the rip

§ Be smart around rocks: When fishing never turn your back towards the sea and always wear a lifejacket

§ If in doubt, stay out!

§ If you see someone in trouble, call 111 and ask for the Police

§ Be sun smart – slip, slop, slap and wrap to protect your skin and eyes from the sun’s damaging rays.

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