For an updated calendar
[click here]

Beach Awareness

The beach is a dynamic environment, ever changing. Sea conditions vary day to day and the beach terrain changes over days, months and even years. A good lifeguard will be aware of the factors that influence the safety of beach users.

Waves

Waves are effectively the visual manifestation of energy being transferred cyclically between molecules in the water. The type of wave formed when it hits the beach depends on various factors:

• The strength and duration of the wind blowing across the water,
• The amount of time the wind blows for,
• The distance over which the wind blows (or fetch),
• The effect of tidal ranges,
• The slope and texture of the coastal shelf as wave energy approaches the beach.

For a graphic representation of how waves form on a beach [click here].


Waves normally hit the beach in sets. Predicting wave sets can help a lifeguard to conserve energy when assisting a casualty in the water, and also make it easier for them to return to shore. Some general facts about waves:

• 1 wave in 23 is twice the average height
• 1 wave in 1175 is three times average height
• 1 wave in 300 000 is four times average.

Public Safety

It is important for lifeguards and surf lifesaving clubs to communicate important information about the beach to the public. Notices about beach safety should be sited in prominent places along the beach and updated on a regular basis. Typical public information may include:

• Tidal ranges, dates and times
• Notifications about dangerous parts of the beach
• Designation of bathing and craft areas
• Emergency contact information
• General information about beach etiquette, personal safety, UV conditions and beach facilities
  
  

It is also important for duty lifeguards to check safety equipment sited along the shoreline, in particular Petersen’s tubes or lifesaving torpedoes that may have been damaged or removed.

Patrolling and Flags


The size, shape and terrain of the beach coupled with the availability of personnel and equipment will determine how a beach is patrolled and managed.  

On beaches regularly populated by the public, there will defined areas for swimmers (as denoted by a set of red/yellow flags), and there may also be defined areas for specialist users such as kayakers, surfers or persons wishing to launch and retrieve boats. These specialist areas will be defined by black and white quartered flags.

Other flags used on the beach are a red flag for dangerous conditions or no swimming, and a windsock to denote speed and direction of the wind. In other countries where warmer climates prevail, there will also be flags to warn about the proximity of lethal jellyfish and sharks.

Small beaches are obviously easier to patrol than large beaches even though there are times when small beaches can be inundated by a large influx of beach users. On a small beach, it is easier to be aware of dangers posed by surf and beach features such as rocks and sandbars.

On a large beach the duty lifeguards must be aware of what parts of the beach are safe for use and which parts are not. There are various methods of surveillance that can be used to make best use of these circumstances:

Most beaches in the UK, including Whitesands Beach, utilise a combination of bathing area, roving and surveillance patrol scenarios.