'Perfect day' starts Surf Life Saving season out West

Sunday, 21 October 2018

The beginning of the surf life saving season opened to textbook conditions for a West Auckland Beach: fine weather and an incoming tide.

Ten lifeguards from Muriwai's Volunteer Surf Life Saving Club hit the beach for their first day of patrol on October 20.

Auckland's northern region beaches will be patrolled from now until Easter 2019.

Hours will extend out to 9am-5pm during the peak summer months, including weekday patrols from Christmas to Auckland Anniversary Weekend.

Muriwai Volunteer Surf Life Saving Association vice-president Mark Goodhew said the perfect day had been a good way to 'ease into the season'.

However, lifeguards could expect to be out on the beach for longer as summer heated up, he said.

'Last season we had extremely warm water conditions so I think the latest patrol went through to 8pm.

'We've often got people in the water until sunset.'

The Surf Life Saving Northern Region covers 22 beaches from Raglan to North Cape on both the east and west coast.

Nine drownings occurred in the region in 2017, some due to people trying to rescue another person.

Surf Life Saving Northern Region chief executive officer Matt Williams said the organisation preferred that the public not put themselves at risk.

'Our volunteers are well-prepared, trained and committed to supporting the public.

'They are our insurance if anything goes wrong for a swimmer.'

The advice follows the death of Angelo Tuyay, a man in his 50s, on October 14, when he attempted to rescue two girls from the water at a Coromandel beach.

Hot Water Beach lifeguard service chairman Gary Hinds was calling for the patrol season to open six weeks early.

Muriwai maintains a call-out squad for emergencies, with almost a dozen local lifeguards living within a five-kilometre radius of the beach.

But Goodhew said the situation could be challenging for clubs in more remote areas with less resident lifeguards.