Swansea and Neath Port Talbot Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards have rounded off their season on the beaches of South West Wales.
Another successful season saw the team of more than 30 lifeguards patrol the beaches seven days a week from the beginning of April at Aberavon, with the charity’s lifeguard patrols being rolled out across the season at the six beaches they cover in the area, finishing their duties on 19 September.
During the season they carried out a number of important rescues and assisted scores of people – from first aid to finding missing children.
Preliminary figures show that the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot RNLI lifeguards attended 218 incidents in 2010. This was out of 992 incidents attended to by RNLI lifeguards in Wales in 2010.
Across the UK, RNLI lifeguards attended 12,911 incidents across 152 of the UK’s busiest beaches – a 16 per cent increase on the previous year.
Also, RNLI lifeboats were requested to launch across the UK 3,926 times during June, July and August, an average of 42 times every day, which is an increase of 68 per cent on the annual daily average. The charity’s 36-strong team of professionally trained lifeguards in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area provided beach safety information, first aid and advice on any potential hazards, as well as carrying out rescues throughout the peak summer months.
This season also saw the introduction of new lifeguard outfits provided by Helly Hansen and four lifeguards from the Swansea area – Nick Dowrick, Gareth Howarth, Emma Williams and Tom Burgess – receive the RNLI’s prestigious Alison Saunders award for a rescue they carried out at Langland Bay in 2009.
Significant rescues in a busy season included the medical assistance and airlift of a 14-year-old horse rider at Aberavon on 5 June, while Port Eynon lifeguards dealt with a serious accident on 23 May when a young woman was seriously injured after coming off a personal watercraft (PWC).
Aberavon lifeguards also responded to a female surfer with a suspected spinal injury at Aberavon Beach on 8 July, ensuring her speedy evacuation by RAF helicopter to a local hospital. The woman, aged 43, had suffered a freak accident when a breaking wave dumped her head first into hard sand under the water.
The lifeguards’ intervention was viewed by a large crowd who had gathered to see the Duke of Kent, president of the RNLI, visit Port Talbot lifeboat station.
As well as the rescues from the water, lifeguards in the area rescued teens who had become stranded on cliffs at Caswell, find missing children, dealing with a dog that had had a stroke at Aberavon, and assisted a great number of beach goers requiring first aid from weever fish stings to more serious head and spinal injuries.
One of the biggest operations of the summer was the extra cover provided by RNLI lifeguards for the Beach Break festival at Pembrey County Park at the end of June.
RNLI lifeguard activities away from the beaches saw success in the Welsh Surf Lifesaving Championships at Llangennith for a number of Swansea RNLI lifeguards and three members of the team – Sara Gwynn, Ben Parry and Richard Evans – selected for the Welsh surf lifesaving team.
Two lifeguards also enjoyed premier success at the Welsh national surfing championships, with Nick Dowrick and Beth Mason both winning their respective categories at the competition.
Swansea and Neath Port Talbot RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor Chris Vaughan summed up the season: ‘Our lifeguards take a high-profile role in ensuring the beaches they patrol are as safe as possible by pressing home our key safety messages and being pro-active on safety and prevention on the shores.
‘But none of this highly commendable work would be possible without a vast range of support that the lifeguards have throughout the season: From the council staff to backroom RNLI staff, such as our technicians who make sure the equipment is always functioning properly, to the array of shop owners who help lifeguards in their units every day with providing essentials like water when needed.
‘We are grateful, as always to the Coastguard, RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews, surf lifesaving clubs, and other agencies that we work alongside throughout the season to provide a professional service that helps save lives from the shoreline to out at sea.’
Councillor Graham Thomas, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: ‘Swansea’s coastline is one of the city’s most treasured assets but we have a responsibility to make sure the beach-going experience is both safe and enjoyable.
‘Joining forces with the RNLI to staff our beaches over the busy tourist season means we’ve been able to tap into their expertise and all their hard work over the summer shows we’re in safe hands. ‘It’s still crucial though that people show basic water safety commonsense when they visit our beaches and to always remember to treat the sea with respect.’
As the lifeguarding season draws to a close, the RNLI is offering some key beach safety advice to help people keep themselves safe at the beach:
- Find out about your chosen beach before you visit
- Check weather and tide times before you go
- Follow the advice on safety signs at the beach entrance, which highlights hazards specific to the area
- If you get in trouble, stick your hand in the air and call for help · If you see someone else in trouble, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard but don’t attempt a rescue yourself.
