Christchurch lifeguards 'very busy' as big waves catch out swimmers, surfers

Rachel Macdonald

Dozens have been rescued from the big surf at Taylors Mistake beach.

Strong swimmers are running into strife by underestimating conditions at Christchurch beaches, a senior lifeguard warns.

Surf Lifesaving Southern club development officer Henry Lawson says big surf at Taylors Mistake has caught out even normally "self-sufficient" surfers.

One, unable to make it back to shore, was brought in by an IRB rescue boat.

"He recognised he was in a situation he couldn't manage.

"Conditions were dangerous, with surf of over 1.5 metres funnelling into that confined area. He caught the attention of lifeguards.

"Generally, surfers are self-sufficient, so this meant he was in a terrible situation, " Lawson says.

"Most people are under-estimating surf conditions. They can be really good swimmers, but not taking account of drift and water movement."

That surfer figured in the 39 rescues to date this season.

View original post here:

Christchurch lifeguards 'very busy' as big waves catch out swimmers, surfers

Related Posts

Comments are closed.