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Surf Life Saving Northern Region Weekend Summary 27/28 February
Surf Life Guards in the Northern Region continued to have a busy weekend on patrol despite Auckland moving to Alert Level 3 on Sunday morning.
Search and Rescue supervisor John-Michael Swannix recommends Aucklanders remain at home during Covid Alert Level 3.
“If you do go to the beach to swim or surf it’s vital you assess the conditions and stay within your abilities.”
Last time Auckland was in Alert Level 3 Surf Lifeguards rescued a surfer who had written HELP in the sand after getting badly injured at a remote beach on the West Coast.
“What others can learn from that incident is that you always need a back-up plan - someone with you or watching from the shore who can call for help in case you get into trouble.”
“Surf Life Saving Northern has 17 Emergency Callout Squads from Ahipara to Raglan who’re available 24/7 to respond to these sorts of incidents. Just call 111 and ask Police for the Surf Lifeguards.”
Muriwai and Piha are running weekday patrols this week, with lifeguards practicing social distancing and hygiene practises.
“While we will
have flags up on some Auckland beaches over the coming days
- we want to ensure our lifeguards are kept safe and that
their interaction with members of the public is limited. For
that reason we’re asking people to stay at home until the
lockdown is lifted.”
Saturday 27 February
It was a fairly busy day on Saturday, with some good conditions attracting solid numbers in Northland, and the Auckland West Coast.
Piha rescued one swimmer in distress that was swept off their feet and sucked into the hole just south of Lion Rock and completed three assists of swimmer who had lost their footing and were picked up by the IRB in the hole.
Sunset assisted two children who were swimming in the flags and went out of their depth and got swept out into a hole. The Lifeguards on flags responded quickly with tubes, with one swimming out and the other assisting from the shallows.
Muriwai assisted two boogie-boarders who had got slightly out of their depth, they were clipped up in tubes and helped to find their footing.
Piha also had a major first-aid after hours. A surfer came off their board in the shallows and hit their head. Piha guards remained for several hours after patrol to look after the patient whilst waiting for an Ambulance to arrive.
Statistics 27/02
| No. of people rescued | 1 |
| No. of people assisted | 6 |
| No. of major first aids | 0 |
| No. of minor first aids | 6 |
| No. of searches | 0 |
| No. of preventatives | 133 |
| No. of number involved | 806 |
| No. of peak head count | 3530 |
| No. of hours worked | 1251.5 |
Sunday 28 February
Sunday was a quieter day around the region as Aucklanders move back into Level 3 Covid restrictions.
Muriwai had the peak headcount of the day, with 950 people, and completed one assist. Bethells beach and Untied also each had one minor first-aid today.
Kariaotahi had one disturbance with multiple motorbikes on the beach, however they left shortly after.
Around the region lifeguards also did a total of 68 preventatives and volunteered 802 hours.
Statistics 28/02
| No. of people rescued | 0 |
| No. of people assisted | 1 |
| No. of major first aids | 0 |
| No. of minor first aids | 2 |
| No. of searches | 0 |
| No. of preventatives | 68 |
| No. of number involved | 581 |
| No. of peak head count | 3337 |
| No. of hours worked | 802 |
| No. of closing time | 0 |
Weekend statistics 27/28 February
| No. of people rescued | 1 |
| No. of people assisted | 7 |
| No. of major first aids | 0 |
| No. of minor first aids | 8 |
| No. of searches | 0 |
| No. of preventatives | 201 |
| No. of number involved | 1387 |
| No. of peak head count | 6867 |
| No. of hours worked | 2053.5 |
| No. of closing time | 0 |
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