Just under 130 surf clubs across NSW commenced the 2016/17 patrol season on Saturday (September 24), including six clubs from Crowdy Head down to Pacific Palms, who kicked off the season at 9am with a ceremonial Raising of the Flags.
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Forster Surf Life Saving Club celebrated with an official event attended by Patrol 1 members, Surf Lifesaving Lower North Coast Branch president Brian Wilcox, director of lifesaving Nathan DeRoy and Jenni Goldsmith from major sponsor of Surf Lifesaving, Newcastle Permanent.
The clubs in our area will be patrolling weekends and public holidays from now until April 25, 2017.They will be on the beaches from 9am to 1pm on weekends outside of holiday periods and from 9am to 5pm during school holidays and public holidays, including Christmas day with a reduced patrol of 10am to 3pm.
All members are volunteers and put many hours in on the beach to provide a safe swimming area, so it is really important to encourage people to swim at patrolled beaches wherever you may be on the coast, so that should you get into trouble lifesavers can help you.
The opening of the patrol season ended with a shark attack further north in Ballina on Monday morning, when a 17-year-old surfer was pulled out of the water at Lighthouse Beach by fellow surfers after he was mauled by a shark. Police reported the teenage surfer suffered a single bite wound to his hip and was taken to Lismore Base Hospital in a stable condition. Beaches were closed for the rest of the day.
Surf Lifesaving recently released a new App. for mobile phones called Beachsafe, which is available for android and apple users. This app will provide up to date information about beaches including whether they are patrolled, the hazards, weather, swell, tides, and a brief description of the beach. It’s hoped it may assist people to make better decisions about where it is safe to swim with family and friends.
Alternatively, chat to lifesavers to learn about the conditions as they are always happy to help.
If anyone gets into trouble along the coast at beaches and fishing spots, it’s important to call 000 and ask for the Police so that Surf Lifesaving emergency teams can be activated to that location and help assist those in distress.