Despite lifeguards having to perform a larger number of rescues this summer than last summer, Mid Coast lifeguard supervisor Warren Keegan believes it was a fairly good holiday season on the region's beaches.
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Across eight patrolled beaches along the Mid Coast, lifeguards performed 35 rescues between December 23 and January 27, compared to just 25 for the same period in 2018/2019.
Mr Keegan attributed the increase to stronger swells and poor sandbank conditions at a number of popular beaches.
"Most of our rescues occurred at One Mile and Main Beach," he said.
"One Mile in particular was quite hazardous at times."
Lifeguards were required to perform a triple rescue at One Mile earlier in the month, while at the southern end of Boomerang Beach two near-drownings occurred when swimmers got into trouble after choosing to swim at an unpatrolled location.
Apart from these incidents, Mr Keegan said the majority of rescues were minor in nature, with lifeguards generally responding to swimmers who had got into trouble close to shore or just outside the flags.
In addition to rescues, lifeguards provided first aid on 109 occasions, responding to dislocations, cuts, minor medical situations and marine stings.
They also took 2,500 preventative actions.
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On the shark front, Mr Keegan said there was a significant decrease in sightings, with approximately two-and-a-half hours of shark closures occurring this year compared to 14 hours last year.
There were also a lot less bluebottles.
Mr Keegan said overall the Mid Coast experienced more pleasant beach conditions this summer than last summer, owing to the fact there wasn't a continuous run of strong north-easterly winds.
In terms of numbers, Elizabeth Beach attracted the largest crowds, with approximately 2,300 people visiting the beach on January 14.
"Elizabeth had pretty safe surf conditions across the holidays," Mr Keegan said.
"Boomerang as well. They had good numbers."
Overall, lifeguards were impressed with the conduct of beachgoers, with most people choosing to swim between the flags and follow instructions.
Weekday patrols have now finished at all Mid Coast beaches, while volunteer lifesavers will continue to patrol of a weekend at Elizabeth Beach, One Mile Beach, Forster Main Beach, Black Head Beach, Old Bar Beach and Crowdy Bay Beach.
Professional lifeguards will resume weekday patrols at Forster Main Beach, One Mile Beach, Elizabeth Beach and Boomerang Beach during the Easter holidays, starting April 10.
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