Surf lifesavers kick-start new season on Bennetts Beach Myall Coast Myall Coast - popup ad Myall Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - October 2, 2024October 2, 2024 Volunteer lifesavers with the new ATV leased from Kentan at Karuah (L-R): Wayne, Phil, Dom, Carolyn, Annie, Jackie. SURF was way up for the wild and windy start to the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Surf Life Saving Club season, with volunteers gathering at Bennetts Beach on Saturday, 28 September. “This season we have a slight change in hours,” explained Club Captain Wayne Bower. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au “SLSC volunteers will be on the beach Saturdays 10am-4pm (instead of 10-2), and Sunday 9am-3pm (instead of 9-5).” “The total hours of local volunteer SLSC duties on the beach have remained the same, but the times have been optimised to suit the needs of the local community, based on statistics from previous seasons. “We aim to balance demand on the beach, and Sunday mornings for the Nippers groups.” The TGHN Club proposed the changes to Surf Life Saving NSW and to MidCoast Council, which employs lifeguards in-season on weekdays. “The Bennetts Beach peak usage period is generally from 21 December to 23 February, right over the summer holidays, and our volunteers are out on weekends and Public Holidays, too.”. The first day of September school holidays saw a handful of determined holidaymakers tempt fate, while the local volunteers kept an eye from the shore. “We have waves between 1.5m and 2m high, and two rips – one either side of the flagged area – and just have to make sure those who do swim stay between the flags,” Lifeguard Jackie Bower said. The local UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) team was out and attempting to survey the seas, but the high winds, upwards of 40 kph, made it difficult to launch. The UAVs will be in action every weekend over summer from 9am and every day in the school holidays. Club members also took an RSA course to bolster the volunteer-run bar upstairs. It’s a subsidised course and another perk of joining. Several more new and returning club members undertook radio, SRC and Bronze Medallion training nearby. “Last week, seventeen new members completed their radio operations training, which is the minimum to go out on patrol,” Wayne said. The MobiMats were rolled out again last weekend by three general maintenance volunteers. This increases accessibility to the main beach area, and will stay out until the end of the season. By Thomas O’KEEFE Wild and windy weather would not deter some diehard beachgoers, many appreciating the rollout of the MobiMats again.
