SURF’S BRAVE NEW WORLD

A DRAMATIC rescue in dangerous conditions at Lennox Head yesterday has shown the world the future of surf lifesaving.

Unfortunately, Gold Coast lifesavers and city officials are coy about supporting new technology.

A state-of-the-art drone, which until now has also been part of a NSW lifesaving trial in tandem with drone technology company Little Ripper to keep watch for sharks, was launched yesterday to search for two swimmers who were in trouble.

When the operator saw the pair on his screen, with images beamed from the drone’s camera, he was able to drop an inflatable tube that kept them afloat as big surf pushed them towards shore. The rescue proved the worth of the technology, firstly in the speed of the operation and in demonstrating how clear the real-time images from the camera were in allowing the land-based pilot to guide the drone.

The rescue also demonstrated why the technology should be embraced all the way along our coastline, even on the Gold Coast with its shark nets and patrolled beaches.

The swimmers were found, had grabbed the float and were on their way to safety well before lifeguards could have driven to the area to start scanning the surf for two people in trouble. As such, the technology is surely an essential additional tool for lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers.

The potential to use the drones to monitor isolated stretches of beach, search for lost children, pursue petty thieves and inspect erosion after storms is enormous.

However the incident also demonstrated why “old’’ methods remain critical in protecting lives. The swimmers were a kilometre north of the patrolled area, well beyond the safety zone of the flagged area that is monitored by lifeguards.

Yes, they were saved by drone technology, but not because aerial patrols are of such frequency that they knew a drone would be over them anyway. Lives could have been lost if someone had not spotted them from the beach, and if that spotter had not had a mobile phone handy.

The old mantra of “swim between the flags’’ has not lost its currency.