Recent deaths prompt calls for return of lifeguards
In a good year, former lifeguard Doug Palfrey and his colleagues would rescue as few as eight people from particularly dangerous waters off Long Beach in B.C.’s Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
A bad year could yield 30 rescues near Lovekin Rock, the site where Ann Wittenberg, a 52-year-old Ottawa woman, drowned Sunday on her daughter’s wedding day, Palfrey said. It is the same spot Nijin John, a 27-year-old Indian man, died while surfing in February.
The two deaths in 2018 have locals like Palfrey calling for the reinstatement of the Long Beach lifeguard tower that Parks Canada toppled during a round of budget cuts in 2012.
In Palfrey’s 36 seasons of lifeguarding at the park, he saw the number of surfers swell from about a dozen people in total to hundreds of locals and visitors each day. He recalled being shocked when he was called in to the office and told the government was killing the Surf Guard program.
“We all knew. All the guards knew that there were going to be drownings,” Palfrey said. “The public are not protected as they should be.”
The Long Beach lifeguard tower stood near Lovekin Rock, directly in front of the steady rip that plagues the location. It was equipped with a rescue vehicle, jet ski, rescue surfboards and first aid gear, and was staffed and equipped as well as surf beaches Palfrey said he has visited in developing countries like Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Now in place of the lifeguards and rescue gear are bilingual signs that warn visitors about dangerous currents, and specifically those that flow around Lovekin Rock.
Parks Canada did not meet a request for comment.
Victoria Emon had been preparing for her wedding ceremony at Wickaninnish Inn’s Shell Beach on Sunday when her mom, Wittenberg, and sister Rachel went to Long Beach. “She was just so excited to go surfing,” said Emon in a telephone interview Monday night. “They were just floating on a surfboard, and talking. They were just talking. Then the current came and got her.”
Wittenberg was pulled into the water, but Rachel managed to stay on the board and called for help. Several people rushed to their aid.
“They got my mom out of the water. They did CPR and the paramedics came and took her to hospital. But she didn’t make it,” said Emon, her voice dissolving into sobs.
Surfers — aside from big-wave professionals — tend not to use personal flotation devices because they restrict movement, said Raph Bianchini, a lifelong surfer who works at Westside Surf. But thick wetsuits like those worn in B.C. waters are relatively buoyant.
Bianchini said he tends not to tell beginner surfers to go to Long Beach. Other beaches nearby are more learner friendly, he said. “Stay within your limits.”
Bianchini said one of the first things Westside teachers tell people is to go out in the water with a friend and make sure their surfboard leash is firmly attached.
Bill Fend is the owner of Long Beach Surf Shop, where Wittenberg rented her board.
Fend said when his shop rents boards to customers, staff members deliver a standard set of warnings.
He said surfing is not a terribly dangerous sport — despite this year’s deaths — but he said he would recommend anyone new to the sport or to ocean waters and currents start with lessons.
“Even if you’re a strong swimmer, there’s elements that you wouldn’t intuitively know,” Fend said.
It takes around 20 minutes for emergency response to Long Beach, though locals in the water typically respond much faster, he said.
“People were there immediately trying to help,” Fend said. “It’s just sad that it happened.”
When asked about lifeguards at Long Beach, Fend said he felt that given the tragic incident, now was not the appropriate time for him to “stir the hornet’s nest” on the issue.
“But I can tell you in September you can call me and I will be one of the guys leading the charge wanting them back,” he said.