Flags mark the safest place to swim

Labour Weekend marked the beginning of the surf life saving season and life guards are urging beachgoers to swim between the flags.

Last summer was one of the worst in many years, with 19 beach drownings nationwide, up 36 per cent on the previous year, and the highest toll since 2011.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand chief executive Paul Dalton says it’s disappointing to see the increasing drowning rates, but one statistic remains the same year on year - zero drownings between the flags.

‘‘While we may sound like a broken record, there is a very important reason why we urge people to choose a patrolled beach and swim between the flags. The fact is, it is always the safest place to swim.

‘‘Lifeguards will always assess the beach conditions and put the flags in the safest place and move them about as conditions change throughout the day,’’ Dalton said.

Over the 2016/17 summer season, surf lifeguards around the country rescued 612 people from life-threatening situations and assisted another 1,184 back to safety.

This included six rescues and 42 assists at Orewa beach, two rescues and eight assists at Omaha, and 25 people assisted to safety at Red Beach.

On top of rescues, lifeguards at the three beaches were involved in 18 major first aid incidents, 171 minor ones, 20 searches, and 2431 preventative actions for nearly

‘‘Don't be fooled by calm patches which are a sure sign of a rip being present.’’ Surf Life Saving New Zealand chief executive Paul Dalton

10,000 people after identifying potentially dangerous situations.

Dalton says there are two important risks that people need to keep in mind when heading to the beach this summer.

‘‘So often, the people we are rescuing have overestimated their ability and underestimated the risk and before they know it, they are in trouble.

‘‘Take a moment to stop and think before entering the water and if in doubt, stay out,’’ Dalton said.

Rips are also a major problem along our coastlines and every year around 80 percent of rescues are the result of someone getting caught in one.

‘‘Don’t be fooled by calm patches which are a sure sign of a rip being present,’’ Dalton said.

For more information about Surf Life Saving and to find patrol locations go to surflifesaving.org.nz.

The red and yellow flags have gone up at beaches and Surf Life Saving New Zealand is encouraging people to swim between them.