FLAGS GO UP AS SURF PATROLS BEGIN
SURF lifesaver volunteers will be back on the Far North’s beaches again from Saturday to raise the red and yellow flags for the first time this year.
Volunteers will be at Port Douglas, Ellis Beach, Palm Cove, Etty Bay and Mission Beach every weekend from now until the last weekend of November.
Ellen Cox from the Ellis Beach Surf Club said it was exciting to be back.
“Instead of having one lifeguard, you will now have a patrol of five to 10 people, and we are able to get out a bit more and rove up and down the beach,” Ms Cox said.
“We are all highly trained at first aid, and do fitness challenges. It is a great way to stay fit.”
Ms Cox said the volunteers being back was a great way to keep people safe but also a way of getting the community together.
“It engages people from
all walks of life. The older generation on patrol right down to people aged 15,” she said.
“It touches upon so many different parts of the community.”
Ms Cox said she urged people to continue swimming within the stinger net enclosures even with extra people patrolling.
“At the moment we advise to swim within the nets and still wear a stinger suit for the best protections,” she said.