Beaches quiet near Christchurch

Press, 26 December 1986, Page 4

Beaches quiet near Christchurch

Christchurch beaches were quiet yesterday as most people spent the day recovering from Christmas dinners. No rescues were made by any of the voluntary lifeguards patrolling the beaches yesterday, said the co-ordinator of the Canterbury Surf Life-sav-ing Association’s lifeguard squad, Mr Geoff Barry. Few people were swimming, as most were probably too full, he said. Sumner, Taylors Mistake, and New Brighton beaches continued to be the most dangerous. Swimmers needed to be wary of the many rips and holes.

The north-westerly conditions had made the rips worse, said Mr Barry. Swimming with inflatable tubes or rafts was particularly dangerous, because people could be blown out to sea, he said.

Swimming within the flags was still the most important rule to obey.

The rip at Taylors Mistake was particularly bad and at Sumner the rip was accentuated by a hole near the rocks round Cave Rock, said Mr Barry.

A man was drowned after getting into difficulty in the hole only two weeks ago, he said. The Estuary was also dangerous when the tide was going out, as the water flowed fast and strong near Shag Rock and down the beach to Cave Rock, before flowing out to sea.

The number of rips and currents at Spencer Park and Woodend beaches depended on the wind each day.

“Generally, the bigger the surf the bigger the rip,” said Mr Barry.

More families seemed to use Woodend Beach, and the parents who swam there seemed to look after their children “quite well” but more lifeguards were needed at Spencer Park, where the

swimmers tended more to be “young adults," he said.

Mr Barry advised people to be wary of anything unusual in wave patterns before entering the water.

The way a wave broke could warn of hidden dangers.

A channel was often evident at mid-tide, or if a wave broke out to sea and then went flat.

Rips were likely where there was a regular gap in the line of breakers, where the water was either calm or choppy.

Alcohol had not been much of a problem so far, although “the odd group” had wandered into the surf at New Brighton, said Mr Barry. “You can’t really stop those people going in,” he said.

Mr Barry also advised parents to keep a close watch on their children between the flags.