SURF=BATHING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1286, 15 November 1911, Page 9

SURF=BATHING.

4 A3 PRACTISED ON SYDNEY'S BEACHES. (Bv Sylvius.) Surf bathing, as distinct from swimming, paddling, and the "morning dip,, had, as far as this part of the world is concerned, its origin on tho creamy beaches of Sydney's many ocean strands. Ten years ago it was practically unknown. Not that tho people did not bathe then-far from that. Sydney people have always been fairly keen in the water, a water which is lukewarm compared with that one ;:e's at Lyall or Island Bays. On the warmest of midsummer days in Wellington there is always a bito of the Antarctic in the waters which lap our dull-brown benches, but on Sydney-side, where surf Ixithin/j .is as popular as horse-Taring, the sport is indulged in waves which have the chill taken off them by a semi-tropical, at times wholly tropical, sun, and where one might stav iu the water for twenty minutes or so, here, there they frolic m aours, and never feel any ill-effects—)f they succeed in dodging sunstroke and the numerous families of "grey ladies who occasionally ventirre in close to the outer line of breakers. Surfing at Manly is a lazv lovelv. and luxuriant pastime, not tho" bracing, vigorous exercise it is at Lyall Bay, and the sun-bath in the process of which the bathers toast themselves in the hot golden sands, until the exposed parts become as brown as the skin of a half-caste Maori, is almost inseparable from surfing—when time and the hour permit. I have walked among a small army of bathers and spectators (drowsinu' for the most part in penny chairs), and have seen more tban one bather attired in the Canadian costume fast asleep on the .'■and, entirelv oblivious to the orowu and his surroundings. This would be an unusual sight as Lyall Boy—it is not even commented on at Manly. So long as a bather is attired from neck to. knee he is just as free to do anything he pleases as if he wore a frock coat and top hat. Surfing has its dangers, apart from those noted above. In four or five thousand bathers there are always those who want to do something the others are not doing; there are always a few who want to venture beyond the limits of safety, bevond the line of the outermost breaker. Most often is is a strong swimmer, who wishes to have a long swim out of reach of the broken water, and again it i<: sometimes tho foolish foolhardy person who overestimates his strength and capacity. A watchful eve is usually kept on the ventu;cMine bv the professional life-saver, and at the first signs of distress the reel is run out, the "saver" gets into the loop at the end of the line, ho runs at top •;ed as far as the water will allow him, and then with long, vigorous strokes cleaves his way through the smiling blue to the distressed one. At such a moment all is excitement on tho beach—everyone wakes up. The bathers come ashore fancying it is a shark scare, and tho members of the Life-saving Club station themselves at intervals alone the line, ieiping to pay it out and keep the drag of it from hampering the "saver." Another manages tho little winch, keeps the line from fouling and the crowd dear of the rope. The male spectators shade .heir eves, the women hold their breath. "Will ho reach him in time?" someone gasps, half-hysterically. "Yes; li 6's got him on his back—steady there!" And slowly the lino is wound in, billed gently 'shoreward* h- the team operating. There is no hurry—to pull iu fast would )>c fatal. It would pull both rescued and rescuer under the water. "Now the breakers help—wind un there 1" lere is a whirl as a big length of tho line is drawn in as the result of the liftanil send of the breaker. The time seems an cternitv—in reality it is but n few minutes. At length tho "favor" .reaches tho first linesman, who gives relief, and soon they reach shallow water, and the warm, comforting sand. The distressed one is laid out, the water is emptied out of him, "first aid to the partially drowned" is applied, and to the relief ,of tho throng the man commences to breathe, uid in a few seconds is beinK helped, ,; lim'p'.'ft'nd half-dazed, to the bathing .shed. SucVincidents are not common, out on tho other hand they are not so very rare. If such accidents, are possible in the lukewarm waters which lap tho land's lip over Svdney way, they are even more possible at Lyall Bay, where ■ thero is far more probability of surfers bcimr attacked with cramp. That is why tho surf clubs, recently formed, are:deserving of every support. One thine I noted at Manly the other day which might bo adopted at Lyall Bay. White posts are erected at a distance of about 100 vards, and there is a notice warning bathers to keep between them when in the water, on account of the danger from the undertow, which is mild compared with the undertow in certain parts of the Lyall Bav beach. I am afraid the undertow is a shifting element at Lvall Bay. but even so, posts should bo erected to mark the safe spots, and shifted when found necessary by the custodian. of the beach. With the holiay season at hand and the possibility of surf bathing becoming more popular than ever, nothing sVnild b? left undone o prevent any of those "holiday fatalities," which are mostly caused through lack of a little foresight.