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So, you want to go swimming on the beach aye?
The Gold Coast City Council is active about the promotion of beach and water safety for both tourists and locals alike. As a result, they have employed the largest professional lifeguard service in Australia.
This lifeguard service helps to protect our beaches and promote surf safety education.
Surf safety education includes the placement of signs on most of the popular beaches on the Gold Coast. It is difficult to go for a swim without walking past one of these signs.
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| Gold Coast City Council Beach Safety Sign at Main Beach |
Not all Beach Safety Signs are the same.
There may be certain beach-specific signs that contain different messages from other signs. These signs may look similar to one another but may contain different information.
Not all Beach Signs are about safety.
These signs not only contain information about safe swimming, but can also contain other rules which have nothing to do with swimming.
For this reason, it is always a good idea to read each sign before entering a beach.
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| Beach Safety Flags |
A few Beach Safety Tips:
So let's all get familiar with beach safety. Even those of us that think we know about beach safety should re-read the signs in order to burn the concepts into our being.
Let's not forget or disregard the rules.
Example: If assistance in the water is required, raise one arm for help. This tip is most useful if we are swimming on a patrolled beach.
Another example: Another rule states that we should not enter the water while under the influence of alcohol. Remember that one can still be under the influence the next morning after a night on the town.
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| Portion of a Beach Safety Sign - Surfers Paradise |
Failing to observe the beach safety rules can result in serious injury or death.
Scary aye?
There has been a few deaths on Gold Coast Beaches, so it is important that all who intend to go for a dip, get familiar with beach safety instructions.
After travel and accommodation has been arranged, it would be a good idea to get familiar with the Beach Safety Rules then review the rules again before hopping into the water.
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| Safe Swimming Area at Rainbow Bay - Cooloongatta |
No Deaths between the Red and Yellow Flags
There are some interesting statistics about beach deaths last year.
Men lead the death toll
No one drowned between the Red and Yellow Flags patrolled by surf lifesavers
Most drowning victims resided between 10km and 50km from the coast
Conclusion: Most deaths are not international tourists, so let's not get complacent.
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