Letter Of The Month: Mighty Marty Is Our Saviour

By The Horse on March 23, 2011 in Other

Dear Marty from Bronte (Letters, The Beast, March 2011), it gives me a great feeling of warmth to know recreational surfers such as yourself feel so strongly about surf lifesaving and rescuing unsuspecting punters well after the beach has been shut for the day.

So much warmth do I get from your concern about the volunteers and professional lifeguards having the audacity to leave the beach before every last swimmer is out of the water, that I’m putting your name forward to head the new 24/7 Surf Patrol Squad.

Your duty will be to man the spotlights when the sun goes down and be on full alert until the lifeguards reappear the next morning.

Volunteer lifesavers are exactly that – volunteers. We don’t have to give up our own time to learn the latest methods to save people’s lives. We don’t have to give up our own time to sometimes risk our own lives in the performance of our duty and work together with the professional lifeguards.

We don’t have to, but we do. Your naivety stands out like a pimple on a dog’s bum when you mention the lifesavers at North Bondi “thinking they are saving the planet and providing some huge service”.

Well, for your information, they do provide a “huge service” as does every other volunteer around the county.

Just because there is only a small wave doesn’t mean people won’t get into difficulty.

We should really take your suggestion on board and send these ‘loafers’ to another location because it is bigger.
The APOLA professional lifeguards do an outstanding job

and are on duty from around 6 in the morning to well after 7 at night, but I suppose that just isn’t good enough for you, is it? How dare they even think about having a social life when so many idiots are still floundering in the waves long after the flags have been taken down?

I really think it is about time people took responsibility for their own actions and not have to depend on others to get them out of trouble.

There has been enough publicity in the media in the past about foolish people getting out of their depth in potentially dangerous situations and especially on unpatrolled beaches. Anyone with any common sense at all should know it is dangerous to swim in the late afternoon or evening, just ask Glenn Orgias, who was attacked by a shark at Bondi in 2009.

Or was that the fault of the lifesavers and lifeguards for not being diligent enough to be on duty well after hours?

There are plenty of ocean pools and safe rock pools where people can get relief from scorching hot summer days and balmy nights. If people are inexperienced in the surf they shouldn’t go anywhere near it when the beach is unpatrolled.

The best way to gain the experience is to learn surf awareness or sign up with a local surf club and do a bronze medallion course and learn about surf survival.

Either that or join your 24/7 Surf Patrol Squad. I’m sure you can point them in the right direction, Marty.