Surf Life Saving New Zealand welcomes the country’s newest club, Surf Life Saving Baylys Beach

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is delighted to welcome Surf Life Saving Baylys Beach, the latest addition to the many surf lifesaving clubs across the country.

The new club, at 52 Sea View Road, has been launched in time for the holiday season. At the same time, an Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) from bp was also formally donated to the club.

There has been a pressing need for a dedicated surf lifesaving club at Baylys Beach, as tragically, several fatalities have occurred here in recent years. This year a busy summer is expected at Baylys Beach, with many New Zealanders set to head away for the holidays, some who may be unfamiliar with the risks the beach presents.Last year Curtis Gaylor, Chair of Surf Life Saving Baylys Beach, attempted to rescue a mother who tragically drowned at Baylys Beach while saving her child. He brought her back to the beach and started CPR, but sadly she could not be resuscitated.

Curtis says, “Last year’s drowning was devastating for the family and hit the Baylys’ community hard. This tragic event clearly shows the real need for a dedicated surf lifesaving club here. We’re delighted to now be open, so our lifeguards can help keep the local community and visitors to the beach safe.”We’re incredibly appreciative of the generous donation made by the Bill Hyland Community Centre Trust and would like to thank Grant Hyland from the Trust for helping make the joint clubhouse and community centre a reality.”

The $1.7 million clubhouse is about 15 minutes from Dargaville. Called the Bill Hyland Community Centre and Surf Life Saving Facilities, it is named after the grandfather of a major donor who provided funding to start building the joint facility back in 2016.
The IRB from bp is the most recent demonstration of the company’s long-standing support for Surf Life Saving. The boat will enable lifeguards to quickly respond to rescues, even in dangerous conditions and conduct training exercises. Kyran Gillespie, Club Captain and Search & Rescue Officer at Surf Life Saving Baylys Beach, says: “We’re hugely grateful to bp for their IRB donation, which means the club will be very fortunate to have two IRBs.”

As a new club, we don’t have the funding to purchase a second boat. Now we can carry out IRB training exercises to upskill our team while the second IRB is still available for rescues. This is an amazing gift which will help us carry out our role of lifeguarding at Baylys Beach.”