Warrington Surf Life Saving Club Takes Home 3rd Place for Swift Preventative Action

Press release

May 18, 2021

Warrington Surf Life Saving Club Takes Home 3^rd Place for Swift Preventative Action

bp Rescue of the Month March 2021

Surf Lifeguards at Warrington Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) had just finished conducting a first aid on the beach when a member of the public alerted them to several people attempting to cross a section of Blueskin Bay from an island in the middle.

It was mid-March and the weather was a brisk 14 degrees. The section of water that the group of nine people was attempting to cross contained a 4m-deep channel. Surf Lifeguards could see members of the group using kayaks and stand up paddle boards to transport their packs, wading alongside them as they moved closer to the deep water channel.

Strong winds were making it difficult for the group to maintain control of the vessels and, with an outgoing tide, they were quickly becoming tired.

The Warrington SLSC Surf Lifeguards deployed an inflatable rescue boat (IRB) and assisted one adult and eight children across the channel and back to dry ground.

Blueskin Bay is connected to Warrington Beach via an estuary at the south and and is largely hidden from Surf Lifeguards’ view while on patrol. It was lucky that a member of the public spotted the group in trouble and alerted Surf Lifeguards, who in turn responded quickly and avoided an almost inevitable disaster.

bp Head of Country NZ, Matt Elliott says bp is “incredibly proud” to have partnered with Surf Life Saving New Zealand for more than 50 years.

“Since 1968, bp has been proud to stand behind Surf Life Saving New Zealand and its Surf Lifeguards, who consistently put their amazing skills into action to keep us all safer at our beaches.”

As the third-place recipient of bp Rescue of the Month, Warrington Surf Life Saving Club will be recognised with $200-worth of bp gift vouchers.

REMEMBER BEACH BASICS

• Surf Lifeguards are not on patrol during this time of the year. If you see someone in trouble at the beach, CALL 111 & ASK FOR THE POLICE. They have a direct line to both Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard.

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About SLSNZ

SLSNZ is the national association representing 74 surf lifesaving clubs with 18,000+ members, including more than 4,500 volunteer Surf Lifeguards. Our lifeguards patrol over 90 locations each summer saving hundreds of lives each year and ensuring thousands return home safe after a day at the beach. Our volunteer search and rescue squads provide emergency call-out rescue services throughout the year across Aotearoa.

We do all this as a charity and rely on the generosity of the public, commercial partners, foundations and trusts for donations and financial contributions in order to lead and support our incredible front-line volunteer lifeguarding services.

For more information, please email:
media@surflifesaving.org.nz

Or Phone:
021 757 433