This is the last week of Council-funded lifeguards at Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Pāpāmoa with the service going back to weekend volunteer patrols from Saturday, says Eastern Region Surf Lifesaving manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell.

He says they are getting reports of people swimming outside the flagged areas, with lifeguards kept very busy doing 'lots of preventatives”, talking with those swimmers.

'A lot of people come to the beach in the morning, generally it's quieter in the afternoon, and then from 3pm onwards it gets busier,” says Chaz.

Because of this, the lifeguard service made a call on Tuesday to start an hour earlier for the remainder of this week, with their patrols at Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Pāpāmoa now running from 11am – 7pm.

From this weekend, six surf lifeguard patrols at Whangamata, Waihī Beach, Hot Water Beach, Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Pāpāmoa will continue through to Easter with patrol times running from 11am – 5pm on weekends only.

Female in distress

'We had a call out on Tuesday afternoon. There was a female in distress in the water about 1km south of Omanu towards Pāpāmoa, about 50-60m off shore,” says Chaz.

'Luckily they were able to get out unscathed. Members of the public called police.”

Chaz says an in-shore trough runs along the coast between Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa which swimmers may not be aware of.

'It's a deeper part of the beach where water is channelled and escapes back out to sea; people are getting stuck in there. They make it out to the sandbank but then get caught coming back in, especially when the tide is turning. The water is moving a lot faster in these troughs and has the ability to pull swimmers into nearby rip currents.”

'Police let us know of the female in distress and headed to the scene but lifeguards couldn't find anyone in the water.”

Police also initially couldn't find the person who had called it in. And they couldn't see anyone in the water struggling.

Swim between the flags. Photo: SLSNZ.

'Props to this person who saw the person in trouble and then immediately phoned police. They didn't keep eyes on the swimmer and then left the beach, so police had to follow up with them,” says Chaz.

'Please come swim between the flags while they're there during the week. It's a massive coast and we have small teams on at the moment.

'When Council-funded lifeguards finish, we will be relying on our volunteer emergency call out squads to respond to any in-water incidents outside of patrol times. It's important if people see someone in trouble in the water that they phone 111 and ask for police, do not leave the beach, and continue to keep eyes on the person until help arrives.”

Man found floating face down at Pāpāmoa beach on Monday

Chaz says the man found floating face down in the sea on Monday was noticed by members of the public who were swimming about 1.2 km east of Pāpāmoa between Harrison's Cut and the Tasman Holiday Park.

'They noticed the man floating and brought him to shore to start CPR. An off-duty surf lifesaver who was on the beach walking their dog saw them and started to help,” says Chaz.

Emergency services were called to the incident with police and the fire service there within minutes with equipment but couldn't help the man who was in his 40s or 50s. The man died at the scene.

Chaz reiterates the message that people should never swim or surf alone, but make sure they have someone else with them.

'It always pays to be prepared and have a flotation device with you or at the very least wear a pair of surf fins to help you get out of strong currents.”

The weekend ahead

Visitors to Tauranga and locals are enjoying the warm sunny weather.

'It's a beautiful week,” says Chaz. '‘The surf is starting to build which will be good for the Oceans ‘23 competition at Mount Maunganui which starts on Thursday through to Sunday.”

The Oceans ‘23 Festival of Junior Surf Lifesaving is for 10 -14 year olds from around New Zealand and will be held at Mount Main Beach from February 23-26.

Around 700 junior SLSNZ members, and their families and friends, are expected to descend on Mount Maunganui.

The four-day festival aims to provide an opportunity for junior members to challenge themselves and celebrate the camaraderie of surf lifesaving in a fun, exciting, and safe beach and surf environment.

Oceans '17. Photo: Alana McIsaac.

"Oceans is an event that our junior members, our future lifeguards, aspire to attend and plays an important role in retaining and growing membership for clubs and the Surf Lifesaving movement," says SLSNZ's national sports manager Lewis McClintock.

'We are stoked to be hosting it,” says Chaz. 'Clubs from Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Auckland are coming. It's going to bring a bit of normality for them all after the storms and cyclone.”

This is the 23rd edition of the Oceans Festival. The last full-scale event was held in 2020, as the 2022 event was cancelled and the 2021 event scaled back due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

"While our thoughts are with everyone impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, we have made the decision to go ahead with Oceans '23 to bring some much-needed positivity to those who are still able to attend," says SLSNZ Chief Executive Paul Dalton.

"This decision has not been taken lightly. Postponement or cancellation was considered. However, we have decided to proceed because this event was cancelled in 2022 due to Covid-19 and we know how many people were looking forward to this year's festival."

The event will include surf races, rescue simulations, board rescues, beach runs and sprints, board and tube rescues and relays.

'It's about fun, participation, having a good time, there's even face painting, and usually the officials dress up in funny costumes,” says Chaz.