Fin Cut and Night Swim

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Last Tuesday evening a call came out that there was a shark bite at 42nd and sand with heavy bleeding, and unconscious person, and CPR in progress. Beach Patrol, EMS, Fire Department, and the Police Department were all dispatched to the scene.

When everyone got there they expected something pretty dramatic. The first call on the radio was the lifeguard truck, who called in that there was no CPR in progress and only minor bleeding. They added that the cut was from a fin. A surfboard fin.

It’s not abnormal for calls for service to come in as one thing and in actuality be something else. Usually the reality is much less severe than the call, but it can be the other way around. Other times our hardworking dispatchers field multiple calls about the same thing, and each has a completely different take on what they saw. First Responders all react assuming the worst case scenario but arrive ready to re-evaluate once they see with their own eyes.

In this particular case the “shark bite with CPR in progress” was a 4inch cut to the thigh of a 15 year old girl that was caused by the fin of her surfboard. We treat many surfboard fin cuts each year and rarely see a shark bite. But surfboard fin cuts can be severe. A fin that is connected to a big surfboard getting pushed around by a wave has a lot of force. It can slice to the bone easily, and at times can cut more than just fat and muscle. The good thing is its usually a fairly clean cut that can be sewn up easily. File the sharp edges of your fins down when you buy them to minimize the risk. Also, for beginners who are not yet aware of how to get away from their board when they fall, they make flexible fins that are way safer. We use them along with foam boards for our Junior Lifeguard Program.

Speaking of Junior Lifeguards we are accepting applications now. This year we have new partnerships in place in the form of “complimentary camps”. Martial Arts America, The Kitchen Chick, and Clay Cup Studios all offer camps that are compatible with the times of each age group of our Junior Guard Camp. So, for example if you have a 10 year old, they’d go to Junior Guards from 8-12 and then could go to one of the other camps in the afternoon. They’d be doing these fun, educational activities most of the day. Information on these complimentary camps is available on our website.

Next Wednesday around 5pm we’d like to invite you to 29th and Seawall for our annual “Night Swim” event. All of our lifeguard candidates will attempt their final physical challenge and will be joined by our veteran lifeguards. They’ll swim, paddle, climb, crawl, and suffer in unimaginable ways for your viewing pleasure. Come cheer us on and help us welcome our new recruits to the team!

Summer Event Kick-off

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At the time most of you are reading this about 30 Beach Patrol Senior Lifeguards and Supervisors are running along the shoreline of Stewart Beach. It’s an annual timed re-qualification trial required to secure or maintain positions. Following that are mock rescues and medical scenarios, a report writing seminar, and updates/testing on policy and procedure.

While the tower lifeguards go through well over 130 hours of training during their first season,  more demanding higher level positions require an even more elevated skill level. In fact, in addition to what’s listed above and depending on rank, these men and women potentially also complete annual training for EMT, SCUBA, law enforcement, dispatching, tourism ambassadorship, National Incident Management System (NIMS), and critical incident stress management counseling. All that is in addition to the daily training sessions we each do before our daily shifts to keep rescue and medical skills razor sharp.

One of our most daunting challenges each year is that the majority of our 130 or so employees are seasonal workers, many of whom are students. Rescue skills atrophy quickly when not used, so it puts a great deal of pressure on our staff to get all the returning guards trained and retrained to adequate levels before the busiest weekend of the summer- the Memorial Holiday. The next two weeks are a crucible we all have to get though so we can handle the estimated 6 million people we protect annually. The list of events is intimidating.

Our second lifeguard academy starts tomorrow after lifeguard tryouts. If you or someone you know is interested, we will start with a swim trial tomorrow morning, followed by an interview, drug test, and run-swim-run. The 100 hour lifeguard academy starts immediately afterwards and lasts two weeks. Application information regarding Lifeguard and Junior Guard programs is on our website.

Next week we will hold Junior Lifeguard Instructor Training for the elite staff that works with the 10-15 year olds that attend our 6 week long day camp that mirrors our Lifeguard Academy; even to the extent that we train them in CPR, First Aid, and Water Rescue. Of course we make it fun with field trips, marine ecology seminars, sports, games, surfing/boogie boarding, and friendly Lifeguard Sport competition. They even get to spend some time in the lifeguard towers “working” alongside real lifeguards.

On Tuesday, May 17 we’ll be participating in the Hurricane Awareness Tour at Scholes International Field. Public tour period is from 2:30-5:00pm.

Thursday the 19th we’ll join our partners in the Galveston Marine Response to sharpen our rescue and coordination skills in a large mass casualty exercise in Offats Bayou.

The following week we’ll also be involved in our Supervisor Training Academy, Dispatch Training Academy, all staff “Night Swim”, all staff orientation/meeting session, Beach Safety/Rip Current Awareness Week proclamation at City Hall. We’re also going to send a small team down to the Corpus Christi area to help them with some very needed training.

All this set to the backdrop of normal May beach madness!