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Rookies Needed!

One week from tomorrow, on May 15th at 7am we will be holding lifeguard tryouts at the UTMB Fieldhouse. Info is on our website. After the swim, drug test, and orientation, we will launch straight into almost 100 hours of training in 9 days.

We are all holding our breath hoping that recruiting efforts pay off, word has gotten to interested people, and a crowd shows up for tryouts. Now more than ever, Galveston needs a full compliment of guards to protect what has become an almost unbelievable number of tourists that visit our island and its beaches each year.

The academy involves things you would assume ocean guard trying would include. We teach CPR and First Aid that specializes on beach related injuries and emergencies. There is a ton of instruction and time spent on both how to swim and effect a rescue in the surf environment. We train for multiple victim rescues, rip current rescues, and rescues involving specialized equipment like rescue boards, boats, and jet skis. We get into specifics like how to move around on rocks covered in algae and barnacles while waves break on you without getting hurt. Search and Recovery is of course an important part of their training as well. But there are other things you wouldn’t immediately think of. Things like how to be a tourist ambassador, help a stranded dolphin or sea turtle, deal with a panicky parent who has lost his/her child, how to deal with toxic materials, and what to do if you encounter a crime scene. City ordinances, park rules, Beach Patrol policies, and an understanding of all the community programs Beach Patrol is involved in are in the mix. Obviously, there is still plenty of learning that has to happen up in the actual lifeguard towers, but we give them a solid base to work from so they know they can handle anything.

One of the main differences in the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) training that is provided compared to pool or water park lifeguard training is that the standards for beach guards are necessarily much higher, particularly the swim requirement, and the required training hours are 2 or 3 times other lifeguard programs. The Galveston Island Beach Patrol is an “Advanced” level agency, which involves more training and more requirements for the full time and supervisory staff. Additionally, the training philosophy is different. USLA focuses on a flexible approach where we emphasize general concepts that can be adapted and are easier to remember in a crisis. For example, we teach the basic concept of keeping floatation between you and a victim when making a rescue as opposed to getting too focused on one specific technique. In short, we teach and train for Murphy’s Law.

The bottom line is that when you see the man or woman in our lifeguard towers or rescue trucks, you can feel comfortable knowing they have been through rigorous and practical training to earn the right to be there. Best of the best.

We just need many more. So, if you know anyone who has what it takes…

Rescue

A 5-year-old boy got caught in a rip current on the East side of 29th Street last Saturday and was pulled out to the end of the groin. There was no lifeguard on duty to stop him before he got into trouble and move him farther from the rocks and closer to shore. He began to struggle and started to go under.

A bystander ran to the nearest staffed tower at 27th street. Supervisor Michael Lucero was on duty and reacted immediately by calling in to our dispatch asking for assistance and by running to 29th and into the water.

Both for the Galveston Island Beach Patrol and for the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) the number one safety tip is “Swim Near a Lifeguard”. As a description why USLA thinks this is so important they say “USLA statistics over a 10-year period show that the chance of drowning at a beach without lifeguard protection is almost 5 times as great as drowning at a beach with lifeguards. USLA has calculated the chance that a person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLA affiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million (.0000055%)”.

As Michael sprinted down the beach, a surfer spotted the small boy way out at the end of the groin. He paddled to the boy, who was unconscious and face down at this point, and grabbed him with one arm and the board with the other. He couldn’t get the child to shore but he was able to support him till Michael arrived. As Michael made contact and started back to shore, one of our rescue trucks arrived. Kevin Anderson set up the oxygen kit and Jeff Mullin went to help Michael bring the boy to shore. They found the boy with no pulse and he wasn’t breathing. The trio immediately started CPR and had the boy breathing with a heartbeat by the time the fire department was on the scene. The boy was brought in the Beach Patrol truck to the seawall and passed him to EMS, who took him to the hospital for further treatment.

We know that people are safer when they swim near a guard and take additional precautions like designating a “Water Watcher”, observing signs and flags, don’t swim along, and more. But the challenge is, and continues to be, that Galveston has 33 miles of beaches, over 7 million tourists annually, a warming climate, and a marked tourism increase in the Spring and Fall.  Like many other service jobs, it’s getting harder to find enough people to fill the lifeguard spots. Meanwhile, the demand is increasing both in areas needing coverage and times of year people are swimming. Spring and Fall are particularly challenging as the majority of our guards are students who only work as “seasonal employees”, which limits them to 7 months.

So, understanding our challenges in covering all the areas with swimmers and seeing how quickly tragedy can strike, you understand how important it is that you take the time to find a guarded area to swim in.

Wave Watchers Graduation

This weekend should be an interesting one. We’ve got with some real high tides and very strong onshore winds predicted for tonight. Then tomorrow a nice day is scheduled for both the normal large beach crowds we’ve been seeing plus the Slow, Low, and Bangin’ (S.L.A.B.) event that is supposed to happen. Those who work the beaches in Galveston never have to be worried about being bored in the Spring!

Last week we had a great experience with our Wave Watcher Academy. As that group continues to grow each year, I’m continually impressed with what a great bunch they are. And it’s comforting to know that as demands on the city’s designated lifeguard service continue to grow, the Wave Watchers are able to fill in some of the gaps. I’m sure you’ve seen them in their blue and yellow shirts on the beachfront walking, bike riding, fishing, and surfing as they keep a trained eye out for developing problems.

The Academy included information about Beach Patrol, rip currents and other environmental hazards, local city ordinances and beach rules, and how to support the efforts of the lifeguards and other public safety groups. The Park Board provided on on-line certification as a “Tourist Ambassador”, and we certified them in CPR. We went through a bunch of different scenarios as varied as drownings, lost children, stranded dolphins and turtles, criminal activities, fires, people swimming in areas that could potentially be dangerous, etc. We talked about who to contact for what, whether it’s the Beach Patrol number, the Wave Watcher thread on an app, 911, the police non-emergency number, the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, or Ghost Busters. One really cool thing was many of the Wave Watchers who have been around came to a lot of the training to offer advice, welcome the new members, and to sharpen their skills. The final day, they took a field trip and rode the island looking at water safety hot spots. They practiced throwing ring buoys to a “victim” lifeguard. We finished up with a graduation event at a local restaurant.

Many of our Wave Watchers are retirees who have a flexible enough schedule to go through the training on weekday mornings, which is the easiest time for us to provide instructors, since most of us are out on the beach working in the afternoons and evenings. Several people have suggested that we figure out something for people who are interested in joining the program, but who work during the day. Covid has been an awful thing, but its taught us a lot of ways to work and train in non-traditional ways. So, we’re looking at a Wave Watcher academy that is mostly online and which can be done at your own pace and time. We can pre-record presentations and offer online mini-courses. Then we’d just schedule some time on a weekend to practice skills and to visit the hot spots. Stay tuned if you’d be interested in this option.

See you on the beach!

Assumptions

The last weekend was a big one. Water and air in the 70’s and nice weather meant tons of people in the water. The entire island seemed pretty full, and the beaches were packed. Traffic was an issue on the seawall most of the weekend, making it hard for emergency response personnel to move around.

We had several “possible drowning” calls that fortunately resulted in everyone being OK. One of these was a pretty dramatic close call, two-person rescue by lifeguards. One of the victims ended up getting transported to the hospital to be checked out but appeared to be in pretty good shape. This was one of those rescues where seconds matter and the guards made contact just as the victims were going underwater. By the end of the weekend, we had 8 rescues, 5,000 preventative, several lost kids reunited, and a ton of enforcement actions under our belt. The lifeguards couldn’t have performed better.

Coming up we have some big beach events. Next weekend is the Adopt a Beach Cleanup, and the weekend afterwards may or may not have a big car club event. Plus, more and more people are visiting the beaches, particularly on the weekends. Will keep all of us on our toes!

I was saddened, as I’m sure many of you were, to hear about the tragedy that happened in Surfside where a father tried to save two children in a rip current and died in the effort. If you ever see someone in the water in distress, call for a guard if one is present or dial 911. Try to throw or extend a reaching object or floatation device without going in the water yourself. There are rescue boxes on each groin in Galveston. Many drownings happen in groups of 2 or more with would be rescuers dying in the attempt. We can’t stress strongly enough the importance of swimming near an appropriately certified ocean lifeguard whenever possible and following the other safety tips on our website www.galvestonislandbeachpatrol.com

Along with huge crowds of swimmers keeping us busy, we’ve also noticed that people seem to be more on edge than usual. Like the past crazy year with all the national drama, a pandemic, and everything else has left the entire population with a sort of societal PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). An amusing, but disturbing example happened the other day when we received a 911 call from a woman saying her husband and friend were drowning. A rescue truck was dispatched and ran into the water to find the two men were doing fine. They walked back in with the two, talking amicably, and then got back in their truck. A car drove by and yelled “Nice racist rescue @#$%^&*”! The woman and two men were African American. The people in the car (Subaru Outback) were white. My staff was talking about how quick people seem to be to make assumptions and to criticize. And how it seems to play out everywhere- even the beach!

OTB: Pre-Easter

The Easter holiday has been a big beach day for many years but has grown to be one of our major holidays. The seawall, beach parks, and west end have been packed on this weekend in recent history. For many people, particularly for families, going to the beach on Easter Weekend is a tradition.

For the Beach Patrol, it’s an especially busy holiday because normally, waves, currents, and people create equal work for lifeguards. Historically, the numbers support that. Looking back and picking a weekend just a few years ago, we had a total of 36 missing children reunited, 63 medical treatments, 7 rescues, 2 near-drownings, and 1,529 people moved from dangerous areas like those with rip currents. We could see numbers like that or even more with the increase in beach tourism we’ve had lately. Over Spring Break alone, we made over 5,200 preventative actions.

Part of the reason our “preventative actions”, of which the vast majority are moving people away from groins and piers where there are always rip currents, are so important is that each of these could potentially be life threatening. Its also especially impressive to see these numbers this time of year because the bulk of our workforce are students who are in school. We have very few available guards in the spring compared to the summer months. A lot of the work falls on the shoulders of mobile patrols which are largely staffed by our 12 full time Lifeguard Supervisors, including one Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain. Mobile patrols are great for emergency response, much the same as EMS and the Fire Department operate. They are also critical in covering large swaths of beachfront and looking for situations that could potentially develop into something life threatening. But nothing compares to a trained lifeguard who is stationed in a tower and watching a section of beach. In the summer months we are able to staff most, or all of our 32 lifeguard towers each day. In the Spring we strategically place available guards in our highest risk and most populated areas. Statistics and experience help us figure out where these spots are. This is why our most important safety tip is to swim near a lifeguard.

After reading a glimpse into our inner workings, I’m sure you understand how important our Wave Watcher Program is, which involves volunteers who are trained to have a practiced eye, patrolling sections of the beach and letting us or other emergency response groups know if they see anything developing. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining this group and our Beach Patrol family, there is a free training course starting April 12th and information on our website.

The weather looks to be favorable for a big holiday event. The water is in the mid to high 60’s and is a little cold, but if the past few weekends are any indicator that won’t slow a lot of people down. Come to the beach and swim near a lifeguard!

OTB – Wave Watchers

The Beach Patrol has been fortunate for many, many years to have great support from the community and county. We are so lucky that the hard work our guards do is recognized and appreciated and we recognize that this is something we continually need to strive to maintain. That’s a big part of why we have so many programs that tie to the community in which we are embedded, such as the Jesse Tree/Beach Patrol Survivor Support Network, our Junior Lifeguard Program, our School Outreach Program that provides instruction to over 30,000 children per year, and more. One program that we’re particularly excited about and hope that many of you will participate in is the “Wave Watcher Program”.

The Galveston Island Beach Patrol Wave Watcher Volunteer Program is a way for citizens to join our team. It’s a mini lifeguard academy for that is free of charge and that will serve as a force multiplier in our effort to prevent drowning deaths and aquatic accidents. This year the academy will be held April 12-16 from 8am to noon.

The course will cover topics related to Beach Patrol history and operations, general beach safety, first aid and CPR specially tailored to the beach environment, tourist ambassador certification (CTA Training), municipal ordinances related to the beach and waterfront, and Wave Watcher operations. On the final day, we’ll do a site by a site visit of “hot spots” for water safety and discuss in detail how our Wave Watchers can integrate into Beach Patrol operations. The course will culminate in a lunch with experienced Wave Watchers and Beach Patrol staff.

Once through the academy Wave Watchers will be able to volunteer for various duties if they desire. Most importantly they will form a cadre of informed beachgoers who have “the eye”, so are able to spot trouble developing before it happens and notify us or other emergency service groups, so we are able to prevent the situation from escalating. This could happen in the course of their normal daily lives when they drive, walk, fish, surf, etc. along the beachfront. Or it could take place with a more organized activity. The level of commitment and involvement will be completely up to the graduates.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the crew, contact us. The class will cap at 50 and will be first come first serve. Classes will be held at the Beach Patrol Headquarters on the top floor of the Stewart Beach Pavilion. There are no restrictions on who can participate and no physical requirement (like swimming, running, etc.). Everyone is welcome. There will be options for virtual learning, in person learning, or a hybrid. Wave Watchers and Wave Watcher candidates will observe the same social distancing and mask requirements that Beach Patrol employees follow when they are in class or on patrols while wearing their Wave Watcher uniform.

To register or get more info email us at gibpadmin@galvestonparkboard.org

We hope you will join our team and family for a fun way to support a great cause!

OTB – Spring Break Kickoff

Tomorrow morning at 7am we will be holding the first lifeguard tryout of the season. If you know anyone who is interested in taking on the tough but rewarding job of joining the team that protects over 7 million people that visit our beaches annually, tell them to meet us at the UTMB Field House swimming pool. If they pass the swim, interview, and drug test, they can begin the lifeguard academy right away. The academy involves medical training, lifeguard skills, open water swimming techniques, physical training, tourist relations, environmental awareness, and team building. It’s not for everyone, but those that make it through will never find anything else quite as rewarding. Not everyone is fortunate enough to experience preventing accidents and saving lives on a daily basis.

Despite the weird freeze we just had, it’s impossible to deny that spring is here. You can feel it in the way the wind blows, the smells, and how the light looks as the days lengthen. The sun feels so good this time of year, and more and more people are out on the beach fishing, walking, surfing, and just enjoying the return of good weather.

If you’re one of the several hundred thousand we’ll see on the beach this weekend, remember to be safe while you’re out having fun. Specifically, swim near a lifeguard, don’t swim alone, obey warning signs and flags, take precautions for the heat and sun, remember alcohol and water don’t mix, watch your kids closely, and for non- swimmers and children especially- wear a lifejacket when in or around the water. And be sure not to swim at the ends of the island (San Luis Pass and Ship Channel), because of the strong tidal currents and irregular bottom.

One of our main concerns on the beach front is that people stay far from the rocks to avoid rip currents. Rip currents are narrow channels of water that run away from shore and are responsible for 80% of rescues in the beach environment both locally and nationally. If caught in a rip current, just relax and float, you will eventually most likely be brought back to shore by the currents and waves. If you’re able, swim parallel to shore out of the current towards breaking waves.

If you’re not sure about anything check with the lifeguard. We have a crew of lifeguards that will requalify tomorrow morning and will be out on the stands by the time the crowds arrive. The trends all point to the possibility of record crowds during Spring Break and throughout the summer. Galveston is booming and we’re going to see another big beach year. Granted the demands this puts on our community’s resources is significant and it makes all the public safety departments jobs tough, but it’s like the Spanish saying, “Vale la pena”. It’s worth the effort. If we can provide a tourist friendly, safe, fun experience for our visitors and locals, everyone goes home happy. This means repeat business that we all benefit from.

OTB – Spring Break and SSN

Looks like all signs point to yet another big Spring Break! Seems like one day its winter and the next the sun’s out, the water’s warm, and the beaches are packed. Despite the fact that we’ve just been through an ice storm and are a year into the Covid pandemic, we all need to gear up for the beach season. Ready for another year on the beach and all the challenges, work, and even joy that it brings.

Don’t forget that next weekend on Saturday, March 13th, we have lifeguard tryouts. Our website had details if you or someone you know is interested. We need the help!

As you know, we put a great deal of effort into preventing drownings and the numbers have been reduced through the years. Unfortunately, despite these efforts there are usually a handful each year. Support for the families has traditionally been one of the hardest things for our staff. If the body is not recovered rapidly, families can end up sitting on the beach near the last spot that person was for long periods of time. In these few cases, there can be the need for food and drink, counseling, translating, acting as a point of contact for different agencies, and dealing with consulates and embassies, etc.

As you can imagine, this was way beyond the scope of what a lifeguard agency can effectively handle. Our friends and partners at the Jesse Tree stepped up a few years ago. Ted Handley and David Mitchell developed a program with our input called the “Survivor Support Network” (SSN).

The SSN is a web of people and organizations that respond to this type of situation. They have filled all the needs described above and even provided Critical Incident Stress Debriefings to the lifeguard staff after undergoing traumatic experiences. They have provided this service at little or no cost to us for a number of years and we are deeply appreciative, as are the people whose lives they touch.

All kinds of non-profits like the Jesse Tree are suffering in the current economy, so volunteers are all the more important. The SSN relies on volunteers groups and people to function. If you or your group is interested in participating in this incredible program, please contact David Mitchell at the Jesse Tree 409-762-2233 or dmitchel@jessetree.net . We’re especially interested in finding licensed grief councilors or people that specialize in Critical Incident Stress Management, but everyone’s got a skill or resource that is welcome.

Typically, the SSN is only activated a handful of times a year, but when it is the need is severe. I can’t begin to tell you the difference I’ve seen it have on the lives it touches. If you feel this is for you, get with David.

Another option to help the beach guards and the general public is to join the Wave Watcher Cadre. More on that later, but info is on our website and we’ll have an academy in April.

See you on the beach!

OTB: African American Lifeguard Heroes!

Last week’s column was an overview of our local lifeguarding history that left off with the time that African American beaches were designated by law and by Galveston’s dominant culture of the time. To talk about this part of our collective beach history I have to lean on someone who knows much more about this (and about pretty much everything else), my wife.

Carol Bunch-Davis works at Texas A&M Galveston as the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, is an Associate Professor of English, and is the Chair of the Civic Literacy, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Committee. No, she doesn’t write these columns for me (looking at you Tom Linton)! At least that’s my story and I’m sticking with it. Anyway, Carol recently wrote an essay called “Always on Duty: Galveston’s African American Beaches and Lifeguards” that I’ll draw from for this column.

In 1922 there were already two African American Beaches. One was at 28th and was referred to as “Brown Beach”, and the other on the west end and was called “Sunset Camps”.

Waverly Guidry worked the 28th street beach location from 1942 until 1957. When he died his obituary didn’t mention his lifesaving career, but referred to him as a ‘self-employeed

When Wavery Guidry died in 1986 at the age of 74, the obituary did not mention his 14 seasons as lifeguard at 28th Street Beach, or “Brown Beach” as it was sometimes called. It instead identified Guidry as “a self-employed vegetable man” and a “merchant seaman”. But he was the second African American lifeguard to work that beach and is credited with nearly 30 rescues that were documented in the local news, and likely many that weren’t documented.

One example that illustrates just some of the challenges that lifeguards, and particularly African American guards, of the day faced occurred when an African American worker on the Pleasure Pier fell off some scaffolding and drowned. Being a white beach, they called Guidry from his guard post to find the body. He spent hours with a grappling hook, which was the technique of the time, looking for the body as the two white guards on duty stood watching him.

The African American community petitioned for a paid lifeguard from 1921 until 1935 when James Helton was officially hired. He’d actually been volunteering as a guard from the time he graduated from Central High School a year earlier. He worked most of his career at the port as a stevedore and finished his beach guarding in1943. Early in his career, a fully dressed white woman walked into the water. A white deputy noticed her and turned his car around to see what was going on. Helton dove into the water and saved the woman from drowning and potential suicide. Effecting what was, no doubt, a difficult save as a young man starting his career, he woke the following day to read in Galveston Tribune that the rescue was attributed to “the intuition of a special deputy sheriff with the assistance of a negro lifeguard”.

 

 

Photo:  Courtesy of Rosenberg Library

OTB: African American Beaches

Seeing two heads near the rocks on the west side of the groin at 27th, I flipped on the overheads, pulled a U turn, radioed for backup, parked, grabbed fins and a rescue tube, and sprinted towards the beach. Subtleties in the way the heads moved, the location they were in the rip current, and the time I estimated it would take me to get to them, left me with a sinking feeling in my gut.

After an eternity, I hit the bottom of the stairs and sprinted hard across the rocks. Glancing up, something was wrong. Well actually, something was very right. The two heads were now distinguishable as a couple and were farther from the pier, out of the rip and hole, and were standing in chest deep water. They were waving appreciatively at a tall, strong, older African American man on the pier, who was blowing a whistle and motioning them even farther away.

The man introduced himself as O.C. Brown, who had worked this same stretch of beach for many years. It was the early 90’s, and he was in his 70’s but was, as the United States Lifesaving Association’s slogan says, a “Lifeguard for Life”.

10 years before that, as a second and third-year guard, I had enough experience to work the groins. I moved from my tower at Stewart Beach, and cut my lifesaving teeth as the permanent guard at 29th street. I learned a lot about lifesaving and more about a lot of other stuff. Most of the families that frequented the beach were locals, although on the weekends there were Houston visitors as well. It was a busy beach, but I had tons of help. I rarely ate the lunch I packed each day as the regulars brought me plates of food. At the end of the day, the seawall and Menard Park filled up with teens and young adults. A group of guys around my age became the self-appointed evening guards. I’d sit up on the bench with them when my shift ended and point out areas or people that needed attention. They’d take it from there, sitting, talking, having a few beers, and jumping down when kids veered too close to the rocks, or someone started doing something that would get them in trouble. Sometimes one or two would swing by my tower the next day with a report from the night before. It was definitely a team effort. Galveston had a lot of drownings in those years after hours, but I don’t remember anything bad happening at that stretch of beach.

I didn’t realize till later that that stretch of beach had been an African American beach since the 30’s. It was called “Brown Beach” and was at one time officially designated for black people during segregation. Another African American Beach called Sunset Camps existed on the west end. Early African American pioneers Waverly Guidry, James Helton, and others heroically faced both environmental and cultural challenges to protect people of all colors.

-to be continued….

 

 

photo courtesy of: hippostcard.com