Constant Awareness Will Help Reduce Drownings Further

This week’s near-drowning at a popular Taranaki surf beach dramatically illustrates just how easy it is to get into serious trouble in the water. A New Plymouth teen had popped down to Back Beach for a swim, and suddenly found himself well out of his depth both figuratively and literally, after being dragged 100 metres offshore by a strong rip. Luckily a mate and a nearby surfer rushed to his aid and, using surf lifesaving skills learned at school, they did everything right and were able to bring the swimmer back to safety.

One of the special features of Taranaki is that its 300 kilometres of coastline juts out into a high-energy Tasman Sea — that’s why the region is renowned both for the quality of its surf and the skills of those who participate in those sports that involve the sea, including surfing, surf life-saving, yachting, and fishing.

But the power of our sea also means it is an uncompromising place that can present real danger to those who use it. Rips often suddenly develop that are capable of quickly sweeping swimmers out to sea — often right in front of the eyes of surf lifesavers who are on duty at patrolled beaches. Most locals recognise that, and are aware of the vital importance of swimming between the flags at beaches where help is closest at hand.

However, there are several excellent swimming beaches in Taranaki that aren’t patrolled, and the surf lifesaving fraternity is unable to patrol all the most popular beaches all the time. That’s when it is imperative that not only do beach visitors not only know how to swim, but recognise the safest places to swim — and to spot a rip when one develops.

The good news is that Taranaki is part of a national trend that seems to be acknowledging that death by drowning is something that can be avoided. Last year there were 87 drownings in New Zealand, which was the lowest annual toll since records began 27 years ago, and way down on average drowning toll of 180 in the 1980s and 140 in the 1990s. In fact, it was the first time since records began that there were fewer than 100 drowning fatalities in a calendar year. For the record, two people drowned in Taranaki last year.

Despite that excellent trend, New Zealand can still do better. We only need to look across the water to Australia to see what can really be achieved — its drowning toll is just 1.29 per 100,000 people, while last year’s New Zealand toll represented 2.1 drowning deaths per 100,000 people. So it is vital that there is continuance of all the water safety education programmes and initiatives that are obviously proving so successful.

Going for a swim or a surf at a local spot is a freedom of choice that should always remain part of the New Zealand lifestyle, so it is hoped that the water safety authorities will never consider introducing rules or regulations aimed at forcing the public to swim only in designated fully patrolled areas. But it is equally important that people don’t tempt fate by swimming in heavy surf at a remote, unpatrolled beach — such as what happened at New Plymouth’s Back Beach this week.

(c) 2007 Daily News; New Plymouth, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.