Action to highlight beach safety

Lyn Aitken
THE St Francis Kromme Trust Heritage Kids are teaming up with the Woodridge lifesavers for an action beach morning at Granny's Pool on Saturday March 3 from 11am until 12.30pm.
Children are encouraged to come and listen to a talk on rip currents, how to identify where they are and what to do if they are caught in one.
The Woodridge lifesavers, who are voluntarily manning the main beach in St Francis every Sunday until the middle of March, will be on hand to demonstrate their lifesaving skills and give instruction on lifesaver beach fitness exercises.
"This is to highlight the need for caution and safety when swimming in the sea, particularly where dangerous rip currents can occur. In the last three months there have been two drownings attributed to bathers getting caught in the rip current off main beach,” said Woodridge Lifesavers club head Rob Smith.
"The same spot wewhere at earlier this month our lifesavers had to rescue two women who found themselves in grave difficulty. Another man was drowned in the Kromme River when trying to rescue children trapped by incoming tides. Awareness is critical if we are to prevent such incidents.
"We are lobbying the municipality to erect information boards at beach access points to inform bathers who may not be familiar with the coastline of potential rip tides and what to do if caught in one.”
For more info on the beach action morning, call Bridget Elton: 083-282-0017.
Participating children should bring sunscreen, hats, towels and drinking water and need to be accompanied by an adult.