Letter: Fix Sardinia Bay problems

I was sad to read the article by Riaan Marais on January 30, “Rescue delay after drowning at Sardinia Bay”, regarding a drowning at Sardinia Bay. I have been highly critical of the metro council’s handling of Sardinia Bay, with my written viewpoint being that the non-clearance of the sand from the road to the terminus of the Sardinia Bay road and the relocation of the Sardinia Bay Surf Life Saving Club (SBSLC) from its excellent position to a new location 420m from the sea would make for “an ominous future [for] water safety” at this prime beach (“Metro to blame for beach problem”, August 30). Adding to the debacle was the way the SBSLC was subsequently treated by the council. This led to the logical decision of this voluntary club to halt all lifesaving activities at Sardinia Bay as the SBSLC members were now of the belief that the changed situation had compromised their ability to ensure the safety of bathers at this beach. But this was no problem for the council as its own (paid) lifesavers were then delegated with the task of keeping bathers safe. For 40-odd years not one person had drowned at Sardinia Bay.

With the decision by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality steadfastly to refuse to remove the sand from Sardinia Bay Road and with the loss of the experienced guardian angels of bathers at this beach, it was just a matter of time before disaster struck. And it has. I do not believe that this incident was a “rescue delay”, but rather something that has highlighted problems for what was, in fact, a body recovery. This was rendered almost impossible by inaccessibility via Sardinia Bay Road to this road’s terminus. By redirecting the “shifting dunes” back towards their natural seaward path, the tarred road would be cleared for vehicular access, the main beach at Sardinia Bay would be built up again and sand movement would progress seawards to Cape Recife – as it has done from time immemorial. The sand needs to be removed off Sardinia Bay Road and, at the same time, the council should hold talks with the SBSLC to get these volunteers back to where they are needed. Otherwise water safety at Sardinia Bay will continue to be tragically compromised.