By Ron Lane
On Monday afternoon at 5pm when the flags came down on our three surf clubs at Peregian, Sunshine Beach and Noosa Heads, it signified the end of the 2018/19 season for the volunteer lifesavers. As of next weekend the beaches will once again be under the control of the professional lifeguards. Happy to say all clubs have upheld our proud tradition of no lives lost between the flags while lifesavers on patrol.
During the Easter break all beaches reported big crowds and with the turbulent conditions lifesavers were indeed kept busy and several mass rescues were reported at Noosas Main Beach. However with good patrolling backed up by the now ever present Jet Rescue Ski patrols all incidents were quickly and safely handled. However at Main Beach the problem of old, novice board riders trying to surf the First Point, losing control of their boards and coming in through the flags started to occur.
Patrolling (and very angry) members reacted quickly and no accidents occurred. Also happy to relate no major accidents away from the immediate beach area were reported.
Speaking on behalf of members Noosa club captain Roger Aspinall said, “This has been one of the busiest season in many years. The Easter break saw many rescues and these, plus several in unpatrolled areas of Nation Park early in the season, a couple of which were quite dangerous ( swimmers rescued off the rocks ) kept us busy. Add to this a heavy competition season and all our people were indeed very active. I would like to thank our police and paramedics for their support during the season. These people plus our patrols all go towards making Noosa a great beach for families and that is what Noosa is all about.”
Regarding the competition season Director of Surf Sports Peter French stated, “It would have to be one of our best seasons ever. At the recent Aussie titles a solid performance saw us finish eleventh overall in the Open division and sixth in the Masters; and to top it off for the very first time ever, our board riding team finished first. In individual competition Lana Rogers was definitely outstanding having won the Queensland Iron Woman Championship she then won the Australian Open Women’s Belt race. All our competitors achieved great results right through the entire season. I would like to thank Head Coach Darren Mercer and his team of coaches for their dedication and hard work.”
Over the hill at Sunshine Beach patrols were at their usual high standards and despite open beach conditions few rescues were reported. The major step for this season has been the commencement of the complete rebuilding of the club house. “Happy to relate,” said Building Chairman Warrick Redwood, “Stage One, the demolition of the existing club house, is well under way; all being well the completion should be early Christmas. A lot will of course depend on the weather; so its fingers crossed.”
Their surf sports results have also been good and for a small club their success in water events have been outstanding; Head Coach Josh Minogue is very happy with the performance of the young members. “Members like Ruby Nolan, Freya Wilson and Max Moore are young people to watch and our results in the Champion Lifesaver and Patrol Competition at State and National level has resulted in medals. Our coaches have been outstanding and Paul Gilmore and Pauline Gleeson have got results and the young coach Zion Pettigrove son of life member Max Pettigrove is definitely showing that he has got the goods.”
Down at Peregian patrols reported a big but Safe Easter; the club has as yet to re-enter the competition world.
