By Ron Lane
The first weekend of the volunteer lifesavers being once again back on the beaches, can only be described as being one of interest. All three beaches Peregian, Sunshine and Noosa happily reported no incidents.
In the words of Sunshine President Craig Law, “It was a good start – no trouble and all patrols at full strength.”
At Peregian all was quiet with the lifeguards on duty Saturday and the clubbies on Sunday.
However, for Noosa also no incidents; but things were definitely different.
Mother Nature once again reminded us that she rules the roost, with the Northerlies bringing back our worst enemy – the seaweed – the one that brings with it the odour similar to the open end of a sewage line; and without apology, she dumped her load on Noosa’s Main Beach.
As a result of this, Noosa Club Captain Roger Aspinall transferred his weekend patrol areas to West Beach, which for reasons known only to Mother Nature had remained clear of the offensive weed.
“There was no way that we were going to try and patrol Main Beach,” Aspinall said.
“The council, who did a great job by immediately getting their machinery onto the beach was moving back and forward in an effort to remove the weed. This made it dangerous for the public, so we moved to West Beach and all worked well. Observers manned the Noosa tower but the patrol areas were transferred west.”
“If not addressed quickly, this can develop into a major problem,” Noosa President Ross Fisher said. “However with the council’s quick response and us working in with them and the full support of Tourism Noosa, Monday morning saw a good positive result. It was Noosa’s people working together – at their best.”
On a happier note on Saturday night, the Noosa Club welcomed its members back for the 2017/18 season with a club barbecue.
After a welcome back from the president and the club captain, a very special ceremony took place – the presentation of an honour blazer to this year’s reciperant of the Lobban Cup, Chris Grandemange.
This award goes to the member who the judges consider stands head and shoulders above all others, and if there is no one who it is considered to have performed at this high level, then it is not awarded.
Chris is a veteran of some 41 years in lifesaving having started his career in Maroubra in 1976 and after leaving in 2001, shifted to Noosa Shire and immediately on arrival joined Noosa Surf Club.
A recipient of two bravery awards, he is the proud father of two sons – Bryce, now a police officer and Keaton a professional lifeguard. Both are members of the Noosa club and Keaton – along with his father – is a member of the club’s 24-hour emergency IRB call out team. Definitely a lifesaving family – dedicated to our community.
With his role as Noosa IRB captain, his area for courtesy patrols stretches from Noosa’s North Shore to Alexandria Bay.
“In our line of work we are always looking for crew members and at present we are in the process of running a training course for eight members. These people have to be dedicated and not afraid of big surf; Noosa area is okay but A Bay can get big and very dangerous.
“The silly part about the bay is, despite the fact that it is isolated, unpatrolled and dangerous, people will still swim there. Sunshine Beach club is closest so they are first call but we do patrol there and are always there to back up in emergencies.”
Good news from the medical front – Sunshine’s club captain Scott Summers, who suffered a major health problem last week, is according to all reports, well on the way to recovery. We wish him and his family all the very best.
