Yours – not the lifeguards’ or lifesavers’. Be in no doubt about that! Lifeguards and lifesavers have the patrons of the entire pool or beach to watch over, not your children specifically. Never ask a lifesaver to keep an eye on your kids while you go to the shop, the toilet or anything else. Don’t be distracted. Here are some of Royal Lifesaving’s guidelines for watching over your children:

 

·         Parents and guardians should actively supervise their children at all times and be prepared to enter the water at any time

·         For 0–5 year olds and non-swimmers, a parent or guardian needs to be in the water at all times and within arms' reach of the child. It is best if you are engaging with your child i.e. playing with them, talking to them

·         For 6–10 year olds - constant active supervision is a must

·         For 11–14 year olds, parents must regularly check on their child by physically going to where they are in or around the water.

Sun and heat stress in an Australian summer

 

Our summers are hot – and Queensland’s humidity makes heat exhaustion and heat stroke more likely than other some parts of the country. Those of us who spend excessive time or who exercise in a hot environment, as well as the elderly or young children, are most commonly affected.

 

Heat exhaustion is a result of the body overheating. Symptoms include weak rapid pulse, rapid shallow breathing, profuse sweating, headaches and thirst. What should you do? Remove the patient from the hot environment, remove excessive clothing, cool the body down (wetting and fanning the body is a good method), provide sips of water and seek professional advice if symptoms persist.

 

Heat stroke is a medical emergency and may be life threatening. Call 000/112. Symptoms include hot skin, no sweating, strong rapid pulse and possibly convulsions and reduced consciousness. Cool the body as rapidly as possible and give sips of water while waiting for the ambulance.

Surf lifesavers around Australia have a saying: ‘If you don’t swim between the flags and you can’t identify a rip, chances are that you will be caught in one’. And one of my own: ‘there are two myths (among many) that we Australians have about ourselves: we can all swim and we all know what a rip looks like’.

So what is a rip? It is a current flowing away from the beach in the direction of the open sea and is the method by which water coming into the beach in the surf zone (i.e. the broken water) returns to the sea. Much more is known about rips than in earlier times due largely to the research by Dr Rob Brander from UNSW (see http://www.scienceofthesurf.com/drrip.html).

Briefly, rips are often unpredictable; their characteristics depend in part on the nature of the sea bed (rocky, sandy, the presence of gullies), atmospheric pressure and the state of wind and tide. Some beaches have permanent rips but, mostly, they are changeable which is why lifesavers put the flags in the safest part of the beach and why they may change their position as rips develop. Rips can vary in intensity and can develop without warning – these are called ‘flash rips’.

Rips can often be identified by discoloured water moving away from the beach (caused by sand, dirt, flotsam, etc) and no – or less intense – breaking waves. It may appear to be the best place to swim as the waves are not so big – but this is a big mistake as rips can carry you away from the beach and into deep water. Check out this pic – most rips are not this obvious.














Also check out this video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeJLRdJpS1M.  Despite his Canadian accent, Rob is a dinky-di Aussie surf lifesaver as well as being an academic surf expert.

So what do you do if you are caught in a rip? While a precise answer depends on how strong the rip is and how strong a swimmer you are, as a general rule, don’t panic, just go with it, float on your back and put up your hand so the lifesavers can see you and you’ll be fine. Chances are that the lifesavers will have noticed the rip (and you in it) and will be alongside you in no time at all. How far the rip extends seawards depends on how steep the beach gradient is but, even in a low gradient beach where the breaking waves extend a long way out, the rip will dissipate at no more than about 200 metres (don’t worry, you won’t end up in New Zealand). You can then swim parallel to the beach for a short distance and come back into the beach through the broken waves. Some rips even turn around and send water (and you) back into the beach – but not all of them.

To summarise, don’t panic and don’t fight a rip. Few of us are strong enough swimmers to swim against or even across a rip. And always remember to swim between the flags. While there were 54 drownings at Australian beaches in 2013, there were none at all in between the flags. And, in most cases, the victim was caught in a rip.

There have been, on average, 20 deaths per year over the period 1890 to 2013 as a result of rips (and only one from shark attack).

 

I have no plans for taking time off over Christmas (can’t afford it after my European extravagance in August/September this year), so I am happy to continue with lessons and training for LTS and swimfit.

 

So, what does this mean in practice?

 

Sunday sessions

21st December – normal arrangements (please let me know if you will be away and unable to come for your lesson)

28th December – please let me know if you do want to come. If there are fewer people wanting to come than usual, we would be able to shorten our day to, say, just the morning.

4th January – back to normal (again, please let me know if you are unable to come).

 

Mid week sessions for 24th, 25th, 31st December and 1st January. I am happy to run sessions on those evenings if you want to. So much better than getting yourself pie-eyed... si, oui, ja? But I have to admit that not everyone is as sensible/silly as I am, so I will only be at the pool if you want me to be. Perhaps you can let me know if you would like to come. As the kids will not be using the pool on those days, we may be able to start earlier (say 4pm after the heat of the day has lessened).

 

For those who have paid in advance, you will be able to roll-over your credit into the future.

 

As compensation for staying sober, we just may get a visit by Santa and his reindeers on those days.

As promised, here is an edited version of my address to Heart Support Australia's annual conference last weekend......

"I am a swimming instructor, a swimming coach, a surf lifesaver and a long distance open water swimmer. A couple of months ago I did what many open water swimmers consider to be the holy grail of what we do – I swam what the ancient Geeks called the Hellespont and what most of us now recognise as the Dardanelles – the strait in Turkey that links the Gallipoli peninsula on the western side to the eastern side. If you like to think of it this way, I swam from Europe to Asia.

I also have coronary artery disease and I have had a quadruple coronary artery bypass operation.

So what? You might say. The point is that life is not a spectator sport. Don't wait for others to tell you how to live a full and healthy life.

If you have had a heart ‘event’ – or even if you have not – or if you suffer from a heart-related condition – or even if you do not – get back on your bike (figuratively and literally), regain your health, get fit, and do the things that make you happy, especially those things that have you have always wondered whether you can do them. 

Many of you will know this one: ‘No one on their death bed wishes that they had spent more time in the office.'

And, for the German speakers among you (somehow it sounds better in German): Traüme nicht deine Leben – Lebe deinen Taum. (‘Don’t dream about your life, live your dreams’).

So, to sum up, 
Get serious about the things that you must do for a healthy and active life such as:

• Stop smoking – and don’t be afraid to tell others that it will kill them

• Stop consuming too much of the three dietary killers – fat, sugar, salt

• Reduce or stop consuming alcohol

• Lose weight

• Get fit. Walking is great – but so is swimming!

• Go to relaxation classes – or take up yoga or tai chi

• Most importantly, leave your old life behind. There is a beautiful, exciting and healthy one just waiting for you to live it. Live your passions. Never be afraid to change your lifestyle and to seek inspiration from others."