A YMCA Northumberland spokesperson said despite appearing otherwise, “there was a full complement of lifeguards” during last weekend.
On Saturday, July 27 it was one of the busiest days of the year at Cobourg beach and although Sunday wasn’t as busy, there were still many people.
It was the first weekend for the two new lifeguard stands, but people have stated to Today’s Northumberland that lifeguards were not on them during Saturday or Sunday.
“There was a full complement of lifeguards on the beach and Centennial Pool both days of the weekend, with eight guards plus one of our leadership staff overseeing both days, who is also a certified guard,” said Leslie Murray, General Manager of YMCA Northumberland.
“Saturday was very busy, and the decision was made to have our Aquatics Coordinator stay until closing to add her support at the beach and the pool based on volume.”
Sunday was “significantly quieter” because of the weather.
Today’s Northumberland was along the beach on Sunday and noticed the only operational life guard towers were 2 and 3. The new towers, 1 and 4 were not in use.
When a storm hit the area on Sunday afternoon, the life guards posted red flags on each of the four towers warning people there were no life guards in the area, but nothing audible was announced by the east tower.
“The decision on how the guards are deployed is made based on the volume and location of bathers in the water and distribution on the beach.”
Life guards who are not in a tower are deployed as walking guards, and walk the length of the beach at the waters edge, then walk back at knee depth in the water, communicating by radio and hand signals with the tower guards, and adding ground level scanning.
Murray said the weekend was “quite routine, with no major incidents.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
