Thousands of people jammed Cobourg beach on Saturday, August 3, 2019 to not only enjoy the Sandcastle Festival, but just to relax, take in the sun and maybe go for a swim.
Lifeguards on the beach did all they could to keep an eye out for everyone in the water, but with all the tents and umbrellas people were using for shade it must have been hard to see over the top.
The height of the four new lifeguard towers are approximately one foot shorter then previous towers. Which would obviously hinder vision of the life guards keeping an eye on people in the water.
In previous years, the Master Sculptors who create works of sand art along the shoreline of the beach have had tents set up beside where they are working to rest during the day. But because the new towers are shorter, the Sculptors were not allowed to set up the tents because it hampered vision of the lifeguards.
There were also many inflatable craft in the water including rubber dingy’s, but it might be something to think about just banning all inflatable craft from the beach area. There used to be a rule many years ago that banned any type of inflatable water craft at the Cobourg beach. This year in other areas of Ontario at least one person has drowned as a result of an inflatable drifting away with a child on board and a parent trying to save them. The child was rescued, but tragically the parent drowned.
Caregivers going for a day at the beach don’t generally think about wind direction. But with a good offshore wind and a large inflatable that can act like a sail, anyone on the craft could taken out into much deeper water very quickly. With anyone panicking from shore, or the inflatable, it could quickly turn into tragedy.
It might be an idea to go back to the old days and just ban inflatables all together from the beach area – for the safety of everyone.
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
