Duty and the beach

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four-part series on Newport Beach lifeguards and the unique challenges they face in the name of public safety. Next week: We take a look inside Newport Beach lifeguard headquarters.

Since the first of the year, lifeguards in Newport Beach have made 3,845 saves. Even more impressive is the number of preventive actions made in the same amount of time: 78,748.

A guard with the Newport Beach lifeguard department since 1986, Josh Van Egmond has seen numerous high-profile rescues in and out of the surf along the ocean side of Balboa Peninsula. As co-captain of Division 2, one of five safety zones the agency commands, he knows every inch of the shore, from the Santa Ana River mouth to the tip of the jetty at the Wedge.

Van Egmond tells a story about a woman who was walking along the ocean side of the jetty at the infamous Wedge and was caught off guard by turbulent surf. She was picked up by a wave and swept onto the jetty, suffering cuts, bruises and a back broken in six places. Van Egmond would like to counsel all beachgoers before they decide to take a stroll in such a precarious place.

“When you go talk to someone about a dangerous action they may be doing,” said Van Egmond, “you could prevent them from injury for themselves and others. If you talk to one person, they will talk with five. We really pride ourselves with those actions.”

Van Egmond said three factors add up to a busy day for Newport Beach lifeguards: warm water, large crowds and moderate surf.

Millions of beachgoers have visited Newport Beach’s sandy shores so far this year, and that equates to a lot of inexperienced swimmers in the surf.

To handle it all, lifeguards split their patrol into five divisions. The first stretches from the Santa Ana River mouth to Newport Pier; Division 2 runs from the pier south to the end of the Balboa Peninsula at the Wedge. Corona del Mar makes up the third division, while the fourth and fifth are comprised of the department’s rescue boats, and the junior lifeguard station, which sits inside of Division 2 next to Balboa Pier.

Although the summer was mild, it presented some anomalous saves and injuries, most of which were directly connected to the land’s makeup, stressed Van Egmond. Four areas within the first two divisions pose specific concerns due to distinctive topography.

Area 1 – Santa Ana River mouth to 56th Street:

Along this wide expanse of sand where the river meets the Pacific Ocean, an intense seaward current is forged where the two waters just south of the river mouth meet. The combination of the southerly current and the rush of river water creates a powerful rip current that often carries swimmers further out than any rip tide along the peninsula.

Area 2 – 56th Street Tower to 28th Street:

Seven man-made rock outcroppings – or “groins” — implanted by the Army in the 1960s to prevent long-term shore erosion present an interesting predicament for guards, who have developed an equally intriguing method of patrolling.

“At the time they put these in, the water was right up to the property lines,” Van Egmond said. “Some people had sandbags placed along the back for protection and then a six-foot drop of sand.” Depending on the size of the surf and the strength of the current, lifeguards establish an imaginary triangle from the tip of the groin to a safety spot on the sand. Swimmers are not allowed within the area between that line and the rocks, as the strong currents will sweep them into the groin. The angle of the forbidden zone increases with the severity of the conditions.

Area 3 — Newport Pier to 10th Street Tower:

The main concern in these waters comes from rip currents that drag less experienced swimmers out to sea. And as these waters tend to be frequented by tourists, that can be quite a challenge to guards.

As Van Egmond drove along the beach in a patrol vehicle, he stopped 100 yards down from the pier. Four swimmers, unknowingly caught in a rip, joyfully splashed around as they were inch-by-inch pulled out to sea with each wave.

“There is a very strong current that will pull you out to sea,” Van Egmond said over the vehicle’s loudspeaker. “Please put your feet on the bottom and walk to the beach.”

Area 4 — 10th Street Tower to the Wedge:

The short steep grade of the sands here, mostly in front of local pub Blackie’s By the Sea, creates a churn for large, barreling waves, called “shore-pounders” by the guards because they come right up to the shoreline and seem to collapse.

Looking out into the rougher ocean not one mile down from flatter expanses of sand near Newport Pier, Van Egmond felt urged to assert, “when body surfing, always keep your hands in front of you.

“Otherwise,” he said, “you’ll end up doing the ‘human scorpion’ when your face hits the sand and the feet come up over your head.”

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].