A. R. “Babe” Schwartz

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We lost a hero when A. R. “Babe” Schwartz moved on from this world recently. His flame burned both brighter and longer than most.

Former Senator Schwartz, through all the twists and turns of his incredible career, never lost sight of the importance our Texas beaches play for the people of Texas. He never lost an opportunity to promote his deep held belief that Texas beaches are for all Texans and others to enjoy. He used every trick in his vast array to ensure that legislation was put in place to ensure that. A few of his many, many accomplishments that affect us here locally include the Texas Open Beaches Act, setting up the Park Board of Trustees as a vehicle to make sure tourist generated resources remain on the beach and are used to attract tourists, and ensuring Beach Patrol and Beach Maintenance are provided what they need to keep the beaches clean and safe for both tourists and locals. I never go into the annual budgeting process for Beach Patrol without feeling appreciation for what he did to make sure we have the tools we need to prevent accidents and make rescues on the beaches and in the adjacent waters of Galveston. Our budget currently is about 70% hotel occupancy tax. Thanks Babe.

Once, on a beautiful spring day, I had the good fortune to spend some time alone with him. He told me about what it was like to work Stewart Beach as a lifeguard in the ’40’s, and about surfing during those days when the sport was still young to the western world. Even after all this time, his love and enthusiasm for the beach and the ocean shone through as he talked. A true waterman never loses that, and it was evident in the timber of his voice and the way his eyes shone when he reminisced about that time. Funny how the beach never really lets you go once it gets its hooks in you.

Later that day I was standing at the shoreline at Stewart Beach while looking at the guards and the people playing in the water. I took a moment just to enjoy the feel of it. I realized that Babe Schwartz likely did the same thing in the same place 70 years before. If we respect the measures he put in place, another lifeguard will do the same thing on a beautiful, maintained, and well protected Galveston beach 70 years from now.

Babe Schwartz was a shining star. A person who believed deeply, that we, as a society, have a sacred obligation to work towards the common good. His belief that Texas beaches are to be used for all of us to spend time with nature, family, and friends was manifested in much of his life’s work. He felt that all of the beach should be a place for all people to take a break, enjoy one another, and celebrate this life.

Babe Schwartz lives on. His footprints are all over the beach.

Competitions

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For beach lifeguards every rescue is a race against time.
Beach guards routinely make rescues of people caught in large surf or rip currents who are 40-100 yards off shore. Sometimes the victims are much farther out. The guards have to swim through currents, waves, and sometimes sea life to reach the people who need them. If the victim submerges before the guard gets to them there is little or no chance of locating them in the small window of time we have to revive them before they suffer brain damage or death.
For beach lifeguards every rescue is a race against time. Of all the public safety groups lifeguards rely the least on equipment and the most on physical conditioning. Because every rescue is a race, every beach lifeguard is an athlete. And not only do we have to recruit athletes but we have to ensure they stay in top physical conditioning throughout the season. To do this every day they work they go through a rigorous training session that includes physical conditioning and skills practice. We also use competition. Competition is as woven throughout the lifeguard culture as reading is though education. We have local competitions weekly. We compete with other groups in Texas. And once a year a select few lifeguards and juniors compete in the United States National Lifeguard Championships. Those that qualify meet hundreds of beach guards and JGs from around the country. They share stories and ideas, learn about techniques, equipment, and how other beaches and agencies are managed. And they bring that knowledge and enthusiasm back.
This year the championships were in Virginia Beach, which is interesting in itself because of the level of support and resources the city puts into its beachfront.
Galveston did well, especially when you consider we competed against the best of the best in the entire country. Our junior guard team crushed it with Nadine Barrera- 8th in swim rescue, Noah Barrera- 8th in 2K beach run, Axel Denner- 6th in 2K beach run and 7th in beach flags, Mac Livanec- 9th in 2K beach run and 8th in beach flags, and Will Brindley getting 7th in beach flags and 8th in the rescue race. Our lifeguard team also did well, particularly in the age group categories, which start at 30 years of age. Top 10th place finishes in age group events included our resident rock star athlete Kevin Anderson, who got 4th places in both run-swim-run and in the American ironman (run-swim-paddle-row). He also got 5th in the international ironman (run-swim-paddle-surfski), and in the surf swim. And in the surf ski race he got 5th. He also got a 14th spot against the young bucks in the open surf ski race! I had a decent year as well with age group finishes of 3rd in surf ski and in American ironman, 4th in run-swim-run and in the beach run, 5th in surf swim and in international ironman, 6th in ironguard (run-swim-paddle), and 7th in the rescue board race.
All in all we did G-town proud!

Personal Water Crafts

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This has been one crazy summer. We’re in August and there are still tons of people moving around, the water has been choppy to rough with some pretty strong rip currents, and our call volume has been equivalent to days in May or June. Last weekend we moved a couple thousand people away from rip currents, made a number of rescues, responded to several “possible drowning” calls and made the scene of a few boaters in distress. Our lifeguards have been knocking it out of the park and have both prevented and responded to hundreds of thousands of accidents so far this season. They have few tools to help them, most of this work is done with a simple rescue tube and set of fins. For some of the weird stuff that happens farther off shore or in the bay, we go to what has become a vital piece of equipment in recent history for any state of the art lifeguard service- the Personal Water Craft (PWC).
A PWC is a pretty unique vehicle. Because they use a jet drive to funnel water from the bottom of the craft and shoot it out of the back, they have some real advantages compared to a powerboat. They can run in really shallow water because there’s no prop. They also don’t have the danger inherent in a propeller churning when working or playing near the power source.
The Galveston Beach Patrol was the first lifeguard service in the country, and probably the world, to use the PWC as a rescue device back in 1984. We were given two Yamaha Wave Runners for some kind of promotional deal. We used them for patrolling and shepherding swimmers closer to shore but not so much for rescue. We hosted a meeting for the United States Lifesaving Association that year and let everyone try them out. The next year the Hawaiians figured out that you could attach a rescue sled on the back to pick up victims, and history was made. My buddy Brian Keaulana is justifiably credited with being the pioneer of PWC rescue. He and his team used one to make a crazy rescue in a cave on the north shore of Oahu that was videotaped and helped promote the effectiveness of the PWC as a rescue device all over the world.
Nowadays beach guards can drop a PWC in the water almost anywhere and be to a victim within seconds. We use a rescue sled to bring the victims in or use it as a working platform in the water. We can do anything on that sled from CPR to spinal immobilization. We have them placed all over the island during the day for quick access and every Supervisor is a certified rescue operator.
We still make the vast majority of surf rescues the old fashion way- swimming with a rescue tube and fins, or paddling out on a rescue board. But in many ways the PWC revolutionized longer distance surf rescue, and for better or worse, we’ve all grown very dependent on them.

Jetty Jump

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The young woman crouched down on the slippery surface of the rocks. Her heart beat rapidly as she watched the guy in front of her navigate down the steep part. She tried to ignore the cuts on the top of her foot from the last try. “This time I’ll get it right”, she thought to herself determinedly. He jumped and landed with his rescue tube held out in front of him. “NO!” shouted the instructor. “Keep that buoy tight to your body so you hit like a pancake…And remember head up and buoy covering all your important parts when you hit the water!”
When her turn came she walked forward carefully, making sure her bare feet avoided the green patches of algae. The small barnacles were like sandpaper that gave her feet good purchase. As long as she didn’t twist them or step on the parts with big barnacles, she’d have minimal cuts the next day. At least that’s what her instructor told her.
As she came to the steep part she stopped, rehearsing everything her instructor told her. She made sure there was no slack in the rope connecting to her rescue tube and that the heavy buckle was not on the end near her face. She kept her center of gravity low, but made sure she didn’t rest her butt or her rescue tube on the rocks so a passing wave would pass under her instead of sweeping her off her feet and across the barnacle ridden rocks. Most importantly, she reminded herself to watch the water.
As a gap between the sets of waves approached the instructor said, “Now. Ease down. Watch the water”. As she lowered herself down she stood up straight briefly. “FOCUS!” her instructor shouted. “Three point stance, butt down, but not all the way on the rocks” she added. The young woman corrected herself and got in position. She watched the water intently, waiting.
“Here it comes!” shouted the instructor. A large set of waves was rolling in. It was too late to go back up to the relative safety of high ground. The woman’s throat felt dry and she momentarily felt nauseous.
“I can do this”, she said to herself. She focused on the first wave. Time slowed down and her vision narrowed. She couldn’t hear anything. As the wave neared she jumped. She held the buoy to her chest tightly and arched her back as she floated above the water for what seemed like an eternity.
BOOM! She landed on the crest and slid off the back. Time returned to normal as she rolled sideways and put on her fins in one smooth motion. She took a couple of careful strokes and realized she hadn’t hit anything. She surfaced and turned around. Her instructor had a big smile on her face and she shouted, “Perfect! 3 more…”
The woman smiled to herself as she used the rip current to swim around the jetty. When the time came to do it for real, she’d be ready.

Junior Guard

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A group of kids stand in a row in front of their rescue boards along the shoreline wearing yellow tank jerseys and carrying their rescue tubes on one hand. Some of them are vibrating slightly as they get ready to go into action. They then grab their boards and stand on the line. The instructor yells for them to start and they spring for the water. As they get into shallows they bunny hop and then a few hop on their knees and power through the inside break while the rest drop to their bellies. Sports day for the Junior Guards!
The Beach Patrol Junior Lifeguard Day Camp is well structured and economically priced. We offer a number of scholarships as well. We started it in the late 80’s to be a feeder program for lifeguards.
Participants undergo one and a half hours of classroom instruction in each four-hour day, studying topics as diverse as beach lifeguard principles, first aid, CPR, marine biology and ecology, and sports fitness topics.
Junior Guards are exposed to a wide range of activities. They learn about the lifeguards workday by assisting real lifeguards as they perform their regular duties. They play games that are relevant to the lecture and classroom topics. And they participate in several educational field trips.
Our objectives are to show the participants the values of mental and physical discipline and to teach them to respect themselves, others, authority, and the natural environment. Our primary purpose is to provide a fun, safe place for youths to grow and learn about themselves and the diverse environments of the Texas Gulf Coast. Our hope is that many of them will become the lifeguards of the future.
The Junior Life Guard Program starts in June and continues for six weeks. Sessions are held three times a week with Fridays as an optional sports training day. “Sports day” will offer more intensive physical training and Lifeguard Sport competition practice. Most of our full time staff and about 40 percent of our total staff were Junior Guards.
Today at Stewart Beach is the final day of the program. The guards have “Beachfest” from 8am to 2pm. They’ll have friendly competitions, food, and awards and time to socialize and share memories with all their beach friends, parents, supporters, and the lifeguard staff.
You are welcome to come hang out and see what these amazing guards of the future can do!

Tower 47 Rescue

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Mark Porretto was helping out with the beach service umbrellas early in the morning one day last weekend at 47th. You may recall that the water was extremely rough, and on this day the current was running from west to east with big surf. Mark and I grew up together on the beach. He’s a long time surfer, has worked countless hours on his family’s beach, and even in his 50’s is an incredible athlete who routinely competes in stand up paddle events. I mention this because it’s a very important part of the story.
The Beach Patrol has three shifts of lifeguards. The main one is later in the day when crowds are highest. The early one starts at 7:45am and, after the mandatory skills training session every guard does every day they work, they arrive at the towers before 9:15. The morning shift staffs towers that traditionally have early morning crowds that last all day and into the night. Places like a tower at Stewart Beach and East Beach, 61st, 59th, 53rd, 51st, 37th, and 29th get the early shift on the weekends. Then, when the other guard arrives at midday, these early guards do lunch breaks for 3 towers and rejoin the other guard in their original tower for the busiest part of the afternoon. After 5pm one guard takes care of each tower until dark.
When Mark arrived at 47th there was no lifeguard on duty. He spotted two heads very near the rock groin on the west side. Because of his experience he quickly figured out that they were caught in a rip current. He was quick thinking enough to know to grab something that floats, in this case his surfboard, and quickly paddled out to the two people. Keeping the board between himself and the victims, he got them stabilized on the board. Once they were calm enough he paddled them out past the end of the groin and let the long shore current take them around the end, past the rip current on the other side. He brought them to shore and made sure they were OK before continuing to set up the umbrellas. A little while later he saw another person drifting towards the rocks and did it all again a second time. Three people that very likely could have drowned if Mark had not been quick to spot the problem and had the skill set to effect the rescue.
Mark is a hero and this is not the first time he’s rescued people in the water. But for those who encounter this type of problem but don’t have the skill set or the physical ability to do this there is another, much safer option. We recommend strongly that you don’t enter the water to help someone drowning. Better to throw or extend something. At the end of each groin there is a rescue box that contains a ring buoy and throw bag. Grab the rope and throw the ring and call 911. We’ll be there quickly.