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Become a Lifeguard, Save a Life!

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Here is an excerpt from a rescue report that was filed from last Sunday:

“Tower 43 (Lifeguard Suarez) called in moving swimmers out too far. Unit 297 (Supervisor Venegas and Supervisor Garcia) made scene. The lifeguard gave the “OK” signal and started to escort the swimmer on the rescue tube back to shore. Midway back to shore, the swimmer became tired, and the lifeguard had to secure the swimmer in his buoy in order to get him back to the beach. Supervisor Garcia Paddled out to the lifeguard and swimmer to make sure they were ok. All swimmers and guards made it back to shore with no complaints or injury. Unit back in service.”

This rescue was a fairly routine occurrence for our crew. But a lot of pieces to our overall “beach safety net” have to be in place before this can happen. We are so lucky that the hard work our guards do is recognized and appreciated and we recognize that that is something we continually need to strive to maintain. That’s a big part of why we have so many programs that tie to the community in which we are embedded, such as the Jesse Tree/ Beach Patrol Survivor Support Network, our Junior Lifeguard Program, being designated as a “Safe Place” for kids, our School Outreach Program, At-Risk Kids Camps, and more. There are several opportunities coming up to become involved with our program at different levels.

About 40 percent of our overall staff and the majority of our supervisors come out of our Junior Lifeguard Program. Participants aged 10-15 study topics as diverse as beach lifeguard principles, first aid, CPR, and marine biology/ecology. 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 hope is that many of the participants will become the lifeguards of the future. This year the Junior Life Guard Program starts June 4th and continues for six weeks. There are still spaces available.

The Galveston Island Beach Patrol “Wave Watcher” Volunteer Program is a way for ordinary citizens to join our team. It’s a mini lifeguard academy for that is free of charge and that will serve as a force multiplier in our effort to prevent drowning deaths and aquatic accidents. We are currently accepting applicants for the 2nd academy of the year, which is scheduled from May 29th to June 1st if there are enough interested people.

Tomorrow, May 12th, 2018 we have lifeguard tryouts at the Galveston Community Pool at Lasker Park at 7am (2016 43rd street Galveston TX, 77550). The Academy will start immediately after and run for two weeks.  The course consists of 100 hours of training including American Red Cross Emergency Medical Response and CPR for the Professional Rescuer, United States Lifesaving Association Open Water Lifeguard Training, tourist relations training, and physical training. Candidates must be 16 or older, able to swim 500 meters in 10 minutes or less, and pass a urine drug screen. Info is on our website. WE NEED GUARDS!

Rescue

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The group of 10 or so middle school students came to the 24th street beach early. They were well away from the designated “no swim” area, about midway between the rocks and the Pleasure Pier.
5 of the kids went in the water for a swim. What they didn’t notice is that there was a current pushing them towards the rocks.
Captain Tony Pryor and Senior Lifeguard Kevin Knight (AKA “L’il Kev”) were working as our early patrol vehicle. They were doing a first pass of the beachfront. Tony spotted the group drifting quickly towards the drop-off and rip current by the rocks. He told Kevin to get ready, then flipped on the overhead lights and hooked a U turn, intending to pull up in the no parking area so they would have quick access to the stairs leading down to the beach. Unfortunately, there was a red pickup truck parked right in the middle of the emergency lane. Tony quickly found a small space between two parked cars and wedged the rescue truck up onto the sidewalk. Kevin jumped out of the truck, grabbing his rescue tube and fins. Tony hit the air horn and used the loudspeaker to tell the kids to come to shore immediately. They didn’t respond.
Kevin ran over to the steps and down to the beach, entering the water at the base of the rocks. By this time there were three kids caught in the rip current that were near the end of the rocks, and two more on the brink. He high-stepped through the water, then dolphin dove, when it was near waist deep, and finally put the fins on and used the rip current to swim towards the three kids farthest out.
Tony called for backup, then followed right behind, but ran out on the rock groin. He yelled for the two kids that were on the edge of the drop off to go straight to shore. He watched long enough to see that they were making progress and a teacher was headed that way. Then he scanned the groin and water. Kevin had made contact with two of the kids and seemed to be OK as he took them around the end of the groin. A young girl was struggling about ¾ of the way out near the rocks. Tony called for a fisherman to grab the ring buoy out and rope of the rescue box. The man responded quickly, removing the buoy and expertly throwing it to the girl. The girl grabbed it, but was getting washed along the rocks in the heavy surf. She was able to hang on, which bought she and Tony valuable time.
Tony ran to her, slid down the rocks and into the water. He untangled her and used his rescue tube to swim her away from the rocks and to safety. Kevin brought the others to shore. Tony and the girl were cut up, but the kids were fine as Tony and Kevin left to continue patrolling.

Wave Watchers Academy

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Spring Break ended up being very “Spring Break-ish”. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect and last weekend the beaches were full. We scrambled to keep swimmers safe, getting to hundreds before they got themselves in trouble in the rip currents by the groins. There weren’t many crowd issues in town, but the party crowd hit the west end hard. The Galveston Police Department very busy dealing with a couple of incidents and diffusing various situations. As usual, they did an absolutely amazing job of dealing with potential problems in a professional way.

The Beach Patrol is so lucky that the hard work our guards do is recognized and appreciated and we recognize that that is something we continually need to strive to maintain. That’s a big part of why we are involved in so many community programs, such as the Jesse Tree/Beach Patrol Survivor Support Network, the Junior Lifeguard Program, our School Outreach Program, Senior Beach Walks, and more.

We are looking forward to our second annual Wave Watcher Academy. The training is a mini lifeguard academy for that is free of charge and that will serve as a force multiplier in our effort to prevent drowning deaths and aquatic accidents.

The Wave Watcher academy will run from April 16th-19th and will meet from 8-12 each morning. Current Wave Watcher volunteers will be on hand to teach and advise. All are welcome and there is absolutely no physical requirement. The first day will cover topics related to Beach Patrol history and operations, rip currents and general beach safety, “Code X” (witnessed drowning) procedures, victim recognition, and municipal ordinances related to the beach and water front. The second day will be dedicated to first aid and CPR specially tailored to the beach environment. The third will focus on tourist ambassador certification (CTA Training). Finally, on the fourth day, we’ll do a site by site visit of the “hot spots” for water safety and discuss in detail how our Wave Watchers can integrate into our operations.

Once through the academy Wave Watchers will be able to volunteer for various duties if they desire. They are able to help with our LCD (Lost Child Detail) on holidays, and join us for special events and competitions. Most importantly they will form a cadre of informed beach goers who have “the eye”, so are able to spot trouble developing before it happens and notify us or other public safety groups. This could happen in the course of their normal daily lives when they drive, walk, fish, surf, etc. along the beachfront. Or it could take place with a more organized activity. The level of commitment and involvement will be completely up to the graduates.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining the crew contact Tricia at beachpatrol@galvestonparkboard.org . The class will cap at 20 and will be first come first serve.

I hope you will join us for a fun way to support a great cause!

Beach Season is Here!

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It’s was so nice all week to see good weather and everyone out enjoying the beach. There’s always such a quick transition from winter’s empty beaches to spring. Seeing kids on the playground at Stewart Beach, teens playing Frisbee or throwing a ball on the shoreline, people fishing and bird watching, and families along the shoreline is a great reminder of how lucky we are to live on the coast.

Last Saturday we started working seasonal lifeguards from the towers. Leading up to that we had a Supervisor/Senior Lifeguard Recertification Academy, Dispatch Certification Academy, and we started our new Lifeguard Training Academy, which runs all week till Sunday. I’m always impressed with the men and women who choose to go through the academy or to work during Spring Break instead of spending the whole week hanging out with friends. Every year I’m impressed with how dedicated our lifeguards are and how much they believe in our mission to protect people that visit the beach.

Another group that is impressive is our “Wave Watcher” corps. We had a meeting last weekend to talk about how to improve the Wave Watcher Academy, which will be held April 16-19th. This is a volunteer group that works with the lifeguards and spots people that could potentially get in trouble. They help find lost kids, and generally assist in lots of ways. They’re not obligated to do anything after their training course other than keep their eyes open when they go near the beach. But many of them go way beyond. Join us if you have time! Info will be on our website and social media shortly.

The cold front that came through early this week dropped it back down from 70 to the mid 60’s. Those few degrees really cut down the number of people who are in the water. The guards have been busy moving swimmers away from the rock groins, especially since there’s been a lot of current running parallel to shore. But if the water was a few degrees warmer most of the people hanging out on the sand would have been in the water.

Spring Break has changed through the years. We’ve been through periods where this was the place to party for college and high school kids. That definitely still exists, but we’ve really become more of a family destination. Some of that is no doubt due to the excellent marketing that’s been done for the island, which promotes a family destination with lots of options that include eco-tourism, fishing, surfing, horseback riding, historical tours, shopping, and visiting amazing destinations like The Strand, Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn,  and the Opera House. Other reasons for this shift are an ever more responsive police department and increased security at the beach with more of a presence than they had in the past.

Mardi Gras really is the kick off for the new tourist year, but Spring Break is definitely the sign that the beach season is here! Come to the beach and swim near a lifeguard!

 

Spring Break Tryouts!

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Spring Break is here! We have lifeguard tryouts tomorrow (Saturday) morning at the City of Galveston Pool at Lasker Park at 2016 43rd starting at 7am rain or shine. Those who pass the swim, drug test, and interview will start the same day in the Lifeguard Academy and will be paid for their training time. Information is at www.galvestonbeachpatrol.com

Last week we left off at the end of part two of a 3 part column on lifesaving history in Galveston. We were talking about the late 70’s, when the Galveston Beach Patrol had been switched multiple times between municipal departments, with no real commitment for funding or ownership. High drowning rates became a civil and tourist issue and something needed to be done.

Senator Babe Schwartz, Dr. Jim McCloy, Sheriff Joe Max Taylor and many others all contributed significantly. The result of multiple discussions was that the Sheriff’s department took over management of the Beach Patrol with a start up grant from the Moody Foundation and annual funding of hotel tax funneled through the Park Board of Trustees (thank you Babe!), who also took over management of the beach maintenance and parks.. The formation of the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) as a national organization and the modernization and expansion of the Beach Patrol all happened in 1980 at a conference at Texas A&M Galveston orchestrated largely by Dr. Jim McCloy. Through the USLA many lifeguard agencies helped Galveston to modernize the lifeguard service.

Vic Maceo was the Director of the Galveston Beach Patrol from 1983–2007. During his tenure, a formal lifeguard academy was implemented which eventually  included nearly 100 hours of rigorous training. We implemented USLA’s national standards, formed supervisory hierarchy, started our Surf Condition Flag System and became the first beach agency to use staggered shifts to increase coverage for the same money.

In 2007, Vic Maceo retired, passing the torch to Chief Peter Davis. Shortly after that, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol fell solely under the management of the Park Board of Trustees

Today, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol is an elite certified “Advanced Agency” by the USLA. We protect nearly 7 million beach visitors annually. We are the designated lifeguard service for the City of Galveston and certified as a first-responder agency through the Department of Health. A staff of over 130 includes lifeguards, senior guards, supervisors, peace officers, and dispatchers. GIBP also has a Junior Lifeguard Program, with nearly 120 kids participating annually, and around 15 community based programs under its umbrella.

Each year we average 110,000 preventative actions, and 200 rescues. Last year alone we provided safety talks for over 23,000 school kids, responded to approximately 1,700 medical calls and made about the same number of enforcement actions.

Because we stand on the shoulders of so many dedicated predecessors, have such a great staff, and are supported by the Park Board, the City, and the Galveston community, the Galveston Island Beach Patrol is now widely recognized as one the most professional and proactive lifeguard agencies in the United States.

Galveston’s Lifesaving History

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Galveston’s lifesaving history is long and storied, much like Galveston herself.

In the 1800s, Galveston Island was one of the largest cities in Texas. Galveston hosted the first post office (1836), naval base (1836), cotton compress (1842), a Catholic parochial school (Ursuline Academy, 1847), an insurance company (1854), and also the first gas lights (1856).

Galveston was in need of equipment to aid mariners who encountered problems. A national organization based out of the east coast, called the United States Life Saving Service, was created in response to humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners.

This government agency gave a “Francis Life Boat” to the Collector of the Galveston Port, to be employed in cases of vessels in distress.

On June 2, 1857, the steamship Louisiana, which was full of furniture and lumber, caught fire 5 miles off the coast of Galveston. Due to poor housing and an inconvenient storage location, the then-current Francis Life Boat was not able to be used for rescue. Hundreds of Galvestonians stood on the shoreline in despair as they watched the ship burn and sink with its 35 helpless crewmen.

This event prompted citizens to petition the city for appropriate funds, not only to build a proper boat house, but also to mount the Francis Life Boat on a wheeled carriage for easier transportation. The Federal Government also supplied funds for two additional lifeboats, lifesaving equipment, and a permanent boathouse. Fifty-two volunteers submitted their names to the Mayor for support in creating the Galveston Life Boat Association.

It is thought that the equipment was destroyed when the Union captured Galveston in 1862 during the Civil War. When the war was over, no equipment was salvageable. The Life Boat Association no longer existed and any lifesaving efforts were at a halt.

In November 1875, another tragedy occurred when the steamship “City of Waco”, hailing from New York City, arrived in Galveston to unload its cargo and suddenly burst into flames. Strong winds and rough waters prevented any aid from nearby vessels in the harbor, leaving Galvestonians and sailors to watch in horrified awe as the City of Waco sank immediately. A memorial service at the Grand Opera House paid tribute to the 35 sailors who lost their lives in the tragedy and criticized the city for lack of appropriate means to come to their aid.

After this event, it was requested that the city build a lifesaving station on the island, in honor of those fallen men. The City received $200,000 from Congress to professionalize the Galveston organization. This money went to getting new equipment and structures for housing the lifesaving materials at the new life station’s location at Kuhn’s Wharf off 18th Street. This was the same year the lifesaving station was established at what is now the San Luis Pass and we’ve had lifesavers on Galveston continuously ever since, although the form that changed a few years later, following national and international trends.

(to be continued)

Leadership Training

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As the 7 strangers sat in a circle around the table I briefly looked around and was surprised to see each person’s attention riveted on the speaker. The man in front of us was the team leader. He described a time in his life where he found his only son dead in the house. He then talked about the process of coping and how that eventually led to a career change and to working with groups like ours. When his 20 minutes ended, one by one, the group told their stories. The tragedies, challenges, and triumphs. After the leader was so forthcoming, we all felt obligated to refrain from holding back. After that session a weird thing happened. We formed some kind of bond and became a cohesive unit.

As we went through the 12-14 hour a day 7 day leadership course last week, we worked together. We supported each other and we were motivated to make sure we each pulled our weight in the group projects. It even extended to the larger group to some extent. It really made me think about the importance of connecting with all of our groups first on the personal level before taking care of the business at hand. How much more effective would we be if we didn’t waste time competing and posturing?

This strategy was the core of true leadership training. The goal of the course was to give us tools to lead in whatever capacity we had back at home. All were from some type of local governmental entities, so included city managers, department heads, public safety leaders at different levels, etc.

We’ve known for some time that the best results don’t come from the traditional top down, autocratic leadership model. We also know that the “millennial generation” doesn’t respond well to more traditional models. And in many of our worlds, millenials now comprise a significant percentage of the workforce. In my world they’re almost our complete workforce. But I was happy to see that the latest leadership theories don’t advocate losing the chain of command strategy so important to public safety groups in managing a crisis. I was also happy to see that something we’ve been moving towards in the Beach Patrol for some time is a big part of their strategy. The creation of what they called “micro businesses” targeting specific tasks such as strategic planning, non-emergency tasks, or areas outside of the normal day to day operations is a big part of employee engagement. And, time and energy spent on these areas outside of the normal hierarchy pays off exponentially in productivity.

We try to double down on training during these slower times for obvious reasons. This week I was in the Texas police chief leadership series, which, not surprisingly, focused on similar concepts.

I feel grateful for this training and want to commend both the Park Board and leadership for emphasizing the importance of progressive training that will help all departments operate more efficiently and productively.

Lyle Gun

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It was a moonless bitter cold night as the hooded figure walked along the beachfront. His long coat swirled around him as the icy rain and wind whipped through his clothes despite his efforts to keep them wrapped around his thin body. He held his lantern to the side so as not to hamper his ability to scan the ocean for lights. He still had a few miles to walk before he reached the turnaround point, where he would meet another man in a small warming hut. They would spend some time chatting and exchange tokens, so each could show their station master proof that they’d made the grueling trek.

Suddenly he noticed the thing that every Lifesaver Man dreads and at the same time hopes for. He spotted a light offshore that moved back and forth. To the untrained eye it would look innocuous, but he recognized what it was immediately. A ship was grounded and getting pounded by waves. He ran to the area and saw the size of the ship, which gave him an idea of how many passengers there were. He signaled with his light, and then ran the whole way back to the station. The station master sounded the alarm and the crew scrambled a response. It was too rough and windy to think about launching the rescue boat, but the ship was close enough to shore to bring the “Lyle Gun”, which was essentially a small cannon. They hooked a team of donkeys to the cannon and went as fast as possible.

When the crew arrived, they went through a practiced procedure that involved firing the cannon at the ship with a weighted object tied to a light line. This line was used to connect a heavier line to a sand anchor. Using a simple but ingenious pulley system they were able to send a “Bosun’s” chair back and forth on the heavier line. Pulling one person at a time across the gap between the ship that was being battered to a pulp to the shore took hours for the team. Once they had everyone on shore, most of the survivors and a few of the rescuers could hardly function and had to be carried to the station by the team of donkeys on a cart. From there the families of the Lifesaver Men, who lived in a tiny settlement adjacent to the station cared for them until they recovered.

The first lifeguards in Galveston were men like these. The US Lifesaving Service had a station at the San Luis Pass that was established in 1875. Eventually, with the advent of the industrial revolution, a leisure class, and recreational swimming, it split into the Red Cross and the US Coast Guard.

I can’t imagine how hard a life these brave men led. They worked under the most extreme conditions and displayed incredible bravery. But the same spirit exists in the men and women that protect Galveston and our nation’s beaches today.

Botswana

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Since 1983 I’ve missed one summer of lifeguarding in Galveston. That summer I missed was because after college I took a job teaching on a one year contract in Botswana, Africa and traveled at the end of my contract for about 9 months.

My teaching job was in a small mining community on the edge of the Kalahari Desert. Even living in the desert I thought a lot about when I’d get to return to Galveston and work on the beach and tried to stay in shape. At first I’d run on the cattle trails through the hilly rocky terrain. I ended up not doing too much of that for two reasons. One was that it was rude to pass an older person without running through some rather lengthy introductions including asking how they woke up in the morning and telling them how you woke up (“I woke up nicely”). The second was that there were a number of dangerous animals once you got out in the country including lions, elephants, black and green mambas, and several kinds of cobras. I resorted to jumping rope or running on my laundry in the bathtub to wash clothes.

Finally I realized that my school , which was on the edge of the village, was near a sports club that had a weird small round swimming pool. The pool wasn’t very big, but I made friends with a man called Lux who would let me in when no one was in the pool so I could swim laps. I think I figured out that it took 100 laps to make a mile, but it was better than having to stop every 5 minutes to chat or running into something life threatening. The only scary thing was this group of baboons would come down from a nearby hill and watch me and point at me like I was crazy.

Sometimes I’d go for the weekend to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, which was the nearest big city. It was a tough trip involving a money exchange with some women of the Shona ethnic group under this tree, a border crossing, and about 4 hours of hitchhiking. But a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers from the states would go to this campsite and I’d get my fill of American culture. There was also a really beautiful 50 meter public swimming pools near the campsite. That was pretty amazing.

Once at that pool a guy was swimming laps in the lane next to me. Ocean lifeguards can spot each other in various ways, but I knew he was a guard by the way he swam. He was looking up every few strokes and had a really distinctive open water stroke. He also stopped periodically and checked on this group of unaccompanied kids playing across the pool. Before I could say anything he stopped me and said, “Where do you guard?”.

Turned out he was a guard in Florida who was traveling during his off time. Go figure!

Fin Cut and Night Swim

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Last Tuesday evening a call came out that there was a shark bite at 42nd and sand with heavy bleeding, and unconscious person, and CPR in progress. Beach Patrol, EMS, Fire Department, and the Police Department were all dispatched to the scene.

When everyone got there they expected something pretty dramatic. The first call on the radio was the lifeguard truck, who called in that there was no CPR in progress and only minor bleeding. They added that the cut was from a fin. A surfboard fin.

It’s not abnormal for calls for service to come in as one thing and in actuality be something else. Usually the reality is much less severe than the call, but it can be the other way around. Other times our hardworking dispatchers field multiple calls about the same thing, and each has a completely different take on what they saw. First Responders all react assuming the worst case scenario but arrive ready to re-evaluate once they see with their own eyes.

In this particular case the “shark bite with CPR in progress” was a 4inch cut to the thigh of a 15 year old girl that was caused by the fin of her surfboard. We treat many surfboard fin cuts each year and rarely see a shark bite. But surfboard fin cuts can be severe. A fin that is connected to a big surfboard getting pushed around by a wave has a lot of force. It can slice to the bone easily, and at times can cut more than just fat and muscle. The good thing is its usually a fairly clean cut that can be sewn up easily. File the sharp edges of your fins down when you buy them to minimize the risk. Also, for beginners who are not yet aware of how to get away from their board when they fall, they make flexible fins that are way safer. We use them along with foam boards for our Junior Lifeguard Program.

Speaking of Junior Lifeguards we are accepting applications now. This year we have new partnerships in place in the form of “complimentary camps”. Martial Arts America, The Kitchen Chick, and Clay Cup Studios all offer camps that are compatible with the times of each age group of our Junior Guard Camp. So, for example if you have a 10 year old, they’d go to Junior Guards from 8-12 and then could go to one of the other camps in the afternoon. They’d be doing these fun, educational activities most of the day. Information on these complimentary camps is available on our website.

Next Wednesday around 5pm we’d like to invite you to 29th and Seawall for our annual “Night Swim” event. All of our lifeguard candidates will attempt their final physical challenge and will be joined by our veteran lifeguards. They’ll swim, paddle, climb, crawl, and suffer in unimaginable ways for your viewing pleasure. Come cheer us on and help us welcome our new recruits to the team!