Q&A; -- On summer safety and saving lives

As summer approaches, thousands of swimmers and beachgoers will be

drawn to the seven miles of coastline in Newport Beach for fun and

relaxation.

But while frolicking in the foam and sand seems like a harmless and

safe activity, the truth is there are many, many dangers in these

alluring and inviting waters. Newport Beach lifeguards know that, and as

the weather warms so too does the army of life savers who keep watch over

swimmers young and old.

Veteran Newport Beach lifeguard Capt. Eric Bauer recently sat down

with Daily Pilot Editor Tony Dodero to discuss lifeguarding and beach

safety. Bauer has been with the City of Newport Beach since 1977 as a

seasonal guard and since 1985 as a full-time employee.

Before that he was a junior guard and then a lifeguard and water

safety instructor for Huntington Beach, where he was raised. He ran the

boats there for a number of years, patrolling the surf line for dangerous

conditions. Bauer is an avid surfer, scuba diver and body surfer.

For more information on lifeguarding or ocean safety check out these

Web sites at o7 https://www.USLA.orgf7 or o7

https://www.newportlifeguard.orgf7 .

There is an image that lifeguards have the greatest job on the

planet. Is that image true?

Lifeguards do have an outdoor job. It’s usually young men and women

who are physically fit. There is a certain image that’s resulted from

“Baywatch” and so forth. Not that “Baywatch” hasn’t helped our cause

because it’s put lifeguards in the forefront.

In actuality, we have young people responsible for the safety of

thousands of people at a given time during the day. When there’s surf and

activity, they are in and out of the tower all day, so it’s a physically

demanding job.

Even on the days when there is not a lot of activity, it’s extremely

monotonous. They are essentially sitting at a century post for an 8-hour

day, if not longer, with no social interaction. They’ve got to stay

focused. They’ve got to stay awake because an emergency can happen at any

time.

What kind of training does it take to be a Newport Beach lifeguard?

There’s a lifeguard tryout that’s competitive so people are competing

against the best swimmers and water polo players and water people

throughout the area. To get to that point, these people started swimming

when they were 5 or 6. Occasionally we do have good people who come

through who aren’t on swim or water polo teams, but that’s the exception.

Really most of these people have been swimming since they’ve been

children.

No. 1 learn to swim. Then, get on a swim team or a water polo team and

learn to swim fast. And then get in a junior lifeguard program so you can

learn about the surf and ocean conditions.

That’s one of our dilemmas in regards to retaining and recruiting is

that swimming and water polo are a lot more competitive than they once

were. A lot more popular. A lot more coaches are expecting more of their

players, so they don’t have time to dedicate to a full-time job, even

during the summer. It used to be they had summers off and they’d get a

summer job. But now they’re playing water polo in tournaments all year

long. That hurts us because we eliminated a portion of potential

employees.

As the summer season comes upon us, how big does the lifeguard

staff swell to?

We have 16 regular lifeguards that work year round. Both

administrative and supervisory staff and field supervisory staff. That’s

supplemented by a seasonal work force. The more senior people begin in

the spring time, during spring break, and continue to work through

September and October. That is supplemented by close to 200 people in the

summer to fill 50 to 60 positions a day.

Essentially at the same time we have 30 employees leave and we’re

hiring approximately 30 new employees every year. If you can imagine the

police or fire departments replacing 30 employees a year, it would be a

very difficult proposition.

What are some of the safety suggestions you have for swimmers and

beachgoers?

First of all is learn how to swim. Many people think they are strong

swimmers but in actuality, because they don’t have ocean knowledge, they

can put themselves in jeopardy even if they think they are strong

swimmers. So learn to swim, swim near a lifeguard, check with a lifeguard

before going into the water.

Don’t dive. Don’t run and dive into the water. We have many cervical

injuries that occur that way.

Learn about conditions, learn what a rip current is and how to get out

of one. Be heads up. It’s a dangerous environment.

The other thing is always use the buddy system. And use fins when

using a Boogie board.

Which beaches would you say are the most dangerous?

Probably the most dangerous beach, believe it or not, is from here

(the Pier) to 28th Street. It’s dangerous because of the number of

nonswimmers or very weak swimmers that frequent that area. We’ve probably

had as many drownings there as anywhere. It’s critical.

As far as The Wedge goes it’s an extremely dangerous beach for

novices. You can be standing on the beach and people have been pulled off

and pounded onto the beach because of the large surf down there.

But essentially the beach from one end to the other can be formidable

and you should use caution in all areas. We have rip currents throughout

Newport Beach. That’s not to say we don’t want you to come down and have

a good time. But if you follow these safety rules, you’ll leave in one

piece and you’ll leave alive.

Bio

Name: Eric Bauer

Age: 42

Occupation: Marine Safety Captain

Education: Associate in arts degree from Golden West College,

bachelor’s degree in industrial arts and master’s degree in public

administration from Cal State Univeristy Long Beach

Family: Wife Fran, three children Danielle, 18; Kate, 15; Alec, 12.

Miscellaneous: His father is Huntington Beach Councilman Ralph Bauer,

mom Charlene is also active and sister is the principal at Perry School

in Huntington Beach.