Tag: rnli

Brighton and Hove Safe Summer Swimming

This blog contains specific details of the Brighton and Hove Lifeguard and Seafront Service for the summer of 2022 AND more general tips and links to useful resources for swimming in the sea in the summer.

Seabirds’ operate as a Community Interest Company that aims to encourage all local residents, of all swim abilities to join us in the sea. Our aim is to create a community space for people to enjoy the water and provide a way for swimmers to manage their mental health and wellbeing. The summer is great time to start as the lifeguard service is available and we have already seen lots of new Salties joining our flock. So as a warm welcome to warmer seas here is an informative blog featuring the iconic ‘Brighton Buoys’ and our summer season lifeguard service.

Normal Operating Lifeguard Service

The ‘SWIM AREA’ buoys arrive in early May ready for the lifeguard season to start on Brighton and Hove’s beaches over the May Half Term. Brighton and Hove normally has 11 lifeguarded beaches covering 14km of seafront from Saltdean to Hove Lagoon.  The swim area buoys mark out an area that is safe to swim in if the yellow and red flags are flying and a lifeguard is on duty.  They are not there for swimmers to swim round although many use them as markers to swim too and roughly measure the distance of their swim. If you were to see a bird’s eye view of them you would see they are never parallel and move around quite a bit in bad weather so it is a very rough measurement.

The season runs from May to September with the outer posts of Saltdean, Rottingdean and Ovingdean opening from July to September, as the schools break up. There can be between 2-4 lifeguards per post depending on how busy that particular beach is. The more popular touristy beaches by the Palace Pier have more lifeguards. All the beach lifeguards are supported by a lifeguarded boat that patrols daily and the Seafront staff and co-ordinators (the staff on the quad bikes).

Buoy Formation

These buoys are not to be confused with the boat lane buoys. These too are yellow but a different shape. However, from a distance, and as the swim area buoys are in a parallel line alongside the boat buoys, it is hard to see the difference. These buoys look like the picture below and are there to indicate where boats can approach to and from the shore. If you don’t want to get hit by a boat – don’t swim in these lanes. The boat lane buoys line up with yellow posts on the beach as per the picture below. This one to the west of King Alfred is by the boat winches and normally has kayaks locked to it. So if you can’t see the shape of the buoy from the shore – look for a post. The boat lanes are very close in proximity to some of the lifeguard posts most notably at King Alfred and Hove Lawns (D5) so please be mindful when you swim there as jet skis and small craft are allowed to launch and land there.

The most common rescue the lifeguards perform is retrieving swimmers from the Swim Area buoys. Swimmers head out for the buoys and when they get there can be too tired to swim back, not realise they made it there on a tidal current or offshore wind and don’t have the ability to get back, or get there and realise how far they are from shore and freeze both in temperature and ability to move. If you want to know more about swimming safely, improve your swimming confidence and technique or join us for a guided swim to enable you to swim safely this summer you can BOOK HERE

We understand, that for some swimmers having goals and targets gives you something to strive towards but this must be done safely. If you wish to increase your time in the water, build up to it slowly and stay close to the shore so you can exit quickly.  Another way to measure your swim distance is to move parallel to the shore and count the groynes. These are roughly 100 metres apart and allow you to stay in shallower water and closer to a safe exit point. If you wish to swim to the buoys consider going at slack tide on a spring low with no wind. Don’t forget to wear a tow float and a bright coloured hat, preferably orange or pink.

The positions the lifeguards patrol are:

Duke’s Mound, BN2 1EN – 10:30am to 5:30pm

East of Brighton Palace Pier, BN2 1PS – 10am to 6pm

Central Brighton, West Street, BN1 2FN – 10am to 6pm

West Pier, BN1 2LN – 10am to 6pm

Hove Lawns Café, BN3 2FR – 10am to 6pm

King Alfred, BN3 2WW – 10am to 6pm

Extended positions for the summer holiday starting late July:

Rottingdean, BN2 7HR – 11:30am to 5:30pm

Saltdean, BN2 8SQ – 11:30am to 5:30pm

They are normally happy for you to leave your bags and belongings with them while you swim. And, they are happy to answer any of your questions or give you advice before you get in the water.

They will have boards close to their posts indicating tide times and sea conditions. There will be increased water patrols on boards and the boat and the new additions of towers dotted along our beaches have made watching beach and sea users much easier. They raise flags at their posts so it is easy to identify where they are and the safe swimming zone. A red and yellow flag indicates a safe swimming area. An orange flag indicates the wind is offshore and therefore inflatables should not be used. A Red Flag means it is dangerous to enter the water – this can be for many reasons and if you are unsure go and speak to the lifeguards on duty.

As RNLI Ambassadors we help share key messages about swimming in the sea safely. Below are their top 4 tips for using the beach safely and advice on what to do in an emergency.

Four Key Beach Safety Tips

  1. Choose a lifeguarded beach. Swim between the red and yellow flags.
  2. Don’t use inflatables in the sea. You can easily be blown out to sea with no way of getting back to shore.
  3. Take a phone. In an emergency, dial 999 for the Coastguard.
  4. If you’re in trouble in the water, remember #FloatToLive Lean back and use your arms and legs to help you float.

What to do in an emergency

STEP 1: Call for help. Keep an eye on the casualty, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

STEP 2: Talk. Talk to the casualty, encourage them to keep calm and float. Reassure them that you are getting help.

STEP 3: Reach. Try to reach them from the shore using any lifesaving equipment available. Do not go in the water yourself.

STEP 4: Throw. Throw a line to the casualty and pull them towards the shore if possible.

Other Useful Resources

Floating

Floating – an essential pastime!

All I have done is float for the last couple of months. With trapped nerves caused by knotty and gnarly trapezius muscle I can’t do much else. Whilst I love to float by choice, when it is enforced, it’s not only my nerves that are trapped – I feel trapped!

I have never been good at resting for recovery. Being active is my therapist couch. As the seas began to warm, and after some technique coaching at Sea Lanes I was looking forward to a summer of long lazy point to point sea swims. But it just wasn’t to be. Instead I have been coaching our Women Wellbeing and Water courses and reading for relaxation. A good distraction but it all keeps coming back to floating. On our confidence courses I have been encouraging participants to relax and float on their backs. My relaxing reads have included re-reading “Floating – A Life Regained” by Joe Minihane. I cannot get away from floating………..

Teaching people, new to open water swimming, to float allows them to experience the buoyancy of their wet-suits or their body and the salt water. It provides them with reassurance that if they feel scared, panicked, unsure, they can flip onto their back and take some timeout to adjust to their surroundings and situation. We create, what I like to call, a Selkie Circle or a Mermaid Ring, where we all float in a round at the beginning of the session. It’s a really good way for the swimmers to become comfortable with each other, with me and their environment. It also looks pretty cool.

Floating is a  vital life saving skill. Drowning can be prevented in lots of instances if the swimmer relaxes to conserve energy and float on their back as per the RNLI Float to Live campaign. As the sea warms up and the sun continues to shine the masses are flocking to the beach. Unfamiliar water and not being used to sea temperatures can result in poor choices and people getting into difficulty. In Brighton and Hove we have a number of drownings every year. The RNLI advice is;

5 steps to float

1. If you fall into water, fight your instinct to swim until cold water shock passes

2. Lean back, extend your arms and legs

3. If you need to, gently move them around to help you float

4. Float until you can control your breathing

5. Only then, call for help or swim to safety

Floating on your back is also a really good way to acclimatise to prevent cold water shock. Nothing like that first trickle down your back! If you spend time floating before you start your swim you are able to acclimatise, regulate your breathing and get used to your environment in controlled way so hopefully the RNLI advice will not be needed. I include it as part of the warm up. There are stretches on the beach first before entry, then a few dolphins dives and front crawl stroke before flipping onto your back to catch your breath and get ready for the swim ahead.

Floating is a great way to feel the tidal flow, experience the impact of wind strength and direction, find a static sighting point and consider which direction you need to swim in. I am famous for swimming in the wrong direction even after studying the various apps that tell me which way the flow should be going. I blame mother nature and the moon. Although it could be my sighting as I aim for one buoy and arrive at a completely different one on a regular basis. After doing everything at pace and being particularly crap at going slow I have learned, the hard way, to take my time and float before I set off on a swim. Having earned the Salty Seabird nickname of Tidal Bore due to my obsession with tides and flows, floating allows me to practice what I preach.

Finally floating is the best way to be one with your salty environment. Ears just below the surface and eyes to the sky you become part of the sea in tune with its sights and sounds. Taking time to really appreciate being in the sea, looking at the colour or the water, feeling the energy of the swell and listening to the shingle being dragged around on the seabed. All of these experiences write your swim story and wouldn’t be possibly without floating.

And the best thing is….everyone can float!

Author: Seabird Kath

A little farewell note on floating.

“And out floated Eeyore.
“Eeyore!” cried everybody.
Looking very calm, very dignified, with his legs in the air, came Eeyore from beneath the bridge.
“It’s Eeyore!” cried Roo, terribly excited.
“Is that so?” said Eeyore, getting caught up by a little eddy, and turning slowly round three times. “I wondered.”
“I didn’t know you were playing,” said Roo.
“I’m not,” said Eeyore.
“Eeyore, what are you doing there?” said Rabbit.
“I’ll give you three guesses, Rabbit. Digging holes in the ground? Wrong. Leaping from branch to branch of a young oak-tree? Wrong. Waiting for somebody to help me out of the river? Right. Give Rabbit time, and he’ll always get the answer.”
“But, Eeyore,” said Pooh in distress, “what can we–I mean, how shall we–do you think if we–“
“Yes,” said Eeyore. “One of those would be just the thing. Thank you, Pooh.” 
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner