Cape Town - Research has shown that even in good weather, swimmers get into difficulties at sea in situations that may become life-threatening.
Senior marine scientist at the SA Weather Service Marc de Vos said summer usually brought lower-energy waves to Western Cape shores but during this time powerful waves associated with far-off storms also reached the province’s coastline, which occurred this past weekend and has persisted into the week.
“Environmental hazards are not the only concern. Our research has shown that nearly 40% of incidents around the Cape Peninsula, and nearly 35% along the east coast, involved swimmers, rock anglers and beachgoers and occurred in good conditions.”
Vos’s comments came after four teenagers drowned at Rocklands Beach on Sunday after they were caught in rip currents. “Irrespective of the waves, rip currents and strong winds can be present year-round. While waves and strong winds are fairly predictable, it is virtually impossible to be able to predict rip currents,” said Vos.
According to Lifesaving SA’s statistics for January and March this year, 41% of drownings and 73% of near-drownings occurred in the Western Cape, and 65% of those drownings in the province, and 85% of the near-drownings, occurred at sea.
Most of those who drowned were swimmers, and recorded incidents occurred between 12 noon and 6pm.
Craig Lambinon, spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institution (NSRI), said the public should swim only at beaches where there were lifeguards on duty, and should swim in swimming zones demarcated by lifeguards with red and yellow flags.
“The safe, demarcated swimming zones may be moved if rip currents are to form; therefore the instructions of lifeguards need to be obeyed,” he said.
Lambinon said that if a rip current formed, swimmers should not panic or fight against the current but use adjacent waves to return to shore.
“A person trying to help should not swim into a rip current to try to help someone caught in the current but should rather throw them something that floats. Use arm signals to show them to swim to the side (of the rip current),” he said.
Chairperson of Life Saving Western Cape Christine Kennedy said strong rip currents occurred along the coastline from the city to Bloubergstrand.
The Western Cape Disaster Management Centre has provided funding of R400000 to the NSRI and the Western Cape Lifesaving Institute to assist them in their operations.
Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said: “The work the NSRI and Lifesaving SA do is spectacular and too often goes unnoticed.
“People forget that both Lifesaving SA and the NSRI are non-profit organisations, and these organisations depend and operate purely on donations and sponsorships.”