Rescues at sea

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a four-part series about Newport Beach lifeguards. Next week we close the series when with safety reporter Kelly Strodl as she joins lifeguards at the annual Fire and Lifeguard Beach Party recognizing the efforts of both departments at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Brian O’Rourke revved the engine on Sea Watch II, the newest rescue boat added to the city’s fleet in September, cutting through the chop of the Pacific Ocean as he headed back toward Newport Harbor.

O’Rourke, a 20-year veteran of the squad, had just spent the last hour touring Division 3 and discussing safety concerns — from “Pirates Cove” just inside the harbor mouth southward to the rocky seaside homes of Cameo Shores.

Unlike the sandy beaches in the first two divisions along the Balboa Peninsula, the rock-laden terrain along these shores has lifeguards reverting to more ocean-based approaches in rescues.

Rip tides tend to be less of a concern because the sea bottom in these parts is covered in reefs and kelp beds. The cove, sitting at the mouth of the harbor and just above Corona del Mar State Beach, has its own lifeguard tower on an outcropping rock.

There, medical assistance is given to beachgoers looking to avoid the heavy crowds at Big Corona. Instead, they hit the cove that can only be reached by a steep staircase or scaling the rock face. Climbers, often bogged down by beach chairs, umbrellas and coolers, lose their footing and twist ankles and knees, O’Rourke said.

Fisherman getting caught between tides are frequent passengers on the boats, O’Rourke said. There are not towers set up to patrol the beaches south of Little Corona so oftentimes fishermen who stroll out to the rocks in low tide get caught as the water rises and cuts off their exit.

Because the beaches there prove more isolated and difficult to reach in land vehicles, guards make most rescues via boats. This method of travel gives O’Rourke a chance to discuss what the lifeguards refer to as Division 4, the rescue boats. The boats are manned by two guards, a driver and a deck hand. While the skipper keeps the boat from hitting the rocks, the deck hand often makes the rescues.

Performing a rescue by boat poses problems and has guards inverting their tactics when approaching a rescue situation. Guards have to come at a save from a different angle than the beach-posted guards, O’Rourke said.

“They’re swimming in against the rip tide and look behind [them] and see a 6- to 8-foot wave coming in behind them,” O’Rourke said.

“People always ask us about our raddest rescue,” O’Rourke said. “For me, when our whole beach is crowded and there’s several rescues going on at one time, and we have 15 to 20 rescues on the boat, with six to eight hours on the boat, blowing a full tank of gas, that’s intense.”

During the busy holiday weekends the boat can be filled with 15 to 20 people.

Just before reaching the southern tip of the division’s jurisdiction, marked by a wrought iron fence that runs to the edge of the cliffs, the boat comes upon a large rocky arch a few yards offshore.

The formation, called “Ladder Rock” by locals, represents a right of passage for all lifeguards when reminiscing about their own training back in the day. Performing mocks saves in, on and around the rock can be one of the more trying challenges for lifeguard hopefuls.

Just glancing at the rock has O’Rourke reminiscing about a training session a couple of years back when a trainee — aptly using the techniques taught him in earlier weeks — punched him in the face.

“Boom, he punched me right in the nose,” O’Rourke said. “I couldn’t believe it. These kids are getting trained in saving people’s lives but they’re also protecting their own, O’Rourke said.

KELLY STRODL may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].