By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Renny Steele, chief of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol, said no one should make the mistake of thinking that being a lifeguard is a “glamorous job.”
The summer season of 2021 underscored his point.
Sea Isle’s beach patrol dealt with the continuing challenges of the pandemic, staff shortages that required some lifeguards to work six or seven days a week and the added responsibility of protecting more beaches during the hectic tourism season.
“We provided the safe services that we always provide because the guards had to step up,” Steele said while praising the lifeguards for their dedication.
Steele, 71, who wrapped up his 51st year with the beach patrol, said the summer of 2021 proved to be a busy one because there were bigger crowds than those during the 2020 vacation season, which was overshadowed by the initial coronavirus outbreak.
While watching over larger crowds, the lifeguards also took on the extra responsibility of protecting three new beaches – at Third, Sixth and Ninth streets – as part of expanded coverage in Sea Isle’s increasingly popular north end beaches.
Steele explained that lifeguards sometimes had to work six or seven days a week to ensure enough coverage for the north end, as well as the rest of the beaches in town.
“It was successful, but to man those beaches some guards came in on their day off,” he said.
Some of the lifeguards simply got worn down because of the long hours and the physical toll of working six or seven days a week, he pointed out.
“It’s not the glamorous job everybody thinks,” he said.
As was the case with beach patrols at other communities at the Jersey Shore, Sea Isle also had to handle a shortage of lifeguards. Overall, Sea Isle had 102 lifeguards, but Steele said the beach patrol could have used more. For 2022, he hopes to have 108 lifeguards.
Sea Isle is considering the possibility of adding lifeguard protection at 13th and 18th streets in 2022 to further increase coverage in the north end. Steele emphasized that no decisions have been made yet for 13th and 18th streets.
Also under consideration is the possibility of increasing the pay for Sea Isle’s lifeguards as an extra incentive to join the beach patrol. Sea Isle’s lifeguards make $110 per day, compared to $155 daily for lifeguards in Avalon and Stone Harbor, Steele said.
“We’re hoping to see a pay increase next year,” he said, noting that it would make Sea Isle more competitive with neighboring beach towns for recruiting lifeguards.
At the same time they were protecting the public, the lifeguards were also taking steps to protect themselves from COVID-19. Steele said “very few” guards were diagnosed with coronavirus because most of them were vaccinated this year.
“Anyone who was vaccinated did not have to sit out,” he said of quarantining requirements.
Because lifeguards were protected by vaccinations, the beach patrol was able to relax most of the safety protocols that were in effect in 2020, he said.
For instance, on some beaches last year, the city placed two stands so that lifeguards would each have their own stand instead of having to share one. But this year they were able to share the stands.
As an added benefit of the vaccinations, no members of the beach patrol who shared a lifeguard stand came down with COVID, Steele said.
Steele, though, said that hand sanitizer remained an important part of the lifeguards’ medical equipment packs as a safety precaution during the pandemic.
While protecting the beaches, Sea Isle’s lifeguards handled hundreds of “fish-outs” in 2021 involving the rescue of distressed swimmers, Steele said. That number is typical for each summer and usually involves only one or two lifeguards for each rescue.
The beach patrol also handled eight “flag rescues” this summer. Those types of emergencies involve multiple lifeguards rushing to the scene for larger-scale rescues. Sea Isle had nine flag rescues in 2020.
Members of the beach patrol who are trained emergency medical technicians also handle emergencies ranging from serious cuts to broken bones to heat stroke to back or neck injuries. Sea Isle’s beach patrol has 13 members who are certified EMTs.
In 2021, there were 119 medical emergencies, compared to 103 in 2020, Steele said.
Also over the summer, the beach patrol was involved with 53 cases of lost children, compared to 36 in 2020. In each case, the children were found and reunited with their families.
The beach patrol’s successful summer season also included some notable achievements for Sea Isle during the lifeguard competitions at the Jersey Shore.
Sea Isle took second place in the South Jersey Lifeguard Championship Races. In the doubles rowing race, Sea Isle’s Pat Scannapieco and Danny Rogers placed second.
In the first time ever for a Sea Isle lifeguard, Rodgers finished first in the singles row.
Other competitions in which Sea Isle fared well were the Tri-Resorts Lifeguard Races (first place) and the Cape May County Championship Races (third place).
With the exception of the Captain Thomas McCann Mascot School, the Sea Isle Beach Patrol was able to hold its traditional events in 2021. They included the Captain Bill Gallagher 10 Mile Island Run, the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol 1 Mile Ocean Swim, and the Sea Isle Beach Patrol Junior Lifeguard Program. Plans for next season are for all events to take place, Steele said.
