What if a swimmer is struggling to stay above water, frantically gasping for air as they fight a rip current? What if you’re near a fellow surfer who is face down in the water, unconscious?
Would you know what to do?
Lifeguards in Huntington Beach this week held S.A.L.T. – Surfers Awareness in Lifesaving Techniques – training for the Huntington Beach High surf team, teaching the teens how to respond to ocean emergencies because surfers often may be the first on the scene in a life-or-death situation in the sea.
The Huntington Beach Marine Safety Department created its S.A.L.T. program in 2015, and the lifesaving lessons for surfers have caught on, adopted by other lifeguarding departments as a way to get extra help for people in distress.
“Whenever there is an emergency situation, everyone wants to help, but not everyone knows how to help,” said Huntington Beach Marine Safety Captain Derek Peters, who led the two-day lesson on a recent day.
Peters, a former pro surfer turned lifeguard, said a program like this didn’t exist when he was growing up, but there were several times he could remember swimmers or surfers who needed help near the pier area.
Surfers in the program learn everything from coaching people out of a rip current to how to get an unconscious person on a surfboard to help them to shore. The first day is held in a classroom setting, the second on the sand and in the surf.
With a conscious victim who is struggling to stay above water, the most important thing is to keep distance because they may be in a panic and pull the rescuer under the water, Peters said.
“They will panic, they are not thinking rationally and they will sacrifice you for the betterment of themselves,” he said. “We teach them to use a board-length distance. Coach (the struggling person) in and paddle next to them and try and keep them calm. If they do need a flotation device, give them your board, but keep the board between you and them. Stay away, let them…
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