GALVESTON - Bay Watch it ain't. Oh, sure, they look good in their swimwear, and they can even be seen working out if you get to Texas Gulf beaches early enough, but the Galveston Beach Patrol emphasizes preventive lifeguarding over dramatic rescues.
"I don't want my lifeguards to be in the water rescuing people too often," said Vic Maceo, beach patrol director. "I want them to spot dangerous situations and intervene to prevent accidents.
"Galveston Island is a hard place to guard," he observed. "We patrol over 32 miles of beachfront, one of the highest responsibility areas of any mainland lifeguarding agency."
The Galveston Beach Patrol is recognized as one of the best in the United States. It attained that status over the past 20 years, after its reorganization along lines suggested by Jim McCloy, professor of marine sciences at Texas A&M University at Galveston and a former lifeguard himself. McCloy has maintained Texas A&M's connection with the beach patrol by continuing to serve as a consultant -- 11 of this season's 58 lifeguards are Texas A&M students.
"I'd take all the A&M students I can get to serve as lifeguards," Maceo said. Texas A&M students working on Galveston beaches this year are Brandon McDermott, David Paris, Rob Kite, Pat Doherty, Ryan Carney, Cody Brazil, Layla and Nasmi Hatami, Sascha Cushner, Klayre Simons, Loree Williamson, and Jennifer Creel.
An expert on beach risk management, McCloy said Galveston's beaches share the problems of other open water beaches, such as strong rip currents and accidents due to beachgoers using alcohol. Rip currents are underwater streams of water moving rapidly seaward along rock piers (technically known as "groins") built to help capture more sand for beaches.
"There have been several drownings in Galveston during the past decade, all but one of them at unguarded beaches. Many Texas beachgoers are non-swimmers due to the shortage of public practice pools in many areas of the state," McCloy said. "But the beach patrol does a good job protecting swimmers in its coverage area."
The only drowning in eight years on a guarded Galveston beach occurred when a lifeguard had to rescue three swimmers at one time. The guard brought two to safety but could not reach the third person in time.
Maceo, a major in the Galveston County Sheriff's Department, is one of three year-round Beach Patrol employees. From Easter through the end of September, he directs up to 58 full-time lifeguards.
"More lifeguards are needed on Gulf beaches," Maceo said. "The beach population is rising, and Galveston probably sees between 3.5 to 5 million vacationers a year.
"We especially need bilingual lifeguards here to deal with an increasing Spanish-speaking population. We want to be able to communicate with all our visitors to make sure everyone goes home safe," he observed. The Beach Patrol has had bilingual warning signs in place at all its beaches since 1980.
Maceo estimated that over the past two years, the Galveston Beach Patrol has performed more than 120,000 "personal contact prevention" efforts, including warning swimmers away from dangerous areas, preventing injuries from horseplay on the beach, and treating jellyfish stings.
"On a day with a light north wind, which can blow swimmers out to sea, we might warn a thousand people a day to come back closer to shore," Maceo said. "We might return 50 lost kids to their families."
Maceo estimated that the patrol performs as many as 100 actual in-water rescues per year.
"Our people must complete 107 hours of instruction and physical conditioning before they're considered lifeguards," Maceo said. "Lifeguard training culminates in a night swim that starts with jumping off the pier at the Flagship Hotel and swimming, running and paddling two miles. This exercise is intended to instill self-confidence and pride. When they get done, the lifeguards know they're in the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent of the country."
The Galveston Beach Patrol's reputation has spread around the world. In May, Beach Patrol lifeguards brought home medals from life-saving competitions in Australia, and later that same month, lifeguards from Vera Cruz, Mexico, shared Galveston lifeguard towers for two and one half weeks to learn the patrol's methods.
A member of the Galveston Beach Patrol for 33 years, Maceo loves his job. "It's the job I wanted when I was 15 years old - and the job I want to keep for the rest of my life" he said. "How many people can say that?"
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Contact: Judith White, 979-845-4652, [email protected]; Jim McCloy, 409-740-4408, [email protected]; Major Vic Maceo, Galveston Beach Patrol, 409-763-4769.
6/19/00
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