Give us a sign

Surfers and Smiths Beach residents have dismissed calls for the beach to have gates that could be closed during an emergency.

The suggestion, raised in the Herald Sun last week, came after a 24-year-old woman from Melton drowned at Smiths Beach around 6.40pm on Sunday night.

The idea hasn’t met with support from locals.

Smiths Beach resident and former councillor Phil Wright said he’d never heard of closed gates being suggested for the area.

He said more signage – and education – was needed.

“The reality is inexperienced groups don’t understand the currents,” said Phil.

“While Smiths is safe, at both ends of the beach there are gutters where the white-water energy returns to deep water. It looks nice and flat but underneath the pull is strong and at times extreme.

“As surfers we are constantly guiding people to mark a spot on the beach and when you are moved away by the current, go back to shore and start again.”

He said people who weren’t familiar with local conditions needed to only swim when there were lifesavers present.

Recently retired Island Ward councillor, Stephen Fullarton said language barriers created issues around signage.

“There are signs up, featuring a few different languages, but how many languages do you put on it?”

He said calls for gates so the beach could be closed were “absurd” but agreed lack of knowledge of local conditions could be fatal.

“It’s a popular beach, but it is prone to having rips pop up from nowhere.”

More patrols?

Lifesaving patrols were operating last weekend until 6pm.

Predominantly made up of volunteer lifesavers, many travelling down from Melbourne, there’s no capacity to have the patrols run until nightfall.

“You can’t have someone there from dawn to dusk,” Stephen said.

Phil agreed.

“Do we expect life savers to sit there with one or two people swimming in shallows? Swim when there are lifesavers present,” he said.

“The tragedy (last weekend) happened after 6pm on a day when the surf was not large but swirling, and the wind was strong. That’s not conditions for swimming.”

He believes providing easy access to rescue tubes could be one strategy to improve safety at Smiths Beach.

Made of dense foam, a rescue tube is lightweight, extremely buoyant and flexible, so it can be wrapped and clipped around a swimmer.

If a rescue tube was available last weekend, tragedy may have been averted.

“If a rescue tube was on the beach, they could have safely attempted a rescue. There is the risk of vandalism (people stealing the tubes), but it is a matter of choosing the least-worst safety steps.”

Phil said he frequently approaches people at the beach who clearly have no knowledge of local conditions.

He said he saw the family involved in Sunday’s incident when they arrived at the beach and thought they “lacked ocean respect”, but he did not speak to them.

“Sometimes, I go and give people a little heads-up … they usually appreciate it.

“For whatever reason, I did not do it in this situation. A five-minute chat could have prevented this loss. I wish I had my time again.”