Margaret and I have spent the better part of the past six summers relaxing on the sand of the 17th Avenue Beach in Belmar. Although the faces have changed annually, we have been impressed without exception by the men and women of the Belmar Beach Patrol who keep us safe.
There are twenty-one Belmar beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, from 1st Avenue Beach at the town's northern end (Avon-by-the-Sea) to North Boulevard Beach on the town's southern end (Spring Lake) and on summer weekends they are packed with people. This past weekend, as the temperatures soared and the Atlantic's temperature took on the feel of bath water, the beach and the ocean each teemed with activity.
We marvel, sitting as we usually do about 25-50 feet south of our guards' stand, just how active they are during a given day. There usually are three lifeguards manning a stand at a given time and, more often that not, it appears as if while two guard the sunbathers and the swimmers like sheepdogs watching over their flock, the third member of the team is doing some type of training, whether running, rowing one of the rescue boats, swimming, or paddling the rescue board. Their level of preparedness is equal to their level of physical fitness, which is outstanding.
Saturday afternoon, on the 8th Avenue Beach, approximately one-half mile north of us, the lifeguards on duty participated in a life-saving rescue in which neither the rescuers nor the rescued dipped even a single toe in the water. An eight-year-old boy apparently dug himself an eight-foot-deep hole in the sand, which then collapsed around him. 911 was called and the all-star team of Belmar first responders, including the Police Department, the Fire Department, Belmar First Aid, and the Beach Patrol, sprung into action, rescuing the lad, and saving his life.
Well done, ladies and gentlemen, as always.
-AK
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