It is a public holiday, long weekend in our State so we were able to squeeze a short trip in to one of our favorite beaches. We had a few other things we needed to do nearby so even more reason to fit a short walk and swim in. There wasn't much of a crowd for the middle of the day on a weekend. We are not in lockdown but State and International borders are closed unless you can get a permit, so that must be keeping the tourist numbers really low.
The yellow flag means caution is required due to the southerly sweep (under tow) and we were reminded to always swim between the red and yellow flags (that you can see in the background of the photo). The water temperature was a refreshing 21'C. The northerly breeze made the surf a bit choppy.
I remember coming here as a child with my family. It's changed a lot over the years, not all in good ways but it is always a great positive trigger coming back to the beach, the sand and the water.
I did my Bronze Medallion and a season as a volunteer surf life saver a long time ago. It was really fun practising to rescue each other in the IRB. They can travel pretty fast and give you at bit of a thrill as they launch over the waves. I was only ever one of the crew. I didn't get to drive but I would sit up the front as a ballast (weight) going out. I would have to reach out the side and lift the rescuee into the craft. Then I would move back to the front again and we headed back in, so we didn't nose dive. Luckily I never had to rescue anyone for real.
Using one of these rescue boards looks easy in the right hands. I remember them being fun on calm to use on small surf days.
Three choppers passed over head in some sort of formation while we were there. I was only able to grab a quick photo of the last unmarked one. The others looked like the surf rescue, shark watch patrol and news media.
