Cable Beach lifeguard season concludes

Lifeguard patrols on Broome’s world-famous Cable Beach wrapped up at the weekend following a busy 2018 season.  

Patrols ran from Friday 30 March to Sunday 28 October, with Surf Life Saving WA lifeguards on the beach each day between 9am and 4.30pm.

Broome Surf Life Saving Club volunteers assisted the professional lifeguards between May and October by running patrols on Sundays from 8.30am to 4.30pm. 

During patrol hours in 2018 there were 10 rescues carried out on Cable Beach; no major first aid incidents; 171 minor first aid incidents; nine beach closures for stingers, sharks and crocodiles; and 2083 preventative actions including warning swimmers, surfers and other beachgoers of rips, rocks and other hazards.

Shire of Broome Manager of Sport and Recreation, Casey Zepnick, said the partnership between the Shire and Surf Life Saving WA continued to work well and to provide a service that kept the community and visitors safe at Cable Beach.

“Cable Beach will now be unsupervised across the wet season, and people who continue to swim are urged to take heed of any warnings, never to swim alone, to always respect the ocean and to stay in a comfortable depth,” he said.

Surf Life Saving WA General Manager, Chris Peck, said it was great to have the iconic red and yellow of surf life saving’s lifeguards back patrolling the iconic Cable Beach for another season.

“The service provided by our lifeguards, through the Shire of Broome, is important in providing beachgoers with a safe and enjoyable beach experience and supports the local surf life saving club’s volunteer weekend patrols which are carried out during the peak season,” Mr Peck said.