Mooloolaba’s dumping waves can beat the best of them
On a good day, Mooloolaba Beach is one of the safest in the world for a swim. But as this week has already shown, it can be a nightmare for dumpings and spinal injuries on a low tide. SEE THE PICTURES, VIDEO
Sunshine Coast
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On a good day, Mooloolaba Beach is one of the safest in the world for a swim.
Along with Noosa Main Beach, it’s the beach lifeguards and lifesavers often recommend.
It’s more sheltered than the wilder open beaches like Sunshine Beach, Peregian, Coolum, Kawana, Maroochydore or Alexandra Headland.
But on a bad day, it can be as hazardous as any, particularly on low tide.
On Tuesday, just a day after a man in his 60s drowned, a woman was seriously injured after being dumped by a wave.
And she’s not alone. Every year, season after season, swimmers and bodysurfers put their necks on the line, literally, as they play cat and mouse with big dumping waves.
On low tide, Mooloolaba can be brutal.
Body surfers love the adrenaline of soaring along with the waves. Go down to Mooloolaba Main Beach or the ‘Cheese Block’ just down Parkyn Parade and you will see teenagers testing themselves against the surf.
Some of them show no fear, or some would say, sense.
We checked it out on Tuesday afternoon and even on high tide the dumping waves looked dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.
Doing some basic things, like waiting for the right wave, and watching how waves are breaking before you take the plunge can save your spine.
Some have their own way of doing it, like catching ‘every third wave’ or the one after the really big one.
But the reality is that big waves can come out of nowhere and if you’re on the wrong side of them, they suck you in and dump you into the ‘washing machine’ tumble.
For some boogie board riders, the bigger the wave the better.
And getting ‘crunched’ is just part of the fun.
The board will protect you, most of the time, they say.
Talking to some in the water, the tragic drowning of a man in his 60s was top of the conversation.
Many were surprised he drowned after going for a swim between the red and yellow flags on Mooloolaba Main Beach.
It was not clear whether he had hit his head or something after diving into a wave or whether he had a medical episode.
Emergency services were called to the Mooloolaba Esplanade just after 12.30pm on Monday after the man had been pulled from the water unresponsive.
Desperate efforts on the beach to revive him were unsuccessful.
Sunshine Coast chief lifeguard Anthony King confirmed the man was swimming between the flags.
“His daughter saw him dive under a wave and then he never resurfaced,” Mr King said.
The man was found a little further north of the Mooloolaba flags after being pulled out of the flagged area.
Paramedics rush to woman at beach, day after tragic drowning
A woman has been transported to hospital after being dumped by a wave and seriously injured at Mooloolaba Beach only a day after another man drowned at the same location.
A QAS spokesman said they were called to the incident at 11.37am on Tuesday.
He said she was being assessed for suspected spinal injuries after being reportedly dumped by a wave off Parkyn Pde.
“We have two paramedic units on scene treating a female in her 30s,” he said.
“It’s looking serious and is pretty soon after the event.”
The QAS spokesman said he believed there weren’t any warnings in place for that beach.
She has since been transported to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
The incident happened at low tide, which can be hazardous for spinal injuries in dumping waves.
Usually calm and protected, Mooloolaba is recognised as one of the safest beaches on the coast.
This second incident occurred only a day after the a man tragically drowned in Mooloolaba.
Emergency services were called to the Mooloolaba Esplanade just after 12.30pm after reports of a man who had been pulled from the water unresponsive.
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