Standout lifesavers keeping Bass Coast beaches safe
From daring rescues to surfing in the dawn light, these are the eager volunteers ready to keep our beaches safe each summer.
Bass Coast News
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Bass Coast is home to some of the world’s most famous beaches.
During summer both locals and tourists flock to the shores of the beaches to relax on the sand and take a swim in the waves.
While everyone else is kicking back and relaxing there are some hard working volunteers making sure everyone stays safe.
Heroes wearing red and yellow keep our Bass Coast shores safe so everyone can have a happy summer, year after year.
Here are some the volunteers manning the flags around the region.
Warren Cook — Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club
Warren Cook is a lifesaver at the Inverloch Club and has been involved in life saving for about 15 years.
He got involved with lifesaving when his daughter came through the Nippers program.
Since then he has climbed the ranks to become a patrol captain and the club’s president.
“I love being part of like minded people and serving the community,” he said.
Mr Cook is passionate about educating people before they get into trouble.
“We are all about stopping events before they happen,” he said.
He has all the qualifications including advanced resuscitation and an IRB drivers certificate.
This year Mr Cook has volunteered his time to help with the flood relief in regional Victoria.
“At the beginning of the floods they asked for volunteers. I did three stints, first in Shepparton then I was called back to do Swan Hill for two deployments.”
“We were there supporting Vic Police with rescues but in our spare time we would help build walls, get sandbags in, we did anything and everything, feeding animals, getting people out, it was really heartbreaking but also such a great community spirit.”
When Mr Cook thinks about his lifesaving journey his mind quickly jumps to his first day as a lifesaver.
He was roaming the beach on patrol when he saw a man in need of help.
“We thought we could see a guy on a jet ski floating. Eventually we got a boat out there and yeah it was a guy who was jumping waves and broke a couple of ribs, he thought he was gone, he thought he was dead,” he said.
“That was my very first day.”
Another standout moment was the day a guy had popped his finger off at the knuckle after wrapping a rope around his hand.
“You get spinals, you get dislocated shoulders, I have had an anaphylactic shock, jellyfish stings. You never know what you’re going to get,” he said.
Mr Cook encourages anyone who wants to get involved to do so.
“The club is such a welcoming place,” he said.
Aidan Hurst — Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club
Aidan Hurst has been involved with lifesaving at the Inverloch Club since he was in high school when he completed his Bronze Medallion.
He loved it and seven years later he is still going back season after season.
“I loved it. I found a remarkable community that I was able to make a lot of friends in and also I met my current partner who I have been with for about five years now,” he said.
Mr Hurst is also involved with the IRB (rescue boats) racing team, which keeps him hooked.
“We are a competitive team who race the boats during the winter,” he said.
“We race other clubs throughout the state and if you chose you can go and compete against clubs around Australia.”
“We are in it for the fun of it.”
Mr Hurst reflected on what he loved about the time spent on the beach.
“Any time you get to get out there and it’s just a beautiful day and I am with my mates, having a laugh and not taking life too seriously, that’s what I love,” he said.
“That’s what sticks in my mind.”
Mr Hurst hopes he can continue to patrol the beaches and drive the boats long into the future.
“I would love to keep learning from the more senior members,” he said.
“There is a lot to learn, obviously it’s lots of fun to just be hanging out but it’s actually also a really good learning opportunity if you pay attention.”
He also wants to encourage more schools to run programs which would give students the opportunity to get down and involved in surf clubs.
“Surf clubs are incredibly important parts of the community. I think, having joined through school, more programs like that would be quite influential in people’s lives. There is a growing number of people who can’t swim and so I think if I was going to shine a light on anything I would say getting more schools, especially up in Melbourne, to support students getting into it (lifesaving) would be great.”
Sarah Seddon — Waratah Surf Life Saving Club
Primary school teacher Sarah Seddon has been a lifesaver at both Inverloch and Waratah surf life saving clubs.
She got a start when she was eight years old and her grandparents decided to put her into Nippers in Inverloch.
“It was just something to do during the summer holidays,” she said.
“Once I started it, I absolutely fell in love with it.”
She did her surf rescue certificate and her gold medallion and patrolled the beaches of Inverloch for a few years until she did a development camp and moved onto Waratah.
“I haven’t looked back since,” she said.
Ms Seddon said she loved the people she got to volunteer with. It’s what keeps her going back year after year.
“The friendships I have made through life saving are going to last me forever,” she said.
“As well as that, being able to help the community, being someone who has spent a lot of time around the beach I am so lucky to have those safety skills, others aren’t as lucky so being able to share those skills with them to keep them safe is a really cool thing.”
When she reflects on her time as a lifesaver Ms Seddon notes her recent experience helping in the Victorian floods as a highlight.
She was posted to Echuca, helping the community as it went under water.
“That was probably the biggest moment I realised how much of an impact we as volunteers can have,” she said.
“The amount of gratitude people showed us was just profound.”
“It was a devastating event but it was so great to help those people there.”
Ms Seddon said she owed her career to life saving.
“I have done so many educational camps and things, if I wasn’t a lifesaver I don’t think I would be a teacher,” she said.
She has also worked in the state communication centre for LSV and said she absolutely loved her time there.
“Lifesaving is one of the biggest things I am passionate about and I don’t know what I would do without it in my life,” she said.
Alexandra Madeley — Wonthaggi Life Saving Club
Following in her dad’s footsteps, Alexandra Madeley joined the Nippers program and hasn’t looked back, progressing through the ranks to become club captain at Wonthaggi Surf Life Saving Club.
Her favourite thing about lifesaving is simple: patrolling the beach.
“I am involved in many aspects of Wonthaggi LSC, but my favourite role in the club is doing our primary purpose, patrolling the beach. I enjoy watching the water and ensuring that every beach goers goes home safely,” she said.
“I love being able to put my training into action when someone does require assistance.”
Ms Madeley has fortunately never had to perform a rescue or use CPR but she feels privileged knowing she has possibly prevented many rescues from occurring.
“Prevention is better than response, so I really enjoy speaking with the public and informing them of the dangers present and what to avoid. I always love when young children come up to us and ask us questions and I can provide education to those curious young learners,” she said.
She has enjoyed becoming club captain and in the future Ms Madeley would like to continue with her volunteer patrol.
“I love the drive Wonthaggi LSC has to be better, it is always looking for ways to improve their service to beach goers, to its members and to the wider community through partaking in volunteering activities such as the Bass Coast Cycle Classic,” she said.
Paul Caddaye — Wonthaggi Surf Life Saving Club
Paul Caddaye began lifesaving for something to do during the summer months and as an “excuse to go to the beach”.
The benefits of lifesaving are a two-way street, he says, in that both he and the community get something out of it.
“Honestly, I love the fact that lifesaving provides me with an excellent opportunity to give back to the local community, all the while keeping me fit and healthy,” he said.
Having to actually use their rescue skills is something no lifesaver wishes to do, however Mr Caddaye has had to perform a few rescues in his time.
He feels lucky he was there for those people. The real highlight of lifesaving is meeting those people again later, he says.
“The friends I have made and the people I have had the chance to meet along the way, that’s the highlight,” he said.
“The social aspect that radiates through the club is my favourite part.”
In the future Mr Caddaye would like to continue his role of chief instructor and give back to the club through education.
“I want to teach the younger generations of lifesavers, but I also have the goal of furthering the training of current lifesavers in order to more efficiently and effectively provide the service we give to the community,” he said.
James Harman — Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club
James Harman, 15, was the SRC of the Year last year at Inverloch Lifesaving Club.
He started doing Nippers in under sevens when he was six and went all the way through until under 12s.
“After that I did my surf rescue certificate and started patrolling,” he said.
This year he will achieve his bronze medallion.
James loves hanging out with his friends who share his passion for life saving and being a part of the community.
“I have made some really great mates through life saving,” he said.
In the club championships James was runner up and last year enrolled in the Youth Involvement Program where he earned his Bronze YIPS for the hours he spent patrolling and helping with the nippers program.
James is a local Inverloch boy and only lives about 1km from the beach.
“I usually just walk down for all of my patrols,” he said.
When James won SRC of the year he said it “felt good” to know he had earned such an achievement.
“I did a lot of patrolling that year and it was great to be recognised,” he said.
Getting his gold medallion is a goal for James and he would love to continue doing life saving for his “whole life”.
Jack Kennedy — Waratah Surf Life Saving
In 2013 Jack Kennedy joined the Waratah Surf Life Saving Club after being inspired by a teacher.
“She asked if any students were interested in coming down to do the bronze medallion and I did,” he said.
“It grew from there.”
Mr Kennedy said having an “office on the beach” was a pretty “good gig”.
But it’s working with the community to keep everyone safe that he loves.
“Helping the community and working with really cool people is what I love most, the other club members are my best friends in the world. Being in the club is just the best place to be,” he said.
“Having a positive impact on the community is what matters most.”
Mr Kennedy travels down from Melbourne during the summer lifesaving season and stays at the club in order to be a part of it all.
He said his work in training younger lifesavers really let him see the impact he had in the club.
“I do a lot of work with younger life savers and seeing them graduate and become fantastic life savers themselves is pretty cool and knowing I have been able to pass the baton onto them is yeah, really cool,” he said.
Patrolling the beach is a big part but not the only thing Mr Kennedy does for Life Saving Victoria.
He is also a part of the recuse jet ski team, works with LSV in their state communication centre, and is the assistant life saving operations manager in the Bass district.
“I really enjoy what I do. Hopefully I can stay involved into the future,” he said.
Michael Butler — Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club
In the 2019/2020 season Michael Butler from Gisborne joined the Woolamai life saving community when he completed the bronze medallion camp and earned his qualification.
After coming down to the Island regularly for his whole life, 27-year-old Mr Butler finally took the leap of faith and signed up.
“I was welcomed into the Wooli community with open arms and progressed through, getting lots of awards and qualifications,” he said.
Now he has achieved his silver and gold medallion and works as a paid beach lifeguard.
He has achieved qualifications such as beach management and his IRB drivers certificate.
Mr Butler loves the friends he has made through life saving.
“I have friends from clubs all over Australia,” he said.
He has done a lot of leadership work and loves to share his knowledge with the younger generation of lifesavers.
“When we talk about our favourite things about life saving I always say it is the people you meet,” he said.
“The people you get to spend time with and the experiences you get to share with those people. It is all about working through a critical incident and achieving something together.”
When Mr Butler looks back on his lifesaving career, his favourite memory is Christmas Eve and there were a dozen or so people from the club on the beach.
“It wasn’t planned we all just showed up for a sunset paddle and we spent about three hours out in the water together and it was just the most magnificent night sky and the waves and conditions were amazing,” he said.
“We got to share a really great, special moment together.”
In the future, Mr Butler would love to continue his leadership roles and training the younger generation.
Recently he took part in a training camp for disengaged youth and said it was a “rewarding” experience.
“To be able to sit there and talk to them and have them respect you when they don’t even respect themselves, it feels good. It feels good to know I am making a difference to them,” he said.
Ellie Ryan — Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club
Ellie Ryan, 19, is currently studying education at university and did her bronze medallion in 2018 with the Woolamai Surf Life Saving Club.
“It was one of the best things I ever did and I just wanted to keep coming back,” she said.
Growing up around the beach instilled a love of the beach in Ms Ryan.
“My parents did life saving and I had a few friends at Woolamai and I did my bronze and it has been one of the best experiences I have ever had,” she said.
“The ocean is one of my favourite things.”
After her bronze season she got new qualifications every season through development camps.
Last season the 19-year-old completed her gold medallion.
“That was a huge opportunity,” she said.
“I have now gotten into a lot of leadership within the club, this season I am patrol captain and first aid officer.”
Ms Ryan is also on the sustainability and diversity committees at the club where she works to make the club a more sustainable and diverse place.
She loves the Woolamai club, she originally was going to join the Point Leo Club but after joining Woolamai she never looked back.
“The sense of community is amazing,” she said.
“It is a group of like minded people who just want to help their community.”
“I love bettering myself and my skills and having goals and it is just a great place to do that.”
Going forward Ms Ryan would love to do more training and education within the club and with LSV.
Brydie Smith — Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club
Brydie Smith started her life saving journey, like many others, in the Nippers program.
In 2016 she completed her surf rescue certificate and hasn’t looked back since.
“I got into life saving through family friends in Noosa, they started my journey in life saving,” she said.
The 19-year-old has now completed her gold medallion and even set up her own program called Gromet Gurus, which supports younger lifesavers by matching them with a mentor, or “guru”.
“It came about when I did the youth involvement program through LSV and the end project is a community project,” she said.
“I thought back to when I did my SRC and the support services were very minimal. it was kind of like you were left in the dark after your course.”
So, Ms Smith decided to combat this and support those lifesavers in their first season.
The new lifesavers get paired with someone from their patrol group who has at least two years of experience. They then go through workshops throughout the season and do one big patrol with all the grommets and gurus.
Last season was the pilot of the program but it has been revamped for this season.
It has been picked up by the life saving club in Brighton but Ms Smith is hoping it will be picked up by LSV and be implemented in clubs throughout the state.
“I have had feedback that people have really enjoyed it,” she said.
“I hope it provides a supportive environment for them to life save in.”
Ms Smith loves the community aspect of life saving and this has been one way she has really been able to give back to her community.
“The retention rate of young life savers is very low and that’s not good for the community so I hope this program can help keep those younger people engaged,” she said.
“I am also hoping to roll out a program that is similar but for the bronze medallion kids.”
“Life saving is my favourite thing in summer, I hate it when summer end. It is the best way to be with other people and make new friends and improve yourself.”
Sarah Prendergast — Cape Paterson Life Saving Club
Sarah Prendergast’s journey with lifesaving began with her parents.
Both her mum and dad were members of the Cape Paterson Life Saving Club.
“Both my parents did their bronze medallion so it was only inevitable that I ended up in Nippers at four years-old,” she said.
She and her brother went all the way through nippers and earned their SRC certificates.
During her first patrol season Ms Prendergast completed 130 hours of patrolling.
“It was just the best environment to be in and I just wanted to go back as soon as the season was over,” she said.
Ms Prendergast then earned her bronze medallion for the next season.
“I went back and I was no longer the lowest ranked life saver on the beach. I had more responsibility and it was just awesome,” she said.
From there, she has accrued more than 700 hours patrolling the beach and earned many awards including her gold medallion.
She has worked her way up to being patrol captain and first aid officer this season.
Ms Prendergast still patrols alongside her brother and said it is really special to be able to do something together.
“I really enjoy it, we just have a connection that makes dealing with incidents together easier,” she said.
“We just have that connection others don’t have, he knows what I am thinking and I know what he’s thinking.”
Ms Prendergast loves the power she has on the beach to make other people feel safe.
“People have a better day because they know we are there to look out for them,” she said.
“I love building that connection with people so they can still enjoy the beach.”
She said when she helps someone it is a “feeling [she] can’t describe”.
“Whether it is someone who has cut their finger or someone who has broken a bone I know I can have a profound impact on every person,” she said.
“Each incident makes you feel proud to be a life saver.”
“Some people underestimate the impact of us just being there, when people are feeling isolated on the beach, we are always there.”
Liam Marangio — Cape Paterson Life Saving Club
Liam Marangio has been involved with surf lifesaving for as long as he can remember.
“My parents were both members and so were my grandparents so it is very much a family thing for me,” he said.
He began Nippers when he was about six years old before going on to do his SRC, bronze and gold medallions.
“I loved it and have been coming down to patrol every since,” he said.
In addition to being a volunteer lifesaver Mr Marangio also drives the life saving boats and helps to train new life savers when they join the club.
He said there are many reasons he loves life saving from friends to personal development.
“I have got a great group of friends through life saving. If they keep coming back I will keep coming back to see them,” he said.
“In addition to that I absolutely love the surf. Taking a board out and chilling in the waves, I love it.”
“And then there is the helping the community part. Every first aid I do I know I have helped that person.”
When Mr Marangio thinks about his time in life saving one morning sticks out clearly in his mind.
“It was towards the end of the season and it was a Saturday before patrol me and a couple of other members took out some boards,” he said.
“It was dead flat and low tide and it was just a surreal experience. I loved it.”
He also fondly remembers his bronze medallion camp when they ran a flare demonstration in the brand new club house.
In the future Mr Marangio would like to continue developing his skills as he moves into being a paid lifeguard this season.
“I would like to get onto the jet ski team down at Phillip Island and then within the club I would love to do more camps and development,” he said.
He said there is so many people that work behind the scenes on life saving and it isn’t just the people on the beach and he is grateful for those people that do the behind the scenes work.
“There is a place for everyone so if you want to be involved but don’t necessarily want to be on the beach there is still something you can do which I think is really awesome.”
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