Bondi Beach: Lifeguards praise Waverley, Randwick councils surf safety campaigns

Despite tens of thousands of Sydneysiders have been flocking to Australia’s most iconic beach – rescues are down so far this summer. Find out how Bondi lifeguards are keeping beachgoers safer than ever.

NSW is experiencing a horror year for drowning incidents, but a 32-year veteran lifesaver says patrolled beaches in Sydney’s east are the safest they’ve ever been.

Waverley Council lifeguard team leader Bruce Hopkins said Bondi Beach was visited by an eye-watering 25,000 people on Monday without a single drowning incident.

“We didn’t do one rescue,” the Bondi Rescue star said.

Mr Hopkins said the improved safety in the surf had been driven by Randwick and Waverley Council’s ‘Float to Survive’ campaign, which teaches swimmers to remain calm and float on their back if they become caught in a rip or dangerous conditions.

Lead lifesaver and star of Bondi Rescue, Bruce "Hoppo" Hopkins said rescues are down at the famous eastern suburbs beach. Picture: John Appleyard.

When a dangerous rip swept dozens of swimmers off course on Monday, lifeguards were able to coach people to float – rather than panic and attempt to swim through the rip – while standing on the shore using loudspeakers.

“We basically got on the megaphones [and] were telling people just to float and go with the flow of the water. They all got themselves to the sandbank just by floating and listening to what we’re saying,” Mr Hopkins said.

The safe conditions at the country’s most famous beach stand in stark contrast to what has been described as a “horror” year for drownings at Australian beaches.

Bondi Beach is set to see record numbers on the sand this summer. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

More than 26 people have drowned at the beach since December 1, Mr Hopkins said. Last summer, 145 people drowned.

On Monday a 27-year-old man died at hospital after he was pulled out of the water unresponsive at New Brighton Beach, near Byron Bay.

Two teenage boys aged 13 and 14 survived after they got into trouble in the water at Clifton Gardens, a popular swimming spot near Mosman on the lower north shore of Sydney Harbour.

Beach attendance has skyrocketed as international and domestic tourists have returned, including backpackers who have flocked to celebrate Christmas and the new year at Sydney’s beaches.

In the 12 months before March 2022, Bondi saw 604,500 domestic visitors, up 30 per cent compared with the previous year.

The 2022-23 summer season is set to push visitor numbers to record levels but the return of backpackers and foreign tourists has not led to a spike in rescues at Bondi Beach, according to Mr Hopkins said.

“Probably 70 per cent of the people who we rescue are Australian and living in Australia. 30 per cent is probably the tourists,” he said.

Beach attendees are also, for the most part, following surf safety rules and Bondi’s lifeguards are seeing the past five years of pushing the ‘float to survive’ message

“Most people that drown can swim at some level, whether it’s 50m, 100m, 200m,” Mr Hopkins said.

“The ones we have to rescue are the ones that attempt to swim because they get exhausted.”

Bianca Healey

Numbers are up but Bondi lifeguards have seen fewer incidents this year. Picture: Gaye Gerard