Surf Talk Episode 6 - Lifesaving Operations
Surf Talk host, Ross Smith, is joined by SLSSA Head of Lifesaving & Emergency Operations, Sean Faulkner, to discuss the different lifesaving services offered across the state and the incredible volunteers who protect and service the South Australian communities.
This episode is sponsored by Australian Marine and Fisheries Academy.
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Ross Smith:
00:05-00:40
Hi, I'm Ross Smith and welcome to Surf Talk, Surf Life Saving South Australia's podcast. Every fortnight we'll be releasing new episodes of Surf Talk. We'll be talking everything Surf Lifesaving. From what we do, what we're about, we'll be interviewing some amazing people, some club members and their achievements and outstanding rescues and everything in between. Before we get into this program, episode six of Surf Talk is proudly brought to you by Australian Marine and Fisheries Academy. You'll hear a bit from our sponsor a bit later on. Our special guest today is Sean Faulkner, who is Head of Lifesaving and Emergency Operations for Surf Lifesaving South Australia. Hi Sean, welcome to Surf Talk.
Sean Faulkner:
00:40-00:42
Hi Ross, great to be here.
Ross Smith:
00:42-00:52
No worries, good to have you mate. Sean, can you just tell us a bit about yourself and a little bit about what you do? If anyone's listening and don't know what emergency operations is, what you actually do here at Surf Lifesaving?
Sean Faulkner:
00:52-01:15
Sure. As the Head of Lifesaving and Emergency Operations, I work closely with our incredible volunteer lifesavers, our paid lifeguards and our operational teams. My role involves coordinating lifesaving services and ensuring we're well prepared to respond to emergencies along our beautiful coastline. It's a privilege to work with such a dedicated individuals who give up so much of their time to keep our beaches safe.
Ross Smith:
01:16-01:37
They do. They're an incredible bunch of people and I see them on a regular basis. I live down south near the beach and they're out there every weekend doing an incredible job. So a few questions for you Sean. Most people listening sort of know about our patrolling beach members, you know, they see them out there every weekend. Can you sort of expand on that and talk about the uniqueness of the role and how many clubs and patrols that we have across South Australian beaches?
Sean Faulkner:
01:38-02:11
Sure. Our volunteer lifesavers aren't just keeping watch. They're actually trained to perform rescues, provide first aid and educate beach goers about their safety. What's unique is that they all do this while balancing work, family and other commitments. Here in South Australia we have 21 surf lifesaving clubs as well as one lifesaving club spread across South Australia with patrols operating every weekend and public holiday at key locations from Glenelg in the metro area to remote and beautiful beaches like Beachport Road, Wyala, even all the way down to Goolwa on our south coast.
Ross Smith:
02:11-02:12
Wow.
Sean Faulkner:
02:12-02:17
These patrols are crucial in ensuring beach safety for the thousands of people who visit our beaches each year.
Ross Smith:
02:17-02:50
Yeah, look, a lot of people don't know that we have so many people out there on the beaches. It's pretty impressive that we've got something like 9,000 members and a lot of patrol members out there on the weekends and public holidays doing an incredible job. But like I said, just to explain that they actually also give advice to people as well. And they're not just there to watch and say, oh, you're drowning or you're in trouble. They're actually giving safety advice, which is fantastic, keeping people safe. So it's the sort of job that a lot of people probably would be interested in doing. But some people get in trouble. What can you tell our listeners about keeping safer around the beach?
Sean Faulkner:
02:50-03:42
Well, firstly, we always try and remind people of the new slogan that Surf Life Saving Australia has adopted, which is stop, look and stay alive. So what we're saying is before entering the water, stop and assess the conditions. Take a moment to think about your safety. Then we're asking you to look. First of all, look for the red and yellow flags if they exist. If they're not there, look for any potential hazards or problems that could pop up. Are there any rips in the water? Are there rocks that you need to be aware of? Are you too close to a pylon or a jetty? And that means you're just taking that time to stop and assess. You're more likely to stay alive because we feel it's vital that all beachgoers assess the conditions, but also understand their own ability. Too often, people overestimate their own swimming ability and think they'll be safe when they may not be. We say if it's unsafe, don't swim. It's as simple as that.
Ross Smith:
03:42-04:02
It's pretty important, Sean, isn't it, that don't underestimate your own swimming ability. And if you're looking at the water, and sometimes we've got some terrific waves and undertows and rips going there. And if you think it doesn't look like friendly enough for me to get in, then don't go in. And I like the stop, was it stop, think?
Sean Faulkner:
03:58-04:02
Stop, look, look, stay alive.
Ross Smith:
03:58-04:26
Stay alive. Yeah. Stop, look, stay alive. I mean, if anyone's listened to that, it's so important out there. And even like identifying rips, and I did see a program we did sometime back on ABC about identifying rips. And it can be difficult for professionals to do that. So you get online and have a look and try to identify rips, particularly if you're taking family to unpatrolled beaches, and look at the safety areas. Would you say that's a good idea to try and familiarise yourself with that body of water before you go there?
Sean Faulkner:
04:26-05:10
Yeah. Before you jump in, any body of water should have a good look at it. Some of the problems that we see with people trying to learn outside of the surf life-saving training environment is a lot of the education videos that are available online actually take an aerial view. And the reality is that's not how we view the beach. So there's a big difference of seeing and assessing a rip from an aerial point of view to being at actually the water level. So at water level, it's not quite as obvious. So you do need to do that training, which is why our amazing volunteers spend so much time around the water to train so they can identify those features at ground level. Often people get overestimated in their ability because I saw something on YouTube, I can see what that rip is. It's quite obvious. Yes, it's very obvious from the air, but from beach level, it's not always so clear.
Ross Smith:
05:10-05:27
That's a really important lesson. I wouldn't even have thought about that. What are some of the recognised signs that you would see of a rip? How can you tell there's a rip? I mean, just in general, I know it's hard to explain, it's all different types, I guess, but can you sort of tell our listeners what they're, one of the most important things to look for?
Sean Faulkner:
05:27-06:09
Well, first of all, you need to understand what's causing the rip. So it's actually the wave energy. So by the waves pushing up onto the actual beach or the rocks environment, all that energy has to go somewhere. And so what a rip actually is, is that wave energy being redirected back out to the ocean and they'll take the path of least resistance. So sometimes it's based on the permanent geological features in the ocean or the bay that you're swimming at. Sometimes they can just form what we call a flash rip and sometimes it's influenced by sandbars. But what you'll generally see is the water going back out through the waves. The waves are actually usually smoother. The waves have been knocked down a little bit by the energy of the water going back out to sea. And often there'll be some discoloration with sand being pushed back out.
Ross Smith:
06:09-06:20
Okay. Absolutely worth looking at. So this year, I mean, what would you give a tip for 2025, other than learning about the beach, what else can keep people safer?
Sean Faulkner:
06:21-06:55
Well, one of the most common mistakes we see is people underestimating the power of the ocean and not recognising the rip currents. And when they do get in trouble, swimmers often panic and try and swim directly back to shore against the current, which exhausts them very quickly. Our research shows that even Olympic swimmers aren't strong enough to go against a rip. The power of the ocean is so strong, which is why it's so important to assess the conditions before you go in to avoid it. But if you do find yourself in one of these situations, it's so important to relax, stay calm and actually allow yourself to go back out with the rip.
Ross Smith:
06:55-06:56
So you let the rip take you out?
Sean Faulkner:
06:56-07:14
You can swim side on to the rip or go out the back because it will always kick you out to the back of the surf zone and then you may be able to make your way out. If you're at a patrolled location, then you'd wave your hands or a hand to attract attention so one of our lifesavers can actually come out and support.
Ross Smith:
06:56-07:14
So it's better to let yourself go out, stay afloat as best you can.
Sean Faulkner:
07:14-07:14
Stay afloat.
Ross Smith:
07:14-07:22
And then once you've been pushed out far enough, try and swim across rather than back in towards it. Because like you said, the current is just impossible to swim against.
Sean Faulkner:
07:22-07:24
The rip current is just far too strong to actually swim against.
Ross Smith:
07:24-07:25
That's amazing advice.
Sean Faulkner:
07:25-07:53
The one thing I'll say about floating is often people, because of their swimming lessons, they think floating is about a starfish shape with your toes pointing out of the water because that's what in our swimming lessons we're all told to try and achieve. What's more important is actually keeping your airway open. So if you actually relax, arch your back so that your ears are in the water, you'll find that your mouth, your airways will be kept clear. So you might not look like your swimming instructor told you to, but you'll be buoyant and you'll be breathing and you'll be safe.
Ross Smith:
07:53-07:59
That's a really good idea. So ears under, head back, and keeping your airway out of the water, which is the most important thing.
Sean Faulkner:
07:59-08:01
Exactly. What's happening with your lower body is irrelevant.
Ross Smith:
08:01-08:03
Yeah. It'll sort of float along anyway.
Sean Faulkner:
08:03-08:13
Exactly. Of course, with your lungs, you've actually got an excellent little buoyancy device there. So it's about staying calm, head back. We say ears in the water will keep your airways open.
Ross Smith:
08:13-08:43
That's great. Really good advice for people that don't know about these sort of things. And yeah, talk to your surf lifesavers, go and have a chat to them on the beach and they certainly know a lot about this sort of thing and compared to a lot of people, I guess. So yeah, it's great. My advice would be, and from probably you as well, Sean, speak to the guys, speak to the girls, have a yap to them and say, what's the conditions like today? What could I expect? Could I get in trouble? And actually swim between the flags, number one. But if they give you advice, I think heed that advice, would that be a smart thing to do?
Sean Faulkner:
08:44-09:33
Most definitely. Because you touched on it earlier, Ross, you mentioned that our lifesavers do an amazing job of what we call preventative actions. Too often the focus seems to be on the rescues when things have gone wrong and we need to actually jump in and, or emergency stations, so to speak. But the best thing our lifesavers actually do is preventative actions. That's actually speaking with people before something goes wrong, educating them about what to look out for. And another big problem that we've seen this season is people being unaware of changing conditions. In particular, the sea breeze itself. We found too many people this summer getting in trouble because they're using inflatable watercraft or even, believe it or not, pool equipment and an offshore breeze kicks in. And next thing you know, they're not just 20 metres offshore, they're three, four, even 500 metres offshore in a craft that's not designed to be in the ocean.
Ross Smith:
09:33-09:34
So it's blowing them out to sea.
Sean Faulkner:
09:35-09:57
Blowing them out to sea. Very, very common occurrence when the wind changes, people are out of everything from a blow-up stand-up paddleboard to I've seen, believe it or not, pink unicorns about one and a half metres tall, which are not appropriate for an ocean environment. But people using pool toys, that's a separate issue, but it's just the offshore breeze. Far too often, they get blown offshore.
Ross Smith:
09:58-10:18
I've seen it myself and it concerns me, people out there with pool toys and with their kids on them and it only takes that breeze to change and next thing they're out in the middle of That's probably a good thing as well, because they're asked to go up there, blow up whatever they've got and say, can I use this in the ocean? I bet you they'd probably say no and they'd probably explain why. At least ask a surf patrol, that's the way to go, isn't it really?
Sean Faulkner:
10:19-10:52
Yeah, well, I know firsthand when I volunteer as a lifesaver myself, we're always conscious of which way the breeze is blowing. And so if I see people rock up with pool toys whilst inside I'm disappointed, if we've got an onshore breeze and there's no real risk to them, I'll let them have some fun. If however, the wind's changing and it'll see it as an offshore breeze, I'll always go down and speak to them and just say, hey, you might be in a little bit of a lee of the dunes here, but if you go a little bit further out, that breeze is going to catch you and take you really quickly. And we often find just having that little proactive chat, people don't get themselves in such trouble.
Ross Smith:
10:52-11:05
It's really good advice. Really good advice. So Sean, this season so far, probably people made mistakes, I guess, and we were talking about preventative and that is the key, I understand it 100%. But has anyone been caught? Have you had any rescues this year?
Sean Faulkner:
11:05-11:34
Oh, we've had quite a few rescues. We're sitting just over about 120 so far for this season so far, which is fairly significant given that last year we only had about high 80s for the whole patrol season and our patrol season will be pushing through till Easter Monday. So there's still a fair bit of time to run. So we're seeing a number of rescues being performed and a lot of them, especially over the December, January period, were focused on those people being rescued from offshore breezes well offshore.
Ross Smith:
11:35-11:53
Yeah. I'm so pleased that our guys are there to be able to rescue them. It's a fantastic thing. So Sean, we're going to take a short break and listen to the word from our sponsors, the Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy, and when we come back, we'll have a chat about the different types of rescue services that Surf Lifesaving offer. So we'll just take a break now.
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11:55-13:04
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Ross Smith:
13:05-13:06
Welcome back Sean.
Sean Faulkner:
13:06-13:07
Thanks Ross.
Ross Smith:
13:07-13:13
Can you explain to the listeners a bit about the responsibilities of the Special Operations Group or the emergency side of what you do?
Sean Faulkner:
13:13-14:56
Yeah, we actually call it the Emergency Operations Group and this is a group of amazingly dedicated lifesavers who have gone above and beyond their basic club training and have actually gained a specialisation in a number of our services. So they include our air crews who operate the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service who do aerial patrols on weekends and public holidays. But then we also have individuals trained as what we call Rescue Watercraft Operators or Jet Skis who conduct what we call Beyond the Flag patrols. They actually provide water cover when our active club members aren't patrolling. So they'll often be out early in the morning or in the hot weather patrols in the hot days in January and February. They'll be on water when the clubs might not be there themselves. Now we also have some amazing team who operate what we call our Jet Rescue Boat. The Jet Rescue Boat service is two amazing almost seven metre crafts which their capabilities allow them to operate in conditions where most marine vessels can't operate. So they can easily operate in surf conditions, close proximity to rocks and so these crews also are able to operate 24-7. So they're our primary night operations capability and so they will often help SAPOL or the VMR do some search and rescue exercise especially at night. Last but not least we have those people who operate our drone service or what we call our Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems. Again we have about 14 drones at the moment operated within the state and again they provide an aerial observation platform which nicely complements the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter.
Ross Smith:
14:56-15:18
Absolutely. So they can sort of see beyond what you can see from the beach, so the back of the crowd that's having a big hot day with a lot of people in the water, they sort of hover around and see what's going on. Are they looking for swimming behaviour, I suppose they're looking for any risks at all as well. You know if there's any sharks now, it'd be this big topic at the moment, all that sort of stuff. But mainly just looking for swimming behaviour, yes?
Sean Faulkner:
15:18-15:26
They can look for people in trouble, they can look for other hazards and so they can even look for changes in the water conditions to alert the lifesavers.
Ross Smith:
15:26-15:27
The wind could change, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sean Faulkner:
15:27-15:41
The extra set of aerial eyes cannot be overstated. How powerful is that? Have that bird's eye view and it's a real growth area for Surf Lifesaving as we try and get drones at all of our clubs as we move forward.
Ross Smith:
15:41-15:51
Yeah, such an important thing. What a great bit of technology, you know, I mean they're quite inexpensive now compared to a helicopter being in the air having a heap of those. So you've got 14 so far?
Sean Faulkner:
15:51-16:12
14 drones of different standards. We're just trialling a new platform at the moment that actually can operate in fairly strong winds, which is a problem with a lot of the drones in service in other areas. So we've made sure that our drones aren't limited too much by winds. But we want to make sure that we can provide a service. When people are in the water, we want a capability that can provide some observation.
Ross Smith:
16:13-16:23
Well, so let's recap. We've got the jet skis or recreational watercraft, we've got jet boats and we've got also the IRBs, inflatable rubber boats. What's their response? Are they a rescue capacity? What do they do?
Sean Faulkner:
16:23-16:27
The IRBs are inflatable rescue boat. We don't say inflatable rubber boat.
Ross Smith:
16:27-16:34
I called the rubber, sorry about that, inflatable rescue boat. I know they're rubber, but still, yes. Thanks, Sean.
Sean Faulkner:
16:35-17:02
The IRB is actually the workhorse of Surf Lifesaving around the country. It's been in service for a long time and has proven to be an extremely capable asset, which allows our lifesavers to get out past the surf zone in a very quick manner, but also cover long distances without getting too fatigued. So it is a specialist skill, but that's at club level. We have the IRBs. We do hold a couple at state level, but all the clubs operate the IRBs. And again, it's an absolute workhorse that's done so much for Surf Lifesaving over the years.
Ross Smith:
17:03-17:11
Yeah, you see them everywhere. And look at all these crafts and everything, it needs specialist training, doesn't it? Everyone in that emergency operations group, they have to have specialised training to do this.
Sean Faulkner:
17:11-17:56
Most definitely. And there's actually one area that I failed to actually mention, or two areas actually. We have our amazing duty officer team who actually provide that high level senior advice to all the clubs. If a situation unfolds, they're the people who actually attend the scene and provide either advice or that liaison with the other emergency services, just so that the clubs themselves can focus on the task at hand. But also, touching on amazing technology and training, we have what's called our state operations centre, which is our nerve hub, so to speak. They coordinate all the communications and the services through the length of the state using radio communications and computers and GIS, so they have really good understanding of where our assets are and what's the quickest asset to respond to a situation.
Ross Smith:
17:56-17:57
GIS, sorry. What's GIS?
Sean Faulkner:
17:57-18:02
Geospatial Information System. So it's a way of graphically depicting a whole heap of information.
Ross Smith:
18:02-18:26
That is incredible. So you've got eyes in the air, eyes on the beach, eyes in comms or ears in comms. I mean, it's pretty impressive what Surf Lifesaving does as part of an emergency service, aren't There are emergency services. Some people don't know this. As all people tell me when I say I work for Surf Lifesaving, oh, you just patrol the beach and sit there in the sun. No, no, we've got a lot more going on than that, so it's really important.
Sean Faulkner:
18:26-18:50
Surf Lifesaving's got so much going on. We actually work closely with the water operations unit from SAPOL, who often call on us to supplement their services that they do, because we have, at all our clubs, we have what's called an emergency response team. So again, dedicated volunteers who are on short notice, so within 30 minutes we should be able to get crews to all our clubs, regardless if there's a patrol on or not, to actually support any emergency situation that may be going on.
Ross Smith:
18:50-18:57
And we did some out of season, didn't we, last year with some work up in the Riverland and that as well, assisting up there with crews?
Sean Faulkner:
18:57-19:26
During the last major floods we had IRBs and crews go up there, but every off-season, whilst the patrol season is generally October through to about April, that's when our club volunteers are on the beach, but the emergency operation group is available all year round and often respond to any call-outs. But we also conduct training activities with the VMR and police and the SES, so that we're practising conducting search and rescue exercises as part of that whole-of-government response.
Ross Smith:
19:26-20:20
Yeah, it's fantastic. Look, it's a great insight. Thanks Sean. I'm sure that now the listeners have a much better understanding of what's going on, particularly from the emergency services side. Like I said, we just see the patrol guys on the beach and girls, but there's a lot more to it than that. So thank you, Sean. I really appreciate your time. I know you're a very busy, flat-out man. We had a bit of time getting this over today, so thank goodness you had the 20 minutes to do this, and that's great. Look, thank you, listeners, again, for listening to Episode 6 of Surf Talk, and thank you to our sponsors, the Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy. If you want to learn more about Surf Lifesaving and the emergency services side of it and what we do, go to surflifesaving.com.au. Guys, thank you for listening again, and please subscribe to our podcast. You get all our episodes free. And share the podcast with as many people as you can. We want to get it out there so people understand everything about Surf Lifesaving. So once again, I'm Ross Smith. You've been listening to Surf Talk. Get inspired and get involved.