Cape Town - When Adam Smith was in matric he decided to become a lifesaver. The only problem was, he couldn’t swim.
“I’d seen some guys training at Strandfontein and they invited me to join in.”
Smith, now 27, from Grassy Park, Cape Town, still recalls his first swimming lesson in the tidal pool. “I was so scared I couldn’t even breathe. I swam with my head up and my arms flapping.” But slowly, with the help of the more senior lifesavers, his confidence grew and he is now one of the team helping those who get into difficulty.
He has been volunteering at the Strandfontein Lifesaving Club for eight years and says despite the huge responsibility he loves it. “It’s a nice feeling when you get people who can’t swim well but want to have fun at the beach, who come up and shake your hand and thank you for being there.”
Strandfontein Beach is one of seven Cape Town beaches awarded Blue Flag status, for the 2015/16 season. It is an international award given to beaches that meet strict criteria of excellence in the areas of safety, amenities, cleanliness and environmental standards. Mnandi Beach further down the coast also qualified. But fishermen say the stretch of coast can be deadly and most of them now fish in groups and are armed.
Last year a fisherman was shot dead by robbers and his friend was lucky to escape.
Fisherman Graham Lakay said he’d come across a number of bodies and body parts over the years, mostly around Monwabisi Beach. Omar Nusterdien said no one fished alone anymore and everyone was armed.
“At night they also steal your vehicles.”
The Strandfontein Lifesaving Club has also been targeted by thieves who last year broke in and stole a rubber duck and motor. They have also had thieves stealing copper pipes.
Priya Reddy, spokeswoman for the City of Cape Town, said there had been an estimated R80 000 in vandalism at Strandfontein, including damage at the 9 Miles Project ablution block, a non-profit organisation that uses surfing to target children at risk. She said terms of reference were being finalised for the development of a master plan for the Strandfontein Resort and surrounding area.
It would include a landscape plan and an architectural plan as well as to address the damage to Fisherman’s Lane which had collapsed because of wave action and erosion.
Paul Fortuin, the president of Strandfontein Lifesaving Club, said they had built a new lifesaving club with R450 000 from the Lotto, but still need about R1-million to complete it. It still needs all the finishing touches as well as flooring, a ceiling, plumbing and electrics.
Fortuin said they also needed equipment, which was expensive.
The club has 18 qualified lifesavers – with 15 having to be on duty on busy days such as Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Fortuin has been associated with the club since the 1970s, when he would run from Retreat to Strandfontein while training for rugby. He became a lifesaver in 1972.
He said in those days access to the beach wasn’t that easy as there was hardly any public transport. Fortuin said nowadays the challenges were attracting youngsters to become lifesavers. “We have to start from scratch, teaching them to swim, but we are working with some of the local schools.”
He said most drownings in recent years had occurred outside duty hours. They had asked for shark spotters as the area was supposed to have one of the highest numbers of shark activity on the coast.
But Sarah Waries, the project manager for the Shark Spotters, said they did a trial but found it was not effective as there was insufficient elevation as the Strandfontein Lifesaving Club tower was not high enough to warn people in time.
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Cape Argus