July 30, 2008

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LI state parks' lifeguards patrol shore after hours

BY DANNY TEIGMAN AND JENNIFER
BARRIOS |

July 29, 2008

Just 12 miles away from where three
swimmers were drowning in the waters off Long Beach after lifeguards went home
for the day, beachgoers at Long
Island's state parks were watched over by lifeguards who are on duty as late
as 8 p.m.

The extended hours are part of long-standing state policy, and
not a reaction to the recent drownings, said George Gorman, deputy regional
director of the state parks department.

"It is extremely dangerous,"
Gorman said of waters around the state parks. "You never know what you can face
in the water."

Even after lifeguards leave for the day, the state says it
continues to patrol the shoreline, preventing swimmers from entering the
unguarded waters. After-hours bathers can receive summonses for ignoring posted
signs.

As the comparison between Long Beach and the state shows, a
wide disparity exists on the Island when it comes to policing the shoreline
after hours. Some communities have police patrol the beaches after lifeguards
leave, while others rely on warning signs to dissuade people from swimming
unsupervised.

Lifeguards in the Town of Southampton leave the beaches at
5 p.m. The town says it doesn't make financial sense to patrol later, said
spokesman Ryan Horn. And while town police survey the beaches, their primary
concern is preventing on-land hooliganism, not after-hours swimmers, Horn
said.

"The police don't go down there and rouse someone off the beach,"
Horn said. "The beach population seems to regulate itself."

Mike Deery, a
spokesman for the Town of Hempstead, said lifeguards are at town beaches until 6
p.m., but public-safety officers run patrols for an additional hour.

And
although many of the town's beaches are locked after hours, several still are
accessible to the public at night.

Deery said that while scofflaws
technically can be punished, the town does not routinely enforce the laws that
target after-hours swimming. When lifeguards aren't on duty at the beaches of Fire
Island National Seashore, the policy is "swim at your own risk," said Chief
Ranger Jay Lippert.

That said, there still are people who choose to dip
their toes, and more, after lifeguards go off duty at the national seashore,
usually after 5 or 6 p.m., depending on the beach and the day.

Lippert
said rangers note the presence of such people during their patrols, just in case
there's trouble later. But adding lifeguarding hours is out of the question, at
least for now, he said.

"It's a budgetary issue," he said. "It all comes
down to dollars and cents."

Farther afield, Long Beach Township in New
Jersey allows swimming with and without lifeguards along its 12 miles of
beaches, said Beach Patrol supervisor Don
Myers. "Conditions should dictate when and where you go," he said. "I don't
recommend they swim without a lifeguard."

Township Mayor Joe Mancini said
the region has been "very lucky" so far.

"We have people who respond as
good neighbors," he said. "The people walking the beach, the surfers, they'll
tell people not to swim."

In the end, said Fire Island's Lippert, water
safety ultimately depends on personal responsibility and common
sense.

WHY SUCH ROUGH SEAS?

1 The Jet Stream has
shifted.

Typically in the summer, a high pressure system remains offshore
in the Atlantic Ocean, and normally the jet stream moves farther to the north so
the main storm track is well to the north of Long Island.

But this summer, the jet stream is farther
south, creating a more active storm track.

So when cold fronts approach
the area from the northwest, it sets up strong south-to-southwest winds over
longer distances which increases the chance of rip currents. That pattern
already has occurred several times this summer.

2 Tropical storms came
early.

Two tropical storms also occurred in July, Bertha, July 3-20, and
Cristobal, July 18-23. Adding hurricanes or tropical storms into the mix
intensifies the problems by generating large swells on the ocean, increasing the
likelihood and strength of rip currents.

SOURCES: Gary Conte, meteorologist with the National Weather
Service in Upton; Jay Tanski, senior coastal processes specialist with the New
York State Sea Grant Extension Program

LIFEGUARDS ON
DUTY

Fire Island National Seashore, beaches of Sailors Haven and Watch
Hill: Lifeguards on duty until the weekend after Labor
Day, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 to 6:30 weekends.

Beach of
Talisman-Barrett: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and
Sundays

Village of Saltaire: Lifeguards on duty until Labor Day, 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 to 6 weekends. Some selected weekends in late September,
weather permitting. Chief lifeguard has the discretion to extend hours during
exceptionally busy times.

Long Beach Township, N.J.: Lifeguards on duty
until Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rehoboth Beach, Del.: Lifeguards on
duty until the fourth week in September, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 to 5:30
weekends.

New York State: Lifeguards on duty 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
weekends, 8 to 7 weekdays, but hours can be shorter .

Town of Hempstead:
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Town of Southampton: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Town of
Oyster Bay: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Town of Islip: Until Labor Day, 11 a.m. to
5 p.m. daily.

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