Surfers are already prepared for the job. The training simply enhances that natural ability. Photo: Surf & Rescue
If you saw someone drowning in the surf, would you know what to do? It’s a big question with some heavy consequences. In Portugal, a group of surfers and lifesavers have come up with a plan to ensure that the answer is yes. Surf & Rescue, a project developed by the Portuguese Surf Schools Association (AESP) in collaboration with the Institute of Lifeguard Support (ISN), are running courses that train surfers in rescue and basic life support skills. In May they are holding five free training sessions in Espinho (15th), Torres Vedras (20th), Sesimbra (21st), Matosinhos (23rd), and Lagos (29th).
Now we’d assume almost every surfer could do with some basic rescue training. A surfer rarely goes through life without seeing someone in trouble in the water. In Portugal though, there is even more of a pressing need. According to reports from the Portuguese Federation of Lifeguards, an astonishing 600 deaths have been recorded in aquatic environments in the last five years. In 2022, 157 lives were lost; the highest number since 2005.
Given Portugal’s entire population is just over 10 million, or the equivalent of three L.A.’s, the numbers are incredibly tragic. One of the reasons cited is the lifeguard model in the country where lifeguards are paid by the local beach concessions. It is the businesses that rely on tourism that pay them, not the government.
Not only are the lifeguard gigs relatively low-paid (the “nadadores salvadores” receive around €1,200 per month and have traditionally been university students on holiday), but they often are only present in the summer tourist months from July to September. With the world getting warmer and Portugal becoming better and better known for its beautiful beaches and great waves, crowds are increasingly flocking to the popular beaches throughout most of the autumn and spring. It is at unsupervised beaches where the vast majority of drownings occur.
Communities looking out for communities. Here, surfers are essentially becoming lifeguards of their local beaches. Photo: Surf & Rescue
In January this year, the week after the Nazare Big Wave Challenge the temperature reached 26 degrees Celsius (or 80 Fahrenheit). As a pumping eight-foot swell poured down the length of the coast, beaches in the Algarve, Lisbon and Leira regions were packed with beachgoers enjoying the cloudless skies and warm winter sun. The lifeguards were a distant six months away from setting up shop.
“Surfers, coaches and surf schools participate in rescuing and supporting hundreds of people in trouble at sea every year, typically in an informal way and without recording the incidences,” said Afonso Teixeira, Executive Director of AESP. “Surfers are in the ocean all year round and with some basic knowledge, they can make a difference in drowning situations. Lives can be saved.”
Teixeira will be joined by Portuguese OG surfer João Guedes and his son João Guedes Junior, a former national surfing champion, in running the course that mixes seven hours of practical and theoretical training.
“Often when a swimmer is in trouble there is no one else around and surfers are the first on the scene,” said Cris Santos, founder of the creative studio Ocyano, a sponsor of the Surf & Rescue program. “The more and more people trained and prepared to carry out rescues safely, the fewer drownings there will be.”
For more information visit the Surf & Rescue website.
