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July 30, 2008

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LI state parks' lifeguards patrol shore after hours

BY DANNY TEIGMAN AND = JENNIFER=20 BARRIOS | =20

July 29, 2008

Just 12 miles away from where = three=20 swimmers were drowning in the waters off Long Beach after lifeguards = went home=20 for the day, beachgoers at Long=20 Island's state parks were watched over by lifeguards who are on duty = as late=20 as 8 p.m.

The extended hours are part of long-standing state = policy, and=20 not a reaction to the recent drownings, said George Gorman, deputy = regional=20 director of the state parks department.

"It is extremely = dangerous,"=20 Gorman said of waters around the state parks. "You never know what you = can face=20 in the water."

Even after lifeguards leave for the day, the state = says it=20 continues to patrol the shoreline, preventing swimmers from entering the = unguarded waters. After-hours bathers can receive summonses for ignoring = posted=20 signs.

As the comparison between Long Beach and the state = shows, a=20 wide disparity exists on the Island when it comes to policing the = shoreline=20 after hours. Some communities have police patrol the beaches after = lifeguards=20 leave, while others rely on warning signs to dissuade people from = swimming=20 unsupervised.

Lifeguards in the Town of Southampton leave the = beaches at=20 5 p.m. The town says it doesn't make financial sense to patrol later, = said=20 spokesman Ryan Horn. And while town police survey the beaches, their = primary=20 concern is preventing on-land hooliganism, not after-hours swimmers, = Horn=20 said.

"The police don't go down there and rouse someone off the = beach,"=20 Horn said. "The beach population seems to regulate itself."

Mike = Deery, a=20 spokesman for the Town of Hempstead, said lifeguards are at town beaches = until 6=20 p.m., but public-safety officers run patrols for an additional = hour.

And=20 although many of the town's beaches are locked after hours, several = still are=20 accessible to the public at night.

Deery said that while = scofflaws=20 technically can be punished, the town does not routinely enforce the = laws that=20 target after-hours swimming. When lifeguards aren't on duty at the = beaches of Fire=20 Island National Seashore, the policy is "swim at your own risk," = said Chief=20 Ranger Jay Lippert.

That said, there still are people who choose = to dip=20 their toes, and more, after lifeguards go off duty at the national = seashore,=20 usually after 5 or 6 p.m., depending on the beach and the = day.

Lippert=20 said rangers note the presence of such people during their patrols, just = in case=20 there's trouble later. But adding lifeguarding hours is out of the = question, at=20 least for now, he said.

"It's a budgetary issue," he said. "It = all comes=20 down to dollars and cents."

Farther afield, Long Beach Township = in New=20 Jersey allows swimming with and without lifeguards along its 12 miles of = beaches, said Beach Patrol supervisor Don=20 Myers. "Conditions should dictate when and where you go," he said. = "I don't=20 recommend they swim without a lifeguard."

Township Mayor Joe = Mancini said=20 the region has been "very lucky" so far.

"We have people who = respond as=20 good neighbors," he said. "The people walking the beach, the surfers, = they'll=20 tell people not to swim."

In the end, said Fire Island's Lippert, = water=20 safety ultimately depends on personal responsibility and common=20 sense.

WHY SUCH ROUGH SEAS?

1 The Jet = Stream has=20 shifted.

Typically in the summer, a high pressure system remains = offshore=20 in the Atlantic Ocean, and normally the jet stream moves farther to the = north so=20 the main storm track is well to the north of Long Island. =

But this summer, the jet stream = is farther=20 south, creating a more active storm track.

So when cold fronts = approach=20 the area from the northwest, it sets up strong south-to-southwest winds = over=20 longer distances which increases the chance of rip currents. That = pattern=20 already has occurred several times this summer.

2 Tropical storms = came=20 early.

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

SOURCES: Gary Conte, meteorologist with the National = Weather=20 Service in Upton; Jay Tanski, senior coastal processes specialist with = the New=20 York State Sea Grant Extension Program

LIFEGUARDS ON=20 DUTY

Fire Island National Seashore, beaches of Sailors Haven and = Watch=20 Hill: Lifeguards on duty until the weekend after Labor=20 Day, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, 9 to 6:30 weekends.

Beach = of=20 Talisman-Barrett: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and=20 Sundays

Village of Saltaire: Lifeguards on duty until Labor Day, = 9 a.m.=20 to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 to 6 weekends. Some selected weekends in late = September,=20 weather permitting. Chief lifeguard has the discretion to extend hours = during=20 exceptionally busy times.

Long Beach Township, N.J.: Lifeguards = on duty=20 until Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rehoboth Beach, Del.: = Lifeguards on=20 duty until the fourth week in September, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 10 = to 5:30=20 weekends.

New York State: Lifeguards on duty 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on=20 weekends, 8 to 7 weekdays, but hours can be shorter .

Town of = Hempstead:=20 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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

Town of=20 Oyster Bay: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Town of Islip: Until Labor Day, 11 = a.m. to=20 5 p.m. daily.