First Week Back on the Beach

by Kailey Aiken

Rockaway Beach lifeguards officially began the summer season last Saturday and were met with a rainy and cold Memorial Day Weekend. Even the seagulls skipped on the beach day Saturday and Sunday. After a long winter, I think all of Rockaway is hoping the weather turns around quickly.

But just before the weekend, a heatwave brought flocks of beachgoers to Rockaway before lifeguards were on duty.

As most readers know, last Tuesday, Rockaway had its first drowning tragedy of the summer, days before the season officially began. As lifeguards, it is never easy to hear we lost a life on our beaches, even when we are off duty.

The recent drowning has been in the papers, on the news, and all over social media for the past week. My hope is that this response will influence NYC residents to further educate themselves and others on beach and ocean safety, and swim only when and where lifeguards are on duty this summer.

To clear some confusion from various news sources, the people forming a human chain in the water, which was 50° with wind chop and strong currents, were lifeguards working “crew” –the week prior to opening the beaches where we place the necessary equipment in each shack to prepare for the summer. During this week, we are not “on duty” but we are in and around the shacks, so when supervisors received the call for a submersion on Beach 73rd Street, we responded to and performed the usual submersion protocol.

We dove and swept for over an hour, alongside FDNY, NYPD, and Coast Guard units simultaneously running their own protocols for a missing person in the water. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in recovering the 18-year-old boy, and as of publication, he has still not been found.

On opening day this past Saturday, temperatures in the low 50s paired with heavy rain made the lifeguard chair a less than desirable place to be. I wore three pairs of pants, four shirts/sweatshirts, two parkas, a raincoat, snow boots, fuzzy socks, and a partridge in a pear tree. And honestly? Gloves wouldn’t have hurt to add. Yeah, it was that cold.

For the first time in NYC Parks lifeguarding history, female lifeguards will have the option of a two-piece bathing suit for our uniform, and our one piece is getting a makeover. No longer will patrons be able to peruse the walls of lifeguard photos in Connolly’s and genuinely wonder “Huh, is this a photo from 1983 or 2023?”

Actually, I might have to take that back. A cultural phenomenon from the 1980s is making a resurgence among lifeguards this year: Hacky Sack. Beach 116’s Rockaway Surf Shop has probably sold more Hacky Sacks in the past month than they have in the last two years. Hacky Sack circles are the new (old?) chosen activity for guards passing time on a slow day during breaks.

Happy summer, Rockaway Beach. Stay safe and enjoy the beach! We’re happy to be back.