Lifeguards Needed At Lighthouse Beach
Could a lifeguard have saved
the life of a 46-year-old Groton man who drowned Sunday
while trying to save his daughter from being swept out to sea by the
vicious currents at Lighthouse Beach? No one, of course, can say for
sure. But an off-duty Harwich lifeguard who just happened to be at the
beach did save the life of the man’s daughter. The tragedy should spur
town officials to stop making excuses and hire lifeguards for what is
arguably the town’s most popular — and most hazardous — beach.
In the past, officials have
said the area is just too large and too dangerous for lifeguards. To be
sure, lifeguards cannot watch over both Lighthouse and South beaches.
The majority of those at Lighthouse Beach, however,
cluster within the area between the northernmost limits of the town
beach and the corner where the sand spit hooks south and becomes South
Beach. That’s an area less than the size of Harding’s Beach, where
three lifeguard stands have been stationed for many years. The current
ATV used on the beach should remain as a way to provide additional
safety oversight for South Beach.
It makes no sense to keep
lifeguards off the beach because the currents from the
Chatham Harbor inlet are too dangerous. They are, as the many people the
harbor patrol have rescued in the vicinity over the years can attest;
but it would be impossible to completely ban swimming at Lighthouse
Beach, and warning signs just don’t cut it. Turning a blind eye to the
situation won’t work anymore. The only responsible thing to do is to
post lifeguards there.
Just two weeks ago,
selectmen discussed instituting a fee to beachgoers who park at the
Lighthouse Overlook and along Bridge Street. If that’s
done, then the town definitely has a responsibility to post lifeguards.
Coincidentally, the fees could also help cover lifeguard salaries. But
even if the fee scheme doesn’t come to fruition, Chatham needs to bite
the bullet and institute lifeguards at the beach next season. It’s part
of the price we must pay as a resort community. After untold rescues of
desperate, exhausted swimmers, and three deaths — although medical
complications contributed to deaths at the beach in 2005 and 2006 — it’s
time to put lifeguards at Lighthouse Beach.
9/4/08
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