Another lifeguard season in Pembrokeshire is about to begin, and the usual last-minute, feverish activity to get everything in place is nearly at an end.

Lifeguards may seem like the most laid-back people on earth but it takes months of preparation and much support behind the scenes to deliver the highly trained professional service that RNLI lifeguards provide.

This is the third year that RNLI lifeguards have been patrolling the beaches of Pembrokeshire. For months before the season starts we have to go through job applications, selection and training. To become a lifeguard requires more than a formal job interview and having all the required lifesaving qualifications.

You have to show your fitness in a number of ways.

A lifeguard has to be able to:

  • Swim 400 metres in under 7 minutes and 30 seconds
  • Swim 25metres underwater and 25 metres surface swim in under 50 seconds
  • Run 200 metres on a sandy beach in under 40 seconds
  • Be trained to first-responder level And a number of the lifeguards have specialist skills that are essential for their work on the beaches, including being able to drive all-terrain vehicles (quad bikes), use of personal water craft, often referred to as jet skis and inshore rescue boats as well as being able to use a defibrillator, administer oxygen and entonox and some medicines.

There has been a high number of people returning as lifeguards this year 75% and the quality of people wanting to be lifeguards in Pembrokeshire has been exceptional. We also have a French lifeguard working with us this year from SNSM in Brittany - on an exchange after Phil Davies from Pembrokeshire went to France last year.

We are also involved in programmes such as Hit the Surf – which will be linking up with Haven Holiday group’s Kiln Park site in Tenby to provide youngsters spending their half-term holiday at the site about essential safety skills in the surf.

Our RNLI lifeguard colleagues in Swansea have been on the beaches for a month already, and they have just had an exceptionally busy weekend where all their pre-season preparation and training was called upon to the full.

And with more people using the water for recreation these days and the likelihood of more families taking their holiday in Britain this year, then we are gearing up for a potentially very busy season.

As well as what may be regarded as the usual calls of first aid, lost children and delivering safety messages, our Swansea colleagues had to deal with a serious accident involving an airlift to hospital and rescuing four teenage girls who had got into difficulty while swimming at Langland Bay.

The warm weather in the past week has, inevitably, meant a lot of people heading to the coast to enjoy the beautiful beaches we have in the area. We will be there to help people enjoy that to the full while ensuring they have a safe environment and to ensure people are also aware of the potential dangers the sea and beaches can pose.

One thing that needs stressing at present is that even though the weather can be warm, the water temperature is still very cold. Last weekend it as about half that of the air temperature. So, anyone going in the water and trying to swim will find himself or herself getting cold and tired very quickly, with the dangers of cramp and exhaustion.

We wouldn’t tell people not to go in the sea – we would only do that when conditions are very rough and dangerous – but we would try and press home the need for awareness of the personal safety of themselves and others.

Particularly important to remember is always swim on a lifeguarded beach and always swim between the red and yellow flags.

And, last but not least, always be ready to ask our lifeguards for advice and assistance. We’re always pleased to help.