WHILE scores of people, including young children, had fun battling rough and choppy waters at Maracas Bay on Friday, lifeguards were both annoyed and concerned that the Met office's orange-level rough seas bulletin, issued from Friday and for the extended Christmas weekend, was being ignored.
The alert which was issued Thursday and went into effect at 2 pm on Friday, is scheduled to expire on Wednesday at noon.
Beaches which are facing north are expected to be particularly hazardous during this period.
The Meteorological Service projected "dangerous conditions for swimming and small craft operations; very high surf and dangerous rip currents near affected coastlines."
[caption id="attachment_992472" align="alignnone" width="1024"] GOOD SIGN: It was a good sign that no one even tried to venture into the waters in Manzanilla on Friday as wave upon wave crashed into the surf. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB -[/caption]
Sea bathers, fishermen, small craft operators, and other coastal interests, it said, should make preparations to secure lives, livelihoods and coastal property. Exercise extreme caution along the coast. Prepare for dangerous breaking waves and currents. In other words, as one lifeguards at Maracas Bay put it: "Stay out of the water!"
The lifeguard and several fishermen who spoke with Newsday said conditions were hazardous on the North Coast beach long before 2 pm.
The seas were so choppy, one of the lifeguards, Anthony Paul, said the authorities should have considered closing beaches completely for the duration of the alert. He said it was not too late to still do so.
"It is that dangerous. Do not come to the beach," Paul said, noting that drowning was only one of the several risks.
"You see them logs and thing? That is driftwood that does come with the rough water. If you notice, higher up the beach there, there's another big log up on the sand. That was rolling around in the water right here earlier on.
"Normally when the sea is rough like this, you see a lot of driftwood."
Driftwood – wood that has been washed onto a shore by winds, tides or waves – recently put someone's life in danger, Paul said.
The lifeguard's booth Paul stood next to appeared battered from the waves, with the foundation crumbling.
He pointed to the incline at the front of the booth where he said a woman became stuck after being pinned by a piece of driftwood, during a high tide last weekend. Several lifeguards were needed to free her.
Tyrico Beach, a short distance from Maracas Bay, was inaccessible to vehicles after powerful swells carried driftwood and rocks up to the road near the entrance to the beach.
There was indeed a worryingly high number of people in the water when Newsday arrived at Maracas Bay, even though red flags lined the entire beach.
Unlike at Maracas Bay, few beach-goers ventured further up North Coast Road. Las Cuevas' waters were also violent and the beach was practically deserted.
There are lifeguards rostered to work at Las Cuevas and Maracas Bay for the weekend.
However, only ni
