Lifeguards prepare for busy weekend

Lolita Harper

They come from the Inland Valley, across the street and a bike ride

away and they are looking for a great holiday weekend on the lovely

shores of Newport Beach.

It is Labor Day weekend and labor is the last thing on these

beachgoer’s minds. It is the last summer hoorah. School is around the

corner, but for three more days, nobody has to think about it. And

Mother Nature has made it even easier to forget about the looming

responsibilities, offering a blazing sun and warm water.

So what does that mean for the fine men and women charged with

keeping these Labor Day visitors safe? They need to step it up a

notch.

It’s a challenge for Newport Beach lifeguards who have about a 30%

drop in personnel because many lifeguards have started college,

officials said. But it’s a hurdle they can cross -- imagine leaping

over crashing waves, red flotation device in hand, on the way to a

rescue -- with a little planning a creativity, lifeguard Jim Turner

said.

“This is the big crunch, with so many of our employees at

college,” Turner said. “But we’ve got reservists and part-timers

coming back for the week and some [of the lifeguards who are leaving]

have skipped a workout or two to fill our complement. As far as I

know, no one is actually missing school.”

The area’s coastal defenders have also arranged class schedules to

take early classes and then get back to their towers by noon, to

relive the morning crew, he said.

Because of the consistently good surf (usually 1 to 3 feet) and warm waters nearing or above 70 degrees, record-breaking crowds are

expected on the white sands of Newport Beach. Throw in a three-day

weekend, perfect weather and national exposure for the city on the

new Fox network show, “The O.C.,” and you have one busy weekend.

And Turner likes it that way.

“We are hoping for a good weekend,” he said. “We want a lot of

people to have a good holiday weekend.”

Deputies at the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol are also

crossing their fingers for a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Dan Downey, a harbor patrol deputy, said the waters were already

busy early Friday morning, as many boat owners took off for a trip to

Catalina. Those who weren’t taking that trek were readying themselves

for a weekend on the water -- a last chance to take the boat out

before the unofficial end of summer.

Downey said harbor officials will maintain business as usual but

keep a more watchful eye on the heavy harbor traffic. His agency does

not have to worry about too many cases of boating under the influence

because they are unusual in a 5-mph zone, and Newport Beach residents

have very cooperatively abstained from the practice.

“We are hoping for a nice peaceful weekend,” Downey said. “We are

just going to keep our staffing up because we expect a ton of boats

out there.”

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.