Testing sentries of surf

Heather Thomson scrambled up the sand on the south side of the Newport Pier after a 1,000-meter swim through the chilly waters Sunday. Grabbing a flat wooden stick with her finishing number penned on it, the 16-year-old shuffled off the beach with scores of local teens who came out to audition for a spot on the 2007 Newport Beach summer lifeguards.

Heather, a Newport Harbor High School Junior who holds a spot on the school’s varsity swim team, did not take the competition lightly. Training two to three hours a day since November, she said she pushed herself beyond her capabilities.

Nearly 120 lifeguard hopefuls checked in at 8:30 a.m. for tryouts at the pier. With the sonic burst of a miniature fog horn, swimmers clad in a rainbow of neon swim caps, goggles and bathing suits dashed for the surf hoping for a summer job at the finish line.

Overcast skies and temperatures in the high 50s had a couple of teens quitting the minute they hit the water. But for the most part, the rest pushed and pulled through the breakers in an attempt to separate themselves from the pack.

“Entering the [cold] waters can knock the breath out of you,” said Jennifer Schulz, Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman.

Seasonal lifeguard Annie Claster stood shivering on the sand, nervous for two friends she says she talked into trying out Sunday.

Claster, a senior at Corona del Mar High School, reminisced while watching her friends labor through the surf and around a rock jetty heading south toward the pier, just as she did two years ago.

“This is the hardest part, going through [the waves] because it’s really crowded,” Claster said. Indeed, a few exited the water on the south side of the pier with cuts and scratches.

Regardless, most looked triumphant, having completed the swim through the numbing waters.

“After the buoy it starts to thin out,” Claster said.

Two yellow lifeguard patrol boats waited out past the surf line for the swimmers, as did two rescue watercrafts, and followed the swimmers to the other side of the pier.

Like many onlookers, Heather’s mom ran along the beach and up the pier, cheering her daughter on for the entire swim.

“She’s always cheering me on,” Heather said.

Back on land, Heather’s family greeted her with a long jacket, sheepskin boots and hand warmers placed in the pockets of her coat.

After a rest, hot drinks and some encouraging words from friends and family, 85 hopefuls returned for the second event, the run-swim-run, also 1,000 meters in distance.

Newport Beach Lifeguards took the top 45 finishers for the 2007 summer season. Positions were determined by averaging out finishing results in both events.

According to Schultz, participants can score low on the swim and still get in by doing well in the run. Many swimmers have the upper-body strength for the swim, but not as much lower-body strength for the run, she said.

Although Heather came in 45th place for both drills, she missed a spot in the top 45 by just three people.

“You can score 36th on one event and 52nd on another,” pushing others on the list down, Schulz said.

Finishing first overall was Edison High School student Christopher Bernard16. For him, the hardest part of the competition was keeping the buoy in sight through the surf and the other swimmers, he said.