First patrol and paddle ‘lots of fun’

By Coalcliff SLSC member Holly Wilson, who recently completed her Surf Rescue Certificate

Our first patrol was lots of fun, and I am very lucky to have a great group of friends to do it with – after we had all just completed our Surf Rescue Certificate with Dave Winner – and a fantastic surf club to guide us.

We watched the beach and also went for a few walks to check things like if the lifebuoy was still where it was supposed to be.

The Rod Stevens Memorial Paddle was also a lot of fun. I entered it with a few friends. When asked if we wanted to take part in the Paddle we were all a bit hesitant but in the end we decided to give it a go and just did it for fun to see how far we could get.

I enjoyed that there was no pressure to go the full way, as long as you tried your hardest. We went out about half-way, and they were nice enough to bring the buoy back in after the competitors went around it, so we could claim we went around the buoy too – it was quite funny.

Overall our first patrol was great, and the paddle was a lot of fun. I would recommend it to anyone whether they want to race or just have fun.