The Cornwall holiday season has officially started with the arrival of Easter. The Cornish cliffs, waves and beaches are inviting you to destress with walks on the coastal footpaths, refreshing surfs in the sea and family time on the beach.
The RNLI Lifeguards will be patrolling sixteen beaches across the south west every day for the two week Easter school holiday break and all weekends up until May 5th. They encourage people to think ahead and take the necessary precautions to keep them and their families safe at the coast.
The Lifeguards urges people to respect the elements and remember that the sea temperatures remain very cold. If you are planning to brave it – wetsuits are recommended. Anything below 15°C is defined as cold water and can seriously affect your breathing and movement. Average UK and Ireland sea temperatures are just 12°C and it is lower than this at this time of year.
Accidents are often a result of slips, trips or falls – meaning people are not prepared to get wet. We also recommend keeping dogs on leads on the cliff paths.
In the UK, the majority of RNLI Lifeguard incidents involve rip currents. They are a major cause of accidental drowning on beaches all across the world. Learn more about rip currents by seeing the RNLI website here.
Polzeath Beach just a 15 minute walk from The Point is one of the beaches patrolled. Further afield you have Harlyn, Constantine and Watergate Bay beaches – all well known surfing beaches and definitely worth exploring when staying in this area.
Remember to check tide times and heights before you head out. If you do not have the tide times chart at hand you can always find the detailed surf forecast and tide times on this website – Magic Seaweed.
Know your flags?
Red flag is the easy one – it means DANGER; never go in the water under any circumstance when the red flag is flying.
Red and yellow flag – means lifeguarded area. This is the recommended area to swim, bodyboard and use inflatables.
Black and white chequered flags – area recommended for surfboards, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks and other non-powered crafts. Launch and recovery area for kitesurfers and windsurfers. Never swim or bodyboard here.
Read more about beach and surf sport safety and on the RNLI website here.
