Today a crisis notice will be given to all the donor businesses that support the program to contribute to a special donation drive to keep the program in operation.

If the money can be raised to create a reserve surplus the program will continue operating.

Without the reserve surplus the program will be forced to suspend the prevention and rescue services for the month of July. Thereafter collecting July donations without paying the ₡682.000 in salaries for July will allow the program to resume in August and finish out the year.

Not only will we be risking someone´s life but this “layoff” is a slap in the face for our well trained and highly responsible lifeguards left without any income.

The program runs about ₡ 75.000 short each month. Anyone interested in helping Eddie Ryan at La Costa De Papito Bungalows (Tel 8811-3448 email: costadepapito@gmail.com) organize a benefit event or to solicit other businesses to contribute monthly to this noble community endeavor please contact him. If the program is suspended, any ideas on how we can offer temporary employment to our lifeguards would be welcome.

The lifeguard who performed the rescue at Cocles of Bonnie W.

“I was swimming when, suddenly, I realized I was very far away from the beach,” Bonnie said. “I tried to swim back to shore but I seemed to be stuck. I could feel myself getting sucked back further and further away from the shore. I started to panic.”

Bonnie was caught in a rip current — a powerful, narrow current of water that flows rapidly away from the shore, often at speeds in excess of 5 miles-per-hour (8 kilometers-per-hour). It is estimated that rip currents are responsible for about 80% of ocean drowning.

While a rip current often measures 200 feet (62 meters) to 2,500 feet (762 meters) in length, they are typically less than 30 feet (9 meters) wide. As a result, a person can often escape one by remaining calm and swimming parallel to the beach until the current loses strength. Once out of the rip current, they can then swim towards shore. However, many tourists unfamiliar with rip currents panic, and risk become exhausted and drowning.

“Had the lifeguard not been there, I could have drowned,” Bonny said. “I am so grateful to the lifeguard and the Playa Cocles Lifeguard Program.”

This sign explains how the flag system works to alert you to ocean conditions. A red flag indicates that it is too dangerous, stay out of the water. A yellow flag indicates that you should not go in above waist level. A green flag indicates safe swimming.  Note that the blue flags seen on some beaches are an indication that the beach has been certified under Costa Rica’s “Bandera Azul” program for excellent water quality and beach cleanliness. It does not indicate ocean conditions.

Cocles Beach is the only lifeguard-patrolled beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. Managed by volunteers, the program receives no government funding and relies on donations from local businesses, residents and tourists. That funding is often in short supply and the program has been temporarily suspended in the past when it was unable to raise the money needed to pay the lifeguards, who are paid ₡11,000 per day (approximately US$22).

The minimum monthly bill for running Playa Cocles Lifeguard Program is ₡660,000 (approximately US$1,320), which pays for two lifeguards a day. Its lifeguards have rescued more than 1,500 swimmers at Cocles beach since the service began.

Every donation helps – please support the Playa Cocles Lifeguard Program by making a donation (PayPal accepted). Local business owners in Puerto Viejo can also sign up to provide regular monthly support for the program. For more information, please email Eddie Ryan at La Costa de Papito.

Tips:

• Avoid rip currents by always swimming between the red and yellow flags.
• Do not swim alone. Have someone on the beach looking out for you.
• Avoid beaches that are not attended by lifeguards.
• If you find yourself caught in a rip current, stay calm. Conserve your energy by floating or treading water.
• Don’t fight the current by trying to swim back to shore directly against the rip – you could become exhausted and drown. Instead, try to swim parallel to the beach. Once you are out of the current, swim towards shore.
• If you cannot escape the rip, draw attention to yourself: face the shore, wave your arms and yell for help.
• If you see someone who is caught in a rip current, alert a lifeguard. If there is no lifeguard, throw them a floatation device or surf board. Do not go in after them!

Financially we were ready to start again on June 14 but the lifeguards had taken temporary  employment and their commitments did not permit their return until June 28.

When the program is suspended our loyal, responsible lifeguards are left without any income. We run the risk of losing them permanently with another layoff.

Que Paso Caribe bimonthly magazine is organizing a benefit at Mango Sunset bar for mid July. They will be raffling a $400 mountain bike as well as other prizes. Please stay tuned for details.

Hopefully, we can get going again soon but May has been dreadful for tourism and almost no one so far has paid this month.

Keep your fingers crossed, the ocean has no pity.

You can help get the program back on track at the donation page.

The Musicians played for free. People donated services for the raffles and the bar kicked in ₡1.000 on each drink. When all was sung and done, ₡223.000 was raised and donated to the program.

Muchos thank you’s to the musicians Jim Vick and Stephen from Big Mix, Jim McDougal, Jay and Las Rayas, Liam, John Wheatley, Plan B, Kristy y Erick. Surf Rentals donated a Scooter rental to the raffle, Molly a belly dance class, Pam a massage, Reef Runners a diving excursion, Asiah a tantric massage, Chelsea and Erica Jewelry. Thanks to La Isla Inn, ATEC, Ivon’s café, the Boca Shuttle and apologies and applause for those who are not mentioned here because this is second hand information. Special thanks to Andrew from Chile Rojo for hosting the event.

Phase 1: Tragedy prompts action

The statistics could have made grisly headlines:
“5 people drown in 8 days on spectacular but deadly Cocles beach.”

Those tragic deaths around Easter 2001 on Cocles beach galvanized a few individuals into action to help prevent further loss of life. Dean, a lifeguard from the Baywatch beach area of USA and his girlfriend Rosario, organised a group of lifeguards, funded by local donations. The initial goal was to maintain one lifeguard per day. And so the Cocles Lifeguard project was born.

Phase 2: Training & Problems!

In 2002 Eddie Ryan and Charlie Wanger became involved, taking over from the founders. This second phase involved the National Association of Costa Rica Lifeguards, training local candidates to a professional level of expertise involving extensive in-water training and 1st Aid.

Cocles Lifeguard project funded half the cost of the lifeguard training course and candidates paid the remaining half in the understanding of employment once qualified. Seven candidates were trained.

However, things did not go smoothly. Three experienced lifeguards from the Central Valley (sent to Puerto Viejo to assist new candidates) became dissatisfied with the housing conditions and meagre salary, whilst the association wanted to take over the programme. Midway through the first collection drive the association lifeguards left town with the donations and over $US 2000 of equipment!

So it was back to the drawing board…

Phase 3: 2003 to Present situation.

The current program was initiated 25th August 2003. This involves a team of 3 lifeguards working a shift system, so that there are 2 lifeguards present from 09.00hrs to 17.00hrs each day, 7 days a week.

The administration is still voluntarily undertaken by Eddie Ryan but encouraging and obtaining adequate donations to fund the project remains a constant struggle.

The Financial Picture.

Despite a list of approximately 70 business donors, Cocles Lifeguard project has a current deficit of Colones 50,000 and operates at a loss of Colones 125,000 monthly. Although a certain number of businesses donate willingly and regularly, some cannot be relied upon to consistently contribute. From the 70 businesses currently listed only 31 have consistently contributed during 2009. Obviously this reflects important lost revenue with far reaching consequences.

The minimum monthly bill for running Cocles Lifeguard service now stands at approximately Colones 660,000. If the lifeguards can expect a small salary increase and in accordance with labour law would be paid Aguinaldo, Socio Seguro and Riesgos de Trabajo, the monthly bill would increase to approximately Colones 750,000.

The expenses can be broken down as follows:
• Salaries of Lifeguards: Currently paid Colones 11,000 per day. Lifeguards are responsible for their own Riesgos de Trabajo, Aguinaldo and Socio Seguro.
• Donations Collector: Paid 7% of donations collected.
• 1st Aid kit & Equipment: Incidental expenses for replacing 1st Aid supplies and equipment such as flags, fins and flotation boards.

So what does that mean for our Lifeguard Service?

Due to the financial deficit, the lifeguard service was forced to cut back to 1 lifeguard per day instead of the required pair. The remaining 2 lifeguards of the team were laid off due to the inability to pay them. By laying them off for two months the project anticipated using the saved salaries to reinstate the full team for the busy month of December.

On 1st December 2009 the service was able to operate normally again with 2 lifeguards on duty.

A real problem here is that if these two qualified lifeguards cannot be permanently re-employed it is probable that they will find other work and become unavailable. Without a team of 3 lifeguards, the service is severely compromised.

An important point to remember is that it takes 2 lifeguards to offer a rescue service. A single lifeguard can only offer preventive services, due to the significant danger of rescuing a swimmer in trouble.

In conclusion, that means that our Lifeguard service is severely compromised and the lifeguards lack job security despite their commitment and the significant level of responsibility demanded of them.

A Noble Project.

Cocles beach is not only well known for exciting surfing (and strong rip tides) but also well documented in numerous travel guides/websites. Consequently it is visited by a large volume of people, locals and visitors alike. Wherever visitors are staying they are likely to spend some time on Cocles beach, if only because everyone from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo travels past it at one point or another and it is so immediately accessible. For an area such as this where survival depends on healthy tourism numbers, the need for a lifeguard service is obvious.

In conversation with Eddie, it was clear how committed he is to maintaining this invaluable service and his belief that it could be expanded to increase the safety at beaches from Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo. Justly proud of this service, he stated that this is the only community in Costa Rica that has kept a lifeguard programme running for so many years. Though there have times when Eddie felt like giving up on the problematic administration of the service, just last December Costa de Papito’s bartender got into serious difficulties at Cocles beach. He was rescued by the lifeguards and lived to swim another day.

Lifeguards have rescued more than 1,500 swimmers at Cocles beach since the service began. That is a lot of lives that have been saved. Estimates of how many deaths have been prevented run into the thousands.

Save our Lifeguards so they can Save you!

If this lifeguard service can not only be saved from extinction but expanded, the whole area stands to benefit – and not only by diminishing the number of deaths on the beaches.

But a salutary thought is that if this lifeguard service were to disappear through lack of funding, how would we feel the next time someone drowns? Without a lifeguard service there will certainly be too many ‘next times’.

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Many thanks to Eddie Ryan for all the information contained in this article and for giving so generously of his time and insights into Cocles Lifeguard project.

Article by Zoë Courtier. Zoë along with her husband Tom Keller are the proprietors of Geckoes Rainforest River Lodge. Two luxurious holiday houses with private plunge pools in a magnificent rainforest and river setting minutes from Playa Cocles. More information at www.geckoeslodge.com