Excuses started tumbling on the way there on why I should pull out — Fin’s been sick, I’ve probably got his bug, I’m not long recovered I could get wheezy and have an asthma attack (I haven’t had an asthma attack for at least 20 years), I should wait until I’m really fit and then smash it. I’m going to be the oldest person there and will make a total d... of myself.
There were at least three of us longitudinally experienced folk, alongside 20 or so teenagers.
Everyone was in their togs wandering around and no-one was covering themselves up self-consciously with a towel — I suppose if you’re going to save someone’s life you really don’t have time to cover up dimply thighs.
Turns out I needn’t have worried: we had nine minutes to complete the swim and I did it in 7mins 45secs, not breaking any records but solid enough.
Next I was worried because I’d missed the lessons around holds and releases. Did you know that one of the biggest hazards when rescuing someone is them panicking and drowning you?
The statistics on inexperienced rescuers drowning themselves are dire. Called "climbing the ladder", the person being rescued clings to the rescuer in fear, often climbing up them by pushing down on the rescuer’s shoulders and head and using their legs to push them down in order to keep their heads up. It’s an instinctive response the victim can’t control and a really dangerous situation for inexperienced rescuers.
So yes, a reasonably important part of the training I needed to know. Thankfully poolside 10 minutes before being tested my Brighton team-mates took me through them all, practising the holds, to the point that when we jumped in the pool my new fellow-rookie friends Mark and Alix even let me go last, so that I would be able to copy how they released me in their test.
This is the kind of camaraderie that attracted me to the Surf Lifesaving fraternity in the first place, having spent two seasons with Fin at Junior Surf. Turns out arm wrestling someone under water and then kicking them in the backside can be quite fun.
In all seriousness though, one message I’ve received loud and clear is to always use rescue tubes and fins — it’s hard enough rescuing someone and towing them 25m, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to rescue someone in rough surf conditions without a tube.
Fast-forward 5.30am Saturday, I did some last-minute revision, as I really hadn’t had time during the week.
The exam went for a full hour, 50 questions, it was actually quite a lot harder than I thought it would be and there was very little multi-choice. There’s no doubt I would have failed if not for the morning’s practice exams on ChatGPT.
However I got a lot out of the theory. I’m really stoked I now know all the ins and outs of rips, waves and their behaviour around tides, and hazards such as rocks and channels.
Having grown up swimming in rivers and lakes, I have always been slightly apprehensive about the sea — now I’ll be able to go to any beach in the world and understand the risks and best places to swim.
The three R’s for rips should be drilled into all of our children, Relax, Raise, Ride. Relax and float on your back, raise your hand and ride the rip until it stops towing you. Rips don’t go forever; they will always peter out at the back of the breaks. That’s why surfers use them as a fast track to get out the back.
Most people who drown in rips do so because they get exhausted trying to swim against it.
Even the strongest swimmers cannot swim against a rip current going at 3m per second, but anyone that can float can ride it out and wait for help.
This should be compulsory curriculum in all schools if it’s not already.
Last but not least was the run-swim-run. Saturday morning’s conditions were pretty gnarly with a 2.5m swell and tight sets of dumping waves.
It was the first time I’ve swum that deep in the ocean and not thought about sharks — I was too busy trying not to drown.
I have full respect for the 14-16-year-old whippets out there battling alongside me (OK in front of me), there is zero chance I would have had that kind of guts at that age.
A huge thank you to Scott Weatherall who co-ordinated the training and all of the volunteers that dedicated their Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings to train us — Javara, Amelia and Ruby.
The Surf Lifesaving community is really special and I’m super proud to now be part of it.
My first patrol is Brighton Beach this Saturday, but don’t worry you’ll be safe as there’ll be at least five others on duty with me.
• Sarah Ramsay is chief executive of United Machinists.
