Surf Life Saving New Zealand is urging Kiwis to remember that pool toys are not beach toys this summer.
The warning comes as the number of incidents of people being blown out to sea on inflatables has increased.
“Inflatable pool toys aren’t designed for the ocean; they’re lightweight and difficult to propel, meaning they can quickly be blown out to sea by an off-shore breeze,” says Surf Life Saving chief executive Paul Dalton.
Foxton volunteer surf lifeguard Callum McKenzie also says he’s noticed an increase in the number of people taking pool toys to Foxton Beach in the Horowhenua District over the past few years.
“Typically it’s kids who are on the inflatables while their parents are back on the beach,” he says.
“The parents think the kids are fine because they’re in shallow water, but then the wind changes direction and suddenly they’re 100m off the shore.”
McKenzie said his fellow volunteer surf lifeguards took a rescue boat out to a pair of teenagers riding an inflatable flamingo last weekend, concerned that the young people were too far out of their depth.
“We got to them and asked if they were OK. Initially they said they were fine, but then they turned around and realised how far out they’d been blown. They were quite shocked. We ended up taking them back to shore,” says McKenzie.
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