Bethells Beach is the typical rugged West Coast Auckland Beach - beautiful scenery and great fun for surfers, body boarders, swimmers, rock & kite fisherman, as well as anybody out for stroll.

However the West Coast surf is always dangerous for the inexperienced, with rips, surges and large waves. Hence the need for a Surf life saving Patrol!



The patrol currently has around 80 active members and 40 junior surf members aged between 7 and 13 who are taught all the skills necessary to one day become an active surf lifeguard. Despite the dangers, both Bethells and the neighbouring O’Neills beaches are increasingly popular destinations for the beach going public of the Auckland region. As such each year the patrol performs a significant number of rescues both inside and outside normal patrolling hours. Last season our guards provided 2,916 hours of service, performed 947 preventative actions, 33 first aids and saved 26 lives.

The ability of our club to continue to provide a high quality rescue service to the beach going public of Bethells Beach is dependent on our ability to recruit and retain members who are prepared to voluntarily give up their valuable time and effort.

Each year our club runs a programme which sees 12 – 16 recruits trained as active lifeguards. This programme involves weekly swimming at the Waitakere Aquatic and Recreation Centre, ten workshops covering first aid, CPR, patrol operations, radios, signals, knots and rescue techniques required to pass the bronze award, a training weekend which covers in depth the practical aspects of lifeguarding as well as the support and commitment of a team highly qualified instructors.