VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Labor Day marks the unofficial last day of summer, and it sure felt like it at the beach Monday as crowds packed the Oceanfront.
But rough conditions brought out the red flags as a warning for rough surf. Lifeguards kept a watchful eye on the water, along with parents minding their kids as the heavy surf rolled in.
As the surf rolled in, lifeguards at the crowded Oceanfront kept busy.
“We are going to keep everybody safe,” said Tom Gill with Virginia Beach Lifesaving Services. “It does not mean we are going to keep everybody out of the water completely. But safety is our number one goal, as always, and the fun has been happening all week as well.
Having fun in the surf is a bit tough with rough waters, and dad Ricky Rivera kept a watchful eye on his 13-year-old son as he rode the waves.
“The waves are a little too high,” Rivera said, “and he is not all that good with the waves and the board. I am just going to go in there and make sure he is OK.”
Mom Ashley Beahm was in town with her family on vacation. At the water’s edge is where her daughter liked to play.
“When you are a parent by yourself, you can relax,” Beahm said. “But when you have kids, it is a job. It is a full-time job.”
Gill recommended that for people at the beach, they make their day less stressful by finding a lifeguard stand with a lifeguard in it, and swim right in front of them. It will make their job easy, and your day safer.
Monday’s rough surf is part of the remaining effects from Idalia, which slammed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane and hit the Outer Banks as a tropical storm before heading out to sea, making it a busy holiday weekend for lifeguards.
“We have made multiple rescues throughout the weekend,” Gill said. “Dealt with 40, 50 lost children yesterday because it was a packed beach — one of the biggest Labor Day crowds we have seen in awhile.”
