Anyone planning to swim in the bay is being urged to consider their ability and make an informed decision about whether to enter the water and to consider visiting Le Braye instead, where a normal patrol is in place.
It follows a rescue in the bay two weeks ago, when a member of the public commandeered a kayak to save a struggling swimmer, who, according to the Fire and Rescue Service, would ‘most certainly’ have drowned had they not intervened. He was eventually picked up five minutes later by the service’s inshore lifeboat, based at the Western Fire Station.
Beach lifeguards have still not been put on patrol at Plémont and Grève de Lecq and the bays could remain without a service for the duration of the summer.
In a statement, an RNLI spokesperson said: ‘We are working hard with Jersey Coastguard to establish a lifeguard patrol at St Brelade’s Bay – we are still working through the logistics in regards to equipment, recruitment and training and looking to establish a full lifeguard service on St Brelade’s Bay as soon as possible.
‘In the meantime, we recognise that the public are looking to enjoy the beaches during the hot weather and so will have two RNLI lifeguards based at St Brelade who will be available to offer safety advice to people using the water.
‘The lifeguards will have limited equipment and so will only be able to provide an observational patrol with the ability to escalate any potential incident very quickly to the coastguard who will deploy the appropriate rescue asset. The coastguard are also planning to have a pilot boat patrolling the bay over busy periods.’
The JEP has asked if the current arrangements would be sufficient and fast enough, if someone needed to be rescued immediately. However, the RNLI did not provide any formal response.
In a statement, the spokesperson added: ‘It is an observational-only lifeguard service, so we would advise anyone planning to swim at St Brelade to make an informed decision based on the level of safety cover available and their ability, if it is the best place for them to swim, to speak to the RNLI lifeguards about the safest way to enjoy the water, or head to St Ouen’s Bay where a full lifeguard service is in operation.’
