Portsmouth Lifeguards is committed to providing water and lifesaving advice to the whole community. This page has information available to you, with some basic lifesaving techniques both in and out of the water and some information you might find useful when visiting a lifeguarded beach.
Our goal as a club is to save lives and educate the public.
Here are some videos and articles on basic lifesaving techniques.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions.
In the video below it will show you what to do if such an event should occur.
Choking is when a persons airway becomes blocked and they cannot breathe normally, it can be a life threatening situation.
Below is a video showing what to do if this situation should occur.
The recovery position is used when a casualty is unconscious and they are breathing normally with no other life threatening injuries.
The video below demonstrates the recovery position.
At lifeguarded beaches, you will see flags up.
It’s important to know what the flags mean, as they can indicate whether it’s safe to go in the water or not, and which activity it is safe to do, and where.
If you’re ever unsure, talk to one of our lifeguards.
The red flag indicates danger.
The conditions are too dangerous for people to swim.
Red and yellow flags show lifeguards are on duty.
The area between two red and yellow flags on the beach shows the safest place for swimming.
The windsock indicates the wind is blowing offshore.
This makes it dangerous to use inflatables as they may be blown out to sea.
This indicates a lost child in our care.
This indicates the tide is rising know as flooding.
The blue at the top indicates water rising.
This indicates the tide is falling know as ebbing.
The blue at bottom indicates water falling.
The black and white flag is used to create a zone for hard craft.
On a lifeguarded beach there are trained professionals to help keep you and your family safe – they will be on hand if something goes wrong, in or out of the water.
If you have any questions, or want advice on staying safe, our lifeguards are happy to help.
Always follow the water safety code;
Inflatable toys and airbeds can easily be swept out to sea. Seek advice from lifeguards to check if the beach and conditions are suitable.
If there is an offshore wind, don’t go out on inflatables.
On a lifeguarded beach, look out for the orange windsock and don’t use inflatables if it’s flying.
If you do use inflatables at the beach:
Swim with a friend – never go on your own.
Make sure there are other people around – you never know when help might be needed.
Swim where there is a lifeguard on patrol and within a zoned area of red/yellow flags.
Look out for information – warning signs and flags.
Never swim where a sign says not to, or when a red flag is flying.
Listen and take advice from lifeguards.
Children are safest when supervised.
As soon as you get to a beach, agree a meeting point in case of separation.
If the beach runs a children’s safety scheme, using wristbands or tickets, take part.
Make sure your children know where the lifeguards are, and that if they find themselves lost, to go and find a lifeguard.
If a child does go missing:
If you see someone in difficulty, tell somebody, preferably a lifeguard if there is one nearby, or go to the nearest telephone ☎, dial 999, ask for the coastguard.
Never go in yourself and never put yourself in danger.
On a lifeguarded beach there are trained professionals but what if you get into trouble when your not on a lifeguarded beach?
Techinques you can use to stay alive in the water.
The best way to survive cold water is to get out of it as quickly as possible. However, if this isn’t an option, you must conserve your body heat to increase your survival time.
Below is a video showing you how to do these techinques.
You’ve gone too far and you can’t touch the bottom you are exhausted.
you start to panic and thrash around trying to keep above the water.
This video will cover how to stay afloat.
With summers heating up (even in the UK), more and more of us are cooling down in beautiful open water spots across the country.
While most dips are safe, an average of 400 people still drown in British waters every year, with men and children most likely to be affected.*.
Despite the splashing arms and screaming we’ve become accustomed to seeing on the big screen, that’s not what drowning always looks like.
Drowning is usally quiet and quick.
You need to be very vigilant to spot someone who is drowning.
A drowning person may ‘climb the ladder’, alternately dip below the water and briefly back up again.
If suspect someone has drowned call 999 ☎ and ask for emergency help.
Try to keep calm, raise your hand and shout for help.
Try to float to stay alive.
Keep your arms raised until help has arrived.
Always call 999 for emergency help, even if the person appears to recover from a drowning.
Just a tiny amount of water in the lungs can cause a delayed reaction.
This is called deleayed onset drowning and it can be fatal.
