Santa Monica JG Audit

Dateline: Friday, June 25, 2015.

Our Mission: to check out the Santa Monica venue of the L.A. County Junior Lifeguard Program which is based on Santa Monica South between Towers #28 and #29.

Turns out we were also in for a special treat because the "A" and "B" groups of both the "Santa Monica" and "Venice" JG's were nearby at the Brooks Ave. and Thornton Ave. towers in Venice for a couple of annual smackdown events, namely:

The A's were at Brooks Ave. participating in the "Battle at Brooks!"

and

The B's were at Thornton Ave. participating in the Throwdown at Thornton"!

So here goes:

We arrived at SMS Tower #28 and located the Santa Monica "C" group being led by Dave Carpenter and Lacey Beattie.

*** Video Alert ! ***

JG "C" Calisthenics: The Video

     https://youtu.be/g5RaKBHpryk

*** Video Alert ! ***

JG Board Meeting At SMS Tower #28: The Video

     https://youtu.be/BPq6ghfcxxk

*** Video Alert ! ***

Paddleboard Instruction Video

     https://youtu.be/TKddQhIibYY

Next, we trotted down to Thornton Ave. where we observed the combined B groups of Santa Monica and Venice participating in some shallow water and running events, and being supervised by Bob Valandra, Chad Carvin, Toby Contarsy and Nila Ward.

*** Video Alert ! ***

Intro Video At Thornton Ave

     https://youtu.be/FFmqwUn4-K8

*** Video Alert ! ***

Thornton Ave. Ocean Drills: Video #1

     https://youtu.be/tZyvMv9eG7s

*** Video Alert ! ***

•  Thornton Ave. Ocean Drills: Video #2

     https://youtu.be/djcwws8lo5M

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On the berm at Thornton Ave...

•  On The Berm At Thornton Ave: Video #1

      https://youtu.be/r6xkcQx3cqU


•  On The Berm At Thornton Ave: Video #2

     https://youtu.be/3c832UIwly0

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At Brooks Ave. we observed the A groups participating in a soft sand version of dodge ball in an event dubbed the "Battle at Brooks"!  Among the JG Instructors here were Steve Contarsy, John Baltz, and Nick Sullivan.

*** Video Alert ! ***

The Battle At Brooks: The Video

     https://youtu.be/sZ2z88n9IQ0

... and then we headed back to where we started and along the way said hello to the guards at Rose Ave., Navy St. and Tower #28.

and then it was time to say farewell...

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Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

(All photos and videos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2015.)

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Strafing Santa Monica South...

Dateline: Thursday, June 25, 2015 mid day...

Atten Hut!... "The Doctor and The Captain"

 *** Video Alert ! ***

... as we were walking past Tower #22 a rip current was developing that ensnared two swimmers and when we looked back the guard at Tower #22 had to go in the water and perform a rescue, followed by his back up guard from Tower #24... and, of course, since I had my camera with me (fortunately...) I was able to capture the whole thing on video!...

Double Rescue at SMS Tower #22: The Video

      https://youtu.be/30AusK_3LtU   

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And then we were in for a real surprise at SMS Tower #26 when we captured this "Double Legacy OL" Photo!!!  The progeny, the echo, the deja vu next generation version of (L2R) Fletcher and Newman!

... and check out the 'coffee cup' logo on the official cap from the Training Center!

L2R:  Fletcher, Newman & Thomas, LLP...

And what about the "In-Tower" footwear choice of one veteran OL who was working T-27!... I wonder if he brought his blankie too?!... :-)

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Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

(All photos and video by & Copyright Will Maguire 2015.)

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"And Now, For Something Completely Different***...", by Adam Sandler

"And Now, For Something Completely Different***" -- patrolling the west end of Zuma Beach.

by Adam Sandler

(editor's note: in what could also be the longest titled blog post to date too...)

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While on a run this morning with the dog, I noticed something different on the sand at Zuma.

As a result of the sand erosion over the winter and the shrinking beach, the OLs at Zuma have a new toy; I mean safety vehicle. Known by many names: Gator, side-by-side, ATV and MUV (multi-use-vehicle), the brand new utility vehicle was put into service today. (see pic).

At the time these photos were taken -- 1030 hrs at Zuma Beach near Tower 13 -- the engine had just 2.3 hours on it! Eventually, the MUV will be outfitted with a light bar, siren, pa and paddle board rack. The MUV will be used to go into sections of sand too narrow for the usual Call Car, mainly at the west end of Zuma and adjoining Trancas Beach.

It was delivered by the Dive Team truck yesterday (see pic), whose occupants may or not have stopped for a snack when the picture was taken.

By the way, as you know the County's deal with Ford expired a couple of years ago, so the Ford Escape Call Cars will be phased out and replaced by the newly designed Toyota Tundra's in the coming months. And Chiefs will get spanking new Toyota Sequoias.


(Editor's note: with respect to the Toyota Tundra's... as previously posted by "County Recurrent" in an exclusive Spy Photo, dated June 16, 2015, below:

(Spy Photo by & © Will Maguire 06.16.2015)

We've used these MUV's in Australia for many years (see pic) for largely the same reason; the length of the beach and a shrinking sand footprint. We also have sleds that attach to them to transport the IRB's.

*** For our younger readers, "And Now, For Something Completely Different" is a well-known phrase from the Monty Python show (x-ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python ).

Adam Sandler

Lifeguard - Paddler - Media Guru

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Many Thanks to Adam for sharing his remarks and photos with all of us.  Photos (except as otherwise indicated) & Story by & Copyright 2015 Adam Sandler. Used here with permission.)

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

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Will Rogers JG Audit; Summer 2015

Dateline: Wednesday morning, June 24, 2015.

Will Rogers State Beach, one of the premier venues for the L.A. County Junior Lifeguard program, at Tower #15, adjacent to Will Rogers Lifeguard HQ, where it has been for many, many years and where the undersigned clearly remembers being told by his JG Instructor one morning (many moons ago...) during the first week that we were going to run to the Santa Monica Pier and back... and thinking "did I hear him correctly?!"... and we were going to stop and do push ups and sit ups at every lifeguard tower on the way to the pier...

In any case, we killed two birds with one stone this morning as we got in a buoy swim and took some photos and shot a couple of short videos of the JG Program in full swing in its first week of this Summer of 2015...  Enjoy!...

JG buoy swim!...

JG Calisthenics...

JG surf swim drill...

*** Video Alert ! ***

 Will Rogers JG's: Video Overview

      https://youtu.be/oX8p6qDQDBg

off duty laco beach lifeguard/jg dad...

*** Video Alert ! ***

 Will Rogers JG "A" Team Shoreboat Drill: The Video 

      https://youtu.be/vEqckLtmN8c

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*** Video Alert ! ***

 BMurph JG Drill Instructor: The Video

      https://youtu.be/0W00_4Am4Go

 Remember:  "Paddling is NOT social in the surfline!"

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Until next time.....


Will Maguire, Editor
"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com


 


(All photos and videos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2015.)

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