VERO BEACH — Coming from Canada, the unusually cool, April weather here wasn’t the problem. Rough surf was.
So the joint training exercises between the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association and Canadian National Lifeguard Team, scheduled for last week at South Beach Park, was canceled. The groups plan to try again next year.
“The conditions were just too rough,” said Erik Toomsoo, president and founder of the VBLA. “They brought surf skis, paddle boards and rescue boards, which are pretty difficult to handle even in the best conditions. To get out there in these conditions, we, being the hosts, didn’t think it was safe.”
Toomsoo said he wasn’t sure how much experience the Canadians had working in tough, ocean conditions, and it wasn’t worth risking anyone’s safety.
The joint training session was initially scheduled for last Wednesday, but windy conditions and rough surf prompted the groups – 20 Canadian team members and 10 local lifeguards – to postpone the after-hours, open-to-the-public event until Friday. But the conditions weren’t much better.
“Some of them showed up Friday to look at the ocean and it was still too rough,” Toomsoo said, “so most of them started heading back to Canada.”
According to Toomsoo, two of the Canadians own houses in Vero Beach and the team has been coming here for several years. It wasn’t until last spring, however, that the two groups met and decided to train together this year.
“We are always looking to improve our ocean rescue training techniques, and having such a high caliber squad come to town is an opportunity we cannot pass up,” said Kris Bottger, training officer for the Vero Beach lifeguards.
“It’s a shame the weather and conditions didn’t cooperate,” said Toomsoo. “They seemed like a great bunch of guys. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do it next year.”