Donated Lifeguard towers get their legs- But it's no Baywatch.

The lifeguard tower bases got their "casitas" today. It seems strange a tourist destination city like Rosarito Beach, with over 5000 people in the water every weekend- doesn't have a lifeguard culture (think Baywatch). The Lifeguards are a division of the Rosarito Beach Fire Department and they pass the lifeguard jobs out to friends and relatives. Same thing as with any institutional job in Mexico really. Not even a swim test.

Q: Why did San Diego donate five old lifeguard towers to Rosarito Beach when the city has one certified lifeguard? A: It was going to cost $20K to legally dispose of them stateside and $17K to strip the bases off and ship them to Mexico (read "donate"). What was supposed to be good press- got ugly when the "paperwork" wasn't ready and they were stuck at the border for a while. By "paperwork", they meant the dollar bill variety. You pay everyone for everything for every service twice- even to "donate" something.

Not many tourists (18-21 college aged kids mostly) drown here. If it's not a publicity problem, it's not a problem. But many Mexicans do drown here without it hitting the San Diego news- at the northern residential end of the beach though (mine). Mexicans mostly swim or wade fully clothed and that's a problem if a big set comes in and people lose their footing. We had an 18 year old friend of the family drown here while we were out of town two years ago. The "lifeguards" told the family the body would wash back up in two or three days (it did- they camped there are waited). They puttered around on a jet ski for 20 minutes but no one went in or under the water to look for him. Stateside that wouldn't happen- anywhere, ever.

I've never seen one guard here swim distances, run or even train in the six years we've been here. Living in California we saw them training every day-they would all run in a pack carrying their rescue buoys and then swim all the way back. I'm sure that was just their warm-up drill too.

There are no tryouts and competitive contests here for the coveted job of Lifeguard. In the states hundreds try out. It's not the money- because the job doesn't pay anything- anywhere really. It's about the passion to do it. The job here basically involves driving up and down the beach on a quad or a jetski, yelling at people to get out of the water, and giving your friends rides on the back. There are no junior lifeguard development programs or even adult lifeguard training programs.

In a generous offer extended every year, the California Lifeguard Academy offers Rosarito Beach as many training spots as they want for free. This year they sent one person for the first time. Just one. Next year they hope to send more. I can actually tell which guard he is by watching how slowly he patrols onhis ATV, how he watches the water surface and how he tracks the people in the water. No one becomes a master-trainer to train others from attending a seven day Academy program- but I hope the others learn from him for now a least.

Life Guarding is taken seriously everywhere but here and tower guards need to be specifically trained and focused (no distactions, no girlies n the casita, no smoking weed with your surfer freinds all day- for a start). People will now think their kids are safer because someone is manning the tower. If they take their eyes off their kids- they could wind up being camped out waiting for their return- just like what our friends suffered through.