VENTURA : Lifeguards Warn of Peril at South Jetty

Lifeguards in charge of patrolling Marina Cove Beach in Ventura Harbor say they are fed up with risking their lives in belated rescue efforts to save lives at the south jetty beach while local authorities look the other way.

“It’s the most dangerous beach in the county, said veteran lifeguard Steve Miskulin, who has spent 12 years working on Marina Cove. He said that “99 out of 100” accidents that take place there could be prevented if the city of Ventura or the port district would provide lifeguard service on the south jetty.

State, city and port officials disagree with the lifeguards. They believe that the beach is too dangerous for bathers and that offering lifeguard services there would send the wrong message.

They say they want swimmers and inexperienced surfers to stay out, and for that reason, they have warning signs advising the public not to use the beach. But the signs, which read, “Warning: Hazardous Riptides, No Lifeguards On Duty,” do not prevent public use of the south jetty.

On Friday, at least a half dozen surfers, boogie boarders and swimmers bathed dangerously close to the jetty to take advantage of the strong waves, which are non-existent in the calm, enclosed Marina Cove Beach on the other side of the artificial rock barrier.

Standing atop the jetty, Miskulin and California State Lifeguard Assn. President Kirk Sturm looked down at the surfers with obvious concern.

Sturm and Miskulin said that in the last five years at least three people have drowned at the south jetty and that lifeguards make at least 100 rescues a year there, often risking their own lives because the call for help comes too late.

The problem is further compounded, Miskulin said, by the fact that the Ventura Harbor District has promoted the south jetty by building several parking lots and restrooms nearby, including a 37-car lot recently completed.

Steve Treanor, superintendent of Channel Coast District State Parks, which has 75 lifeguards on Ventura beaches, says he understands the lifeguards’ concerns but does not believe the solution is more supervision.

“We feel it’s not a safe beach, and any increase in use will make the problem worse,” he said. “I think the lifeguards are looking at the problem on emotion and not with the facts. Statistically, south jetty beach is no worse than many other areas along the coast in terms of accidents.”