Laguna Beach lifeguards still making waves after 90 years

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Current and former lifeguards race through the sand in the surf relay competition. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Former Laguna Beach lifeguard Tim Barnett was first out of the water in the surf relay competition. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Lifeguards prepare for the surf relay competition. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Former and current Laguna Beach lifeguards pose for pictures. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Jenny Quam Buchhagen, a former Laguna Beach lifeguard, runs into the ocean in the surf relay competition. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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Jon Brick, 61, front, leads the pack of current and former lifeguards in the surf relay competition. Dozens of former Laguna Beach lifeguards convened to celebrate the group’s 90-year anniversary at the main beach tower in Laguna Beach on Saturday.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

By Daily Pilot staff

June 15, 2019 5:18 PM PT

Ninety years ago, Laguna Beach’s first lifeguards patrolled the shoreline on horseback.

On Saturday, past and present Laguna lifeguards took to the sea on paddleboards in a surf relay competition to celebrate that nine-decade legacy.

The day kicked off with a surf competition at Main Beach. Onlookers cheered as lifeguards of various ages rode the waves.

A group photo and a tour of the Marine Safety Department headquarters followed, along with a lunch at Heisler Park above Picnic Beach.

Laguna Beach’s lifeguards celebrate 90 years of rescues »

The day of festivities commemorated a history nearly as old as the city itself. Laguna Beach was incorporated in 1927, just two years before instituting lifeguards. Today, more than 100 lifeguards patrol during the summer at towers along Laguna’s roughly 7-mile coastline.

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Laguna Beach lifeguards still making waves after 90 years

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