Two head lifeguards oversee state and local Rye beaches

Collin Drake and John Pinard — young men with lots of experience

Judy Palm story and photos

If you’re planning on going to any of the Rye beaches this summer, you are putting yourself and your families in the capable hands of the lifeguards who will be patrolling those beaches. Rye has two head lifeguards, John Pinard for the state beaches: Jenness and Wallis Sands, and Collin Drake for the town beaches: Pirates Cove, Sawyer’s Beach and Cable Beach.

Collin Drake is the young man who has been hired this summer as the Rye Beach Life Guard Supervisor. At age 20, he has lived his entire 20 years in Rye, not far from the ocean. He loves the outdoors, the beaches and swimming. Collin graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2008. The summer of 2007 he became certified as a lifeguard and worked his first lifeguard job at the Surf Club in Rye. That was a good experience, but he wanted a little more excitement, so in the summer of 2008, after graduation, he became a guard at Hampton Beach. In 2009 he came back to Rye and worked at the Rye beaches. Jim Donahue, Collin’s supervisor at Hampton Beach, only knew Collin for the summer of 2008. He says of the new young lifeguard, “He impressed me...he was intelligent...in great condition and a good swimmer. Collin was a bright light among the new hires of 2008.”

After high school Collin spent from September to December 2008 in New Zealand in The National Outdoor Leadership Program on South Island. It was spring in New Zealand, and most of his time there was spent living in tents and eating dried food. He first spent three weeks sea-kayaking followed by three weeks river canoeing and finally three weeks backpacking and hiking. In between he and the seven others in the group would return to the base and resupply for the next adventure. When the program ended Collin’s Dad, Frank, met him, and they spent 10 days exploring the North Island. Upon his return Collin attended Plymouth State University for the spring and fall 2009 semesters. He transferred to UNH in the spring of 2010 where his major is undeclared.

This is Collin’s first year as the Supervisor of Lifeguards, and he is looking forward to it. The guards began their duties on June 19. The qualifications to be working as a lifeguard are Life Saving Certification, First Aid Certification, ability to swim 1/4 mile in under 8 minutes and run 1/2 mile in under 5 minutes. They are all trained in CPR and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator, which they have access to thanks to the Rye Fire Department. The lifeguards for whom Collin is responsible will meet every morning at 9 and do some conditioning exercises, runs and first aid training and take their first jump into the Atlantic to keep them sharp. The work day begins at 10 and ends at 5.

The hardest day Collin has spent on the job was last summer when the beaches along the coast were experiencing the effects of a hurricane which churned up the waters in the area. The waves were crashing hard on the rocks. People came to watch and surfers were out taking advantage of the surf. The waves were about 12 feet high, the highest he has seen, and he and all the other lifeguards spent an exhausting day keeping watch and being alert as to where people were in the water. The waves made it impossible to see surfers who were out beyond them.

When asked what would make the job of a lifeguard easier, Collin wished for omniscience to know what the weather would be at all times. He also said it would be helpful if people understood the ocean better and the dangers. "When you come to the beach stop by the lifeguard station and ask about conditions. The lifeguards know about the tides and undertows and whether there are rip tides in the area or not. Make yourself aware of the conditions."




John Pinard is the Chief of Lifeguards at Jenness and Wallis Sands, the two Rye State beaches. This is John’s second year as a Rye lifeguard. He graduated from Manchester West High School in 2007 and entered the Navy, training as a Navy Seal. On leaving the Navy he enrolled at Lakes Region Community College and earned his degree in Firefighting and as an EMT. In two more years John will have a degree in Marine Technology. He played basketball and soccer in high school and loves the Celtics, walking on the beach and surfing. He spends his summers in Hampton.

The Rye State beaches are striving to be a Professional Beach Patrol Organization, as the beaches in Hampton are.  Brian Warburton, Seacoast Supervisor, handpicked John for his job and feels he will help to achieve this goal. “It is a huge responsibility...you must be qualified to care for thousands of people. We look for the best and the brightest... John is one of those...John has hand picked his lifeguards and is mentoring the next generation of lifeguards. They will be held to strict accountability,” said Brian.

John's goal is to achieve a highly-trained lifeguard crew with a professional attitude and pride in their work. He has chosen his staff with this in mind. The guards are on duty every day from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every morning the lifeguards who are on duty that day meet for exercise and training before beginning the day’s work.

John would also like to see people go up to the lifeguards when they arrive at the beach and find out about the water conditions. He would ask you to introduce your children to the guard on duty and tell them that this person is here to help. If they need help or get separated from their families go to the lifeguard. Watch your own children carefully and pick up your trash.

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July, 2010

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