The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-21

tneir own instructors OF life saving.
''On Sundays the harb0r, which is |
the largest and finest in the world, isl
full If boats and yachts, and there |
are necessarily many accidents. So it
is essential that the science of tfa saw
ing be understood And there are thou
sands of people along the beaches bath
ing. Frequently accidents happen, nut
now there is almost always some IF tie
members of the hfe-saving association
| on hand to go to the rescue of tie
| drowning.
80 The Royal Life-Saving Society
gives certificates showing the pro-
| tciency of the members In or
der to obtain these, they have to
| pass severe examinations. In order to
! obtain proficiency certificate each can
: didate must perform four methods of
! rescue and three of release in the water
i He must also understand the methods
| of resuscitation. There are also awards
| of merit consisting of bronze, silver
and gold medallions. In order to OBJ
! tain the bronze medallion, the eandi-
date must show four methods of rescue
and three of release in the water and
must carry the drowning subject in the
!
/ the water, both being dressed in walk
! ing attire.
| ''To obtain the silver medallion the
| candidate must, among other tests,
dressed in a swimming costume and in
ordinary walking attire minus boots
and shoes. carry a person not less than
twenty yards, undress on the surface
of the water. dive from the surface of
the water not less than FIVE feet and
raise and land an object of weight
| of not less than five pounds. but in the
Surf-Swimming and Open-Sea Associa-
! ton of New South Wales, our require
ments are much more severe.
: 81 have in one of my classes a boy
( only eleven years old who has carried
an eleven-stone man in the water a
distance of fifty yards. We have three
tests of that kind, one fifty yards, the
i second 100 yards and the third 200
! yards. -
i The photographs accompanying this
] story, Mr. Biddell says, are of an actual
rescue on the beach. There are generally
/ plenty of cameras on the beach ready
/ to take pictures. They show the
nature of the surf with which the life
i savers have to contend on that coast,
and illustrate the method of rescue
+ taught.
The life line reel shown in the photo
/ graphs, Mr.. Biddell says, is the first
! that was made Now there are others
of an improved pattern. These are
scattered at intervals up and down the
beach and are accessible at all times.
1t is the ordinary rule there when
two life-savers see person struggling
in the water for one of them to spring
in and swim directly to the drowning
person and support him until the Other
can swim out with a life line.
This is often attached to the end OF
patent life buoy invented by Mr. Bid
dell. The buoy, which is Illustrated in
one of the photographs. is about three
feet long, weighs only four pounds, and
is capable of supporting four persons
in the water. 1t is made of canvas,
painted over to make it water-tight.
At Bronte, the toughest beach along
The Coast. there is watch tower, where
a Waterman keeps a lookout for perl
sons in trouble in the water, and forI
sharks. Whenever the cry OF ''shark
Is raised, there is d hasty exodus from
the water.
1.-THE sharks rarely come inside the
lines of breakers, - said Mr.. Biddell |
hut occasionally one of them does get
inside. ! have seen them swimming upi
and down inside The line of breakers
But we don t fear them very much
They are usually suspicious of a human
being and rarely make an attack. That
is, along the beaches. In the harbof
it is different. There they have got ae-
eustomed to people. and have acquired
the taste for blood. They are regular
man-eaters and do not hesitate to at
tack one who has fallen in. These are
harbor sharks and never 20 outside.
1t is essential for a person going to
the rescue Of a drowning person To
know how to approach him 20 AVOID be
ing seized and carried down. and 10
know how to release himself # ne IS
seized 8. 1t s easy when YOU know
how, says Mr. Biddell. Try any hold
YOU want 10 on me and see # can
get away The interviewer HId so
aud he easily twisted himself loose. lie
Illustrated a few Of his met mods OF re-
ease, which are taugh- 10 his classes
Iou can break any hold drowning
man can get on YOU il you know me
rick. he said
All the members Of his classes are
also taught the various methods NJ
-esuseiration. = Never give up hope I'D
.ess than an hour" he says. ! have
SHOWN persons 70 come 70 after icing
worked over for hat length of time.
It frequently happens wlth,vs that.
,.erson who has Leen under water Tor
. ,ver a quarter Of an hogr Is resuseitatfd-
In fact. that Is mere nothing. But
one has to know how TO DO il. and f1a5
: what we teach al oar pupils.