‘Rescue Hi-Surf Texas’ Profiles Galveston Island Beach Patrol

Galveston— In the pulse-pounding, action-packed drama “Rescue Hi-Surf,” airing Monday night on Fox 4, Captain Sonny Jennings and his lifeguards monitor dangerous waters off the Hawaiian coast.

The popular show made KFDM/Fox 4 want to take a look at the men and women who protect beachgoers on Galveston Island.

These lifeguards are part of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol, an elite group dedicated to saving lives.

“The Galveston Island Beach Patrol is one of the busiest lifeguard agencies in the country,” said Peter Davis, chief of the Galveston Island Beach Patrol.

“We cover 32 miles of beach, our jurisdiction is up to three miles offshore, but we provide emergency response to about 70 miles of coastline,” Davis told KFDM/Fox 4.

Galveston Island’s beaches are among the most challenging in the country for lifeguards. For starters, the diverse beach population has little to no beach experience, and the strong side currents combined with the rock jetties make for a dangerous mix.

“Each one of those groins generates a surge every day of the year,” Davis said.

“In an average year we carry out about 200 rescues, but we carry out more than 300,000 preventive actions where we move people away from danger, away from the current at jetties, closer to the shore, out of the water when lightning comes,” said Davis.

Davis said Galveston Island averages six to eight drownings per year. As a lifeguard, he has responded to more than 200 drownings since 1982.

The Galveston Island Beach Patrol, when fully staffed, has 145 members.

Although a beach can be a dynamic environment, Davis said you can swim very safely near a lifeguard. The odds of drowning on a United States Life Saving Association patrolled beach like Galveston Island are 1 in 18 million.