Sea near Cave Rock no place to swim - Council

18 May 2005

Christchurch City Council has erected temporary signs on either side of Cave Rock, reminding swimmers that this part of the Sumner coastline is unsafe.

“The area around Cave Rock is full of rips and holes because of the strong inflow and outflow of water,” Surf Life Saving Canterbury district manager Grant Lewis said.

“It is never safe to swim around there. Because of the strong tidal flow, the water scours out the sand and it is deceptively deep one or two metres from the rocks.”

Mr Lewis said a number of people have been rescued from the sea near Cave Rock, which is never flagged as a safe swimming area.

“While most people would probably not want to swim near the rocks, the need for more signage has been highlighted by a coroner’s report on the death of man in January 2004,”  Christchurch City Council Coastal Parks area head ranger, Rodney Chambers said

“This man drowned after being swept off his feet while trying to wade out to a small rock off the end of Cave Rock,” he said.

The temporary signage will be replaced with permanent fixtures, following an audit of safety- related signage from Shag Rock to Scarborough, which will be conducted by Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s aquatic signage experts on behalf of the Council.  This audit is hoped to be completed by the start of next summer.  Recommended actions will be integrated into the Sumner Coast Master Plan being prepared by the Council

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