Beaches busy despite conditions

Adam Powell heads in on another wave at Nielson Park.

RON BURGIN

ROUGH seas and the threat of bluebottle jellyfish did not keep visitors away from the beach on the Boxing Day weekend.

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) Wide Bay Capricorn regional manager Craig Holden said while the beaches were not as busy as previous years, Bargara and Elliott Heads still attracted a good crowd of water lovers.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had any surf, so the surfers were out in force this morning,” Mr Holden said yesterday.

He said Boxing Day was traditionally the busiest day of the year, but Saturday saw a slight drop in crowd numbers.

“It was probably because of the overcast and rough conditions, but there were still a lot of people about,” Mr Holden said.

Elliott Heads beach was closed for several hours yesterday morning as strong currents made the water unsafe, but it was opened again before lunch time.

Several swimmers also reported bluebottle stings during the weekend, but Mr Holden said the beaches had been otherwise incident-free.

“People should just be aware that there are bluebottles out there, and check with the lifesavers before they go in the water,” he said.

“Because of the weather, there are also strong waves and currents, so people need to be cautious there as well.”