Nai Harn Beach

[petercallen]

We went to nai harn beach yesterday(excuse the spelling if its wrong)and the red flags and rip warning signs were up. There was no sign of life guards the water was calm with a small swell and no signs of rips and there were plenty of tourists in the water, do they ever check the beach condistions or just leave the flags and signs up permantley untill a certain month of the year.

[LivinLOS]

Would have thought it would be a Dec 1st all clear.

The system is a joke.. Its purely a CYA mechanism.. The whole process of evaluating the conditions and making a judgement call (which could be wrong) seems painfully difficult to the Thai psyche.

[LivinLOS]

BTW a local news source is reporting the removal of life saving equip by the or bor jor.

[Nio]

Red Flags are put up when conditions are right for a rip tide or rip current. Believe it or not the Thai's do have some experience in this.

The current is actually strongest at the surface and can dampen incoming waves leading to the illusion of a particularly calm area

Because the water looks calm does not mean there are no dangerous rip currents.

Rip currents can be effected by the topography of the beach, low tide and numerous other factors.

A red flag is a warning and whether you are smart to take heed to that warning is up to you.

The motto is when it doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry comes to mind

I have been at Thai beaches when the red flags were out, strong winds and waves, and tourists leave their small children playing in the water which is the most dangerous of all. No disregard for safety or danger at all.

Instead of questioning why the red flags are there, think of the consequences of not following the warning flag?

Is it worth someone drowning over? Just maybe the people that have lived on or around that beach their whole lives know more about the current there than you?

The arrogant disregard of questioning safety first is appalling.

If it looks like a tsunami, it probably is....

Safety first!

[LivinLOS]

The red flags go out at the start of low season and remain out.. Theres NO assessing of the seas conditions being done on a day to day basis.

[glassdude007]

hi i just spent the month of October in Rawai and went to Nai Harn for a swim most everyday.....

start off the month the sea was very rough and strong.....Red Flag Conditions Most Days ....

The guards are there they just hang out in the trees someplace not in gaurd towers like back home....

when the tide changes they do move the flags along the beach to show were not to swim..due to there local knowledge of the rip currents there....

it did seem on the few of the calm days that the flags were left red as nobody pays much attention to them and went swimming at will....

basically swim at your own risk and if you have any doubts about swimming in the sea DON'T DO IT...

there is a nice little river at one end of the beach that LOOKS SAFE but im told people have drowned there too...Be Careful..

another danger at Nai Harn beach is the dog shit ...

especially at the river end of the beach It's were people bring there dogs to poop and bury the mess in the sand for the next poor sod to step or lie down it it ...

not to mention this is where alot of the feral dogs in the area (lots of them) hang out and do there business too...

BEWARE OF THE DOG POOP AT NAI HARN BEACH....

[Nio]

The red flags go out at the start of low season and remain out.. Theres NO assessing of the seas conditions being done on a day to day basis.

See glassdude 007 post.

[ScubaBuddha]

Red Flags are put up when conditions are right for a rip tide or rip current. Believe it or not the Thai's do have some experience in this.

The current is actually strongest at the surface and can dampen incoming waves leading to the illusion of a particularly calm area

Because the water looks calm does not mean there are no dangerous rip currents.

Rip currents can be effected by the topography of the beach, low tide and numerous other factors.

A red flag is a warning and whether you are smart to take heed to that warning is up to you.

The motto is when it doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry comes to mind

I have been at Thai beaches when the red flags were out, strong winds and waves, and tourists leave their small children playing in the water which is the most dangerous of all. No disregard for safety or danger at all.

Instead of questioning why the red flags are there, think of the consequences of not following the warning flag?

Is it worth someone drowning over? Just maybe the people that have lived on or around that beach their whole lives know more about the current there than you?

The arrogant disregard of questioning safety first is appalling.

If it looks like a tsunami, it probably is....

Safety first!

Your post is largely rubbish. Moore often than not I see the red flags and no swimming signs up when the water was smooth as glass for days on end. No chance of a rip there!! What the Thai's don't seem to understand is having the signs and flags out when the conditions are good causes them to loose all legitimacy and is as good as having no sign out at all, except as a CYA in case someone drowns in calm seas, which does happen, so they can say, "Sorry, but we had the no swimming signs out, sum num na!!" which is really all they are worried about. No concern for actually safety, only bad press. There is little correlation between the warning flags and actual conditions. I say little because many of the signs and flags on Karon and Kata beaches were taken down recently, but there were weeks of calm seas before they were. It is a CYA as Los says, but there is also no money to pay people to change them. TIT!

Glassdude, If they are farang dog owners, maybe we need to install a few of those "pick up after your pet" signs with the little baggy dispenser.

Edited December 2, 2009 by ScubaBuddha

[Hobc]

I was at Nai Harn yesterday a mate was having a surf mid beach. We saw this guy in trouble mid beach where there's a big rip at high tide, my mate got to the guy just in time to stop him drowning and to there credit two thai guys came out with boogey boards

and got him in ok.

The Thais hang out in the little shop and are onto it and good swimmers.

The secret with a rip is not to fight it, go with it and swim calmly sideways and catch a wave in.

[petercallen]

I was at Nai Harn yesterday a mate was having a surf mid beach. We saw this guy in trouble mid beach where there's a big rip at high tide, my mate got to the guy just in time to stop him drowning and to there credit two thai guys came out with boogey boards

and got him in ok.

The Thais hang out in the little shop and are onto it and good swimmers.

The secret with a rip is not to fight it, go with it and swim calmly sideways and catch a wave in.

It must have been a different time of the day, when we were there it was low tide and the sea was calm, you need wave action to make a rip, the flags and signs were still out.If you do not remove the signs and flags when they are not necessary that's when people who have no knowledge of the sea start to ignore them and that's when tragedys happen.

[LivinLOS]

The red flags go out at the start of low season and remain out.. Theres NO assessing of the seas conditions being done on a day to day basis.

See glassdude 007 post.

The red flags are out.. The lifeguards have been removed from the beach..

Who is doing the assessing ??

[Jayd]

No lifeguards on any Phuket beaches since about mid November. No-one checking conditions except the locals who have their businesses there. No control of the flags. No equipment on the beach anymore as the Or Bor Jor removed it all when the contract finished.

Basically, for beach safety we are all on our own.

Seas may look calm but can change quickly- people can get into trouble from a variety of conditions from cramp, tiredness as well as the sea conditions.

Why don't the authorities resolve this?

[stevenl]

Seas may look calm but can change quickly- people can get into trouble from a variety of conditions from cramp, tiredness as well as the sea conditions.

Why don't the authorities resolve this?

When I was young and I went swimming in the sea, there were never any life guards.

In this time of year the seas are safe, how about people taking some responsibilities themselves?

[LivinLOS]

When I was young and I went swimming in the sea, there were never any life guards.

In this time of year the seas are safe, how about people taking some responsibilities themselves?

Ohh I fully agree...

However the response is directed at the 'dont go swimming when the red flags are out' crowd as the red flags are simply left out.

[hackerthai]

Was surfing most of the day today at Naiharn near the river outlet

The waves were powerful Wednessday and some of the biggest I have seen at Naiharn.

There was a powerful rip at mid day to the right of the river mouth.

The sign was up to warn people.

Weak swimmers should not have been in.

I did see one life guard warning 2 girls to get out.

[petercallen]

Was surfing most of the day today at Naiharn near the river outlet

The waves were powerful Wednessday and some of the biggest I have seen at Naiharn.

There was a powerful rip at mid day to the right of the river mouth.

The sign was up to warn people.

Weak swimmers should not have been in.

I did see one life guard warning 2 girls to get out.

Fair enough, we were there on Tuesday not Wednesday.

[stevenl]

When I was young and I went swimming in the sea, there were never any life guards.

In this time of year the seas are safe, how about people taking some responsibilities themselves?

Ohh I fully agree...

However the response is directed at the 'dont go swimming when the red flags are out' crowd as the red flags are simply left out.

Agree with you, those flags are ridiculous (well, the way they handle the flags is ridiculous).

I did not react to that though but to somebody else, which is why I quoted him, sating the authorities should take care of everything. And I don't believe in that, I believe in own responsibilities as well.

[TaoNow]

I would like to add my agreement with Stevenl on this issue: Swimmers should be responsible for assessing their own risk and acting accordingly. Signs can be posted in English, Russian and Chinese throughout the year to say: "water conditions are unpredictable and rip currents have caused drownings in the past -- swim at your own risk."

Those who want to strictly enforce the colored flag system (red, yellow, green) must realize that such action effectively means banning swimming on the beaches of western Phuket from May to October. And that is not a reasonable solution.

[petercallen]

I just read a article in the phuket gazette stating there have been no life guards on the beaches since November 18 and the authority responsible will have a new contract for life savers will be up and running by the new year, that must be why the red flags are left up all the time because no one is checking the conditions.

[LivinLOS]

I just read a article in the phuket gazette stating there have been no life guards on the beaches since November 18 and the authority responsible will have a new contract for life savers will be up and running by the new year, that must be why the red flags are left up all the time because no one is checking the conditions.

Thats what a few of us are trying to point out while others claim 'lifeguards are working' yesterday etc..

[Damaz6052]

The red flags are out.. The lifeguards have been removed from the beach..

Who is doing the assessing ??

The som tam lady555