Corey the hero

Lifeguard Corey Antrobus explaining to Suki how the tides & currents run at Dover Beach. Inset, Corey talking about his pastimes (Picture by Lennox Devonish.)

By Yvette Best | Fri, February 10, 2012 - 1:08 PM

For two months, Corey Antrobus watched the bay and did the routine checks and training on the beach. Tuesday, February 7, however, was a different type of day.

While he was on watch in the hut at Dover Beach, Christ Church something looked very wrong. Someone was in distress in the water and shouting for help.

It was time for him to put into practice everything he had learnt during the three months of intensive training and theory that qualified him to be a lifeguard.

Antrobus grabbed the rescue can, ran to the water’s edge and swam out to assist the man. A little while later, he was able to bring ashore his first rescue victim with the assistance of some of the other people on the beach.

It was only some time later that he realized it was World Go-As-You-Please draughts champion Ronald “Suki” King.

Antrobus, 31, is a former Seventh Day Adventist School student who did several “odd” jobs before enrolling ino the lifeguard service.

“I love the ocean, so that is why I chose to go in the field of being a lifeguard. I think it is a noble profession – helping out somebody, saving somebody’s life,” the Westbury Road, St Michael resident said.

Well aware of the popular view that lifeguards sit on the beach and watch girls all day long, Antrobus gave the WEEKEND NATION an insight into what his job entails.

It includes patrolling the beach, keeping watch on the water, physical training and re-training.

“People don’t get into danger every day. What is instilled in us is ‘prevention is better than cure’. So if we see you going in a potentially dangerous direction, we steer you away.

“When you don’t hear about these saves all the time, it is because we [are] out there saving people from getting into danger in the first place. And most to the time when lifeguards bring people out of the water, you don’t hear about it. People’s safety comes foremost.”

Antrobus said Suki’s rescue reinforced his training and that the gruelling tasks counted for something.

He was able to perform the task in quick time and said he was proud of himself. That pride was heightened because the anticipated panic with the first rescue did not surface.

“I thought for sure that those emotions would have been going through me. But surprisingly, I was calm,” he said.

That helped in reassuring Suki when they were trying to effect the rescue.

Antrobus quietly admitted that he has received more attention since Suki’s near drowning.

“It brought us [lifeguards] to the forefront. I’m kinda glad it happened because there are so many other lifeguards that do this on a daily basis, but nobody knows about it. So the whole Suki thing showed people what lifeguards prevent on a daily basis,” he said.

Antrobus even got a special visit from their primary instructor Dave Bascombe, who dropped by to congratulate him.

Bascombe spoke glowingly of Antrobus yesterday.

He said Antrobus was awarded the Medic Award and was first runner-up for Best Recruit.

“He is extremely disciplined. I’m proud of him because he is committed. He’s eager too, and learns quickly . . . If he continues like this he will become a decorated lifeguard,” Bascombe said, adding that there were at least two other new lifeguards who rescued tourists in recent times and that was a testament to the training they received.

Lifeguarding is his current occupation, and Antrobus said he was fully committed to it, but he has another love.

He holds a degree in fashion design from the Barbados Community College and he is working towards launching his Carbon Trends label, which will cater to both men and women.

“I chose the name because carbon is one of the most versatile elements known to man. It could be as soft as graphite and hard as diamond. So it describes the versatility of the fashion line,” Antrobus explained.

Until such time as Carbon Trends materializes, Antrobus intends to don his shorts and T-shirt and keep those using the waters safe.