OCEANSIDE — Members of a local boating club are urging the city to install life rings around the harbor and piers after several life-threatening incidents in local coastal waters over the past six months raised concerns about public safety.
Dr. Nigel Woolf, an emeritus professor in the Department of Surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a longtime Oceanside Harbor stakeholder, first proposed the idea to the city in late March following a cluster of near-drowning incidents in Oceanside waters.
Woolf developed a pilot project plan to install several life rings and sent a letter to the city calling for action after a series of emergencies over the past six months.
A ‘drowning problem’
Woolf first contacted the city after a father and daughter were caught in a rip current near the harbor’s south jetty in late March. A nearby surf coach jumped into the water and rescued them, but others have not been as fortunate.
Just days later, a man drowned near the Oceanside Pier during the early morning hours.
Earlier in March, a local surfer was credited with rescuing a man who jumped from the pier into the ocean one evening.
In January, Oceanside Lifeguards rescued two people from an overturned 15-foot vessel near the harbor entrance. In November, a 12-year-old junior lifeguard helped rescue a group of five people after their boat capsized near the harbor.
According to Woolf, Oceanside has seen more than 27 drownings and major water rescues over the past decade.
Even Woolf, who previously kept a boat in the harbor, has participated in a rescue after spotting a distressed surfer. Many fellow boaters have had similar experiences.
“Oceanside has an urgent drowning problem,” he said.
Life rings
The proposed Oceanside PIER Pilot Project would install at least five U.S. Coast Guard-approved 30-inch life rings equipped with a minimum of 90 feet of floating rescue line along the harbor’s north and south jetties. The rings would be stored in weatherproof cases accessible to bystanders during emergencies.
“All someone has to do is open, grab the ring, pull the line, throw it in the water and save them,” Woolf said.
After use, the life rings could be returned to their cases for future emergencies.
Woolf also developed a cost-effective funding model for the project. Rather than having the city purchase the rings — which cost about $850 each — individuals or community groups could sponsor them, similar to memorial benches installed in city parks with dedication plaques honoring loved ones.
Woolf has already pledged to personally fund one of the rings and has identified two additional supporters willing to sponsor others.
The rings would be installed approximately 200 feet apart.
Shawn Goit, commander of America’s Boating Club Oceanside, endorsed the proposal. Woolf is also a member of the organization.
Goit said volunteers from the boating club would help monitor the life rings during the pilot phase to prevent vandalism or damage.
If the project proves successful, Woolf said the city should ultimately install at least 25 life rings throughout the harbor area, Oceanside Pier and surrounding beaches.
Woolf and Goit presented the pilot project to the City Council on May 6. City Manager Jonathan Borrego confirmed that the city is reviewing the proposal and added that the city engineer and fire chief are also involved in the evaluation.
“We’ll take a look at the options and report back to council probably via memo within the next two or three weeks at most with some recommendations on how we may proceed and if it is a viable program for us,” Borrego said during the meeting.
Terry Gorman Brown, a senior management analyst with the city, later clarified that the memo could take between 30 to 60 days to return to City Council as they continue to determine its feasibility.
Brown also said staff wouldn’t characterize the city as having a unique “drowning problem.”
“Water incidents are a serious and ongoing challenge for every coastal community with active rip currents, jetties, and piers,” Brown said via email. “What we can say is that any water emergency is one too many, and that’s why we’re taking steps like exploring the life ring station program.”
City lifeguards also confirmed with Brown that the number of incidents that have happened so far this year is consistent with prior years. Meanwhile, the city continues to see growth in its number of visitors on its beaches.
“Perception can sometimes reflect greater public awareness or media attention rather than a true uptick in numbers,” Brown explained. “Oceanside’s lifeguard team is outstanding, and we’re always looking for additional tools and infrastructure to make our beaches, pier, and harbor as safe as possible.”
Woolf and Goit are also advocating for broader statewide action.
“We’re going for a law,” Goit said. “Illinois, Indiana and Washington already have public life ring mandates. California doesn’t. Oceanside can change that.”
Currently, Illinois and Indiana have laws requiring life rings at public beaches along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Washington state mandates life rings in designated drowning-risk areas such as docks, walkways and commercial maritime workplaces.
Other jurisdictions across the country have also implemented life ring programs, including North Carolina state parks and a growing number of beaches in Florida.
Harbor boater safety
Goit also emphasized the importance of improving boater safety, particularly near the harbor entrance.
According to Goit, three overlapping hazards make the harbor one of the most difficult entry points for recreational boaters in Southern California: sand buildup at the harbor mouth, rough surf conditions and inexperienced operators.
“This is not just a sandbar problem,” Goit said. “The sand creates a narrower channel. The surf then hits differently in that channel. An untrained operator doesn’t know how to adjust for any of that – and our camera has recorded what happens when they don’t.”
America’s Boating Club Oceanside operates a harbor webcam that livestreams to YouTube from the roof of the Oceanside Yacht Club. The camera has captured multiple boating accidents, including several incidents in recent months.
The club also offers an on-water training program designed to help boaters navigate the harbor safely. During the course, certified volunteer instructors board participants’ vessels to provide hands-on training in harbor entry and exit procedures, reading tidal and surf conditions, navigating shallow-water channels and emergency response.
The program is open to the public, and membership is not required. Enrollment costs $285 for non-members and $185 for members, with scholarship funding available through state grants on a case-by-case basis.
Upcoming training sessions are scheduled for July 11, Aug. 8 and Sept. 12. Registration is available at usps.org/oceanside.
