A midday, crowds of people were making a splash in the waves at south Mollymook Beach, only metres from a sign stating ‘swimming not advised’. 

Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club captain Adam Woodward urged people to heed the warnings and swim at either Narrawallee Inlet, Ulladulla Sea Pool, or the public pools at Milton and Ulladulla. 

“Today it is quite treacherous surf and there is quite a large swell that is coming in hard,” he said. 

“If you look up towards the middle of the beach, there is quite a big rip and down here by the rocks, where the people are swimming, right near the swimming not advised sign, there is a rip which will take them right out past the point.

“It is unsafe at the beach today.”

Mr Woodward said volunteer lifesavers and paid lifeguards looked to find the safest spot on the beach for swimmers. 

“Today, there is no safe place to swim so it is a matter of closing the beach,” he said. 

“This swell is really coming in and has been predicted for a few days. There isn’t a safe spot and those people swimming are putting not only themselves, but the people who will need to rescue them in danger.

“They are putting our lives at risk. We have situations were people are on rocks and we have to try and get power craft out there to assist.

“The signs are there for a reason. Lifeguards and lifesavers know what they are doing.” 

However, surfers were loving the waves at the beach. The swell was due to decrease ahead of the weekend, Mr Woodward said. 

“It won’t be anywhere near as big as this,” he said. 

“The surfers are loving it out there but they are very experienced. The swimmers, they just don’t understand the power of the water out there.”

The Moruya-based Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter was called to the southern point of Mollymook Beach on Thursday following reports two swimmers were in trouble. 

Fortunately, when they arrived the swimmers were safe. 

This follows a near-miss at Burrill Lake Inlet on Wednesday afternoon when seven people were pulled from the inlet on the out-going tide by local man Damien Martin. 

The five children and two adults got into trouble while trying to cross the channel. Fortunately, Bannisters chef Mr Martin was there on his afternoon break and pulled them from the water before emergency services arrived. 

Mr Woodward said since the beginning of summer, lifesavers had performed 12 rescues at the dangers inlet, and responded to two call outs. 

Despite this, he said the spot should not be patrolled. 

“We have been asked to patrol down there before but we have deemed it a too dangerous to patrol regularly,” he said. 

“We would be encouraging people to swim at a dangerous beach if we patrolled down there. 

“The layout of the beach is quite a flat beach so you get a lot of rips there.” 

Mr Woodward said lifesavers on jet skis regularly visited Lake Conjola, Narrawallee and Burrill Lake inlets. 

He said people made the mistake of looking for green water to swim in, which was the most dangerous. 

“It looks nice but that’s the bit that is rushing out,” Mr Woodward said. 

“White is nice, green is mean.

“Swimming at lake openings is a common thing up and down the coast. A lot of tourists go to the lake openings because their accommodation is there.”