Lewes Beach Patrol ready for its biggest season
Lewes Beach Patrol Capt. Strohm Edwards looked at the assignment board inside his headquarters building on the eve of what will be his team’s biggest season ever.
“He swam for me, he swam for me, she swam for me,” Edwards said as he pointed out all of the lifeguards whom he has coached on various teams.
They will now put those skills to work protecting visitors to Savannah and Johnnie Walker beaches.
The lifeguards gathered for a season kickoff party at the headquarters building May 23. They had pizza, played cornhole and got to know each other; a little team building before the team went to work.
The next day, May 24, they climbed aboard the stands for the first time.
Edwards said there are 23 full-time and part-time lifeguards this year, up from 16 in 2024. There are nine rookies, including Marlise Harris from Wilmington.
“I just got my lifeguard certification in February, so I’m looking forward to it. I’ve wanted to be a lifeguard since I was little,” Harris said.
Sarah Bieler of Lewes also said she is ready to go.
“I want to maybe go into the military, so starting out with a job that requires physical work, I think this is for me,” Bieler said.
This year, the lifeguards will be on the beaches from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., an hour longer than past years. Edwards said the extra time can make a big difference.
“So many people were still piling onto the beach at 4 p.m. We would be signing off and get called back to make a rescue at 4:15,” he said.
Lifeguards will also be on duty on Saturdays and Sundays in September for the first time.
Edwards said they also have a new ATV, which will come in handy when having to move between the two beaches for missions like finding lost children.
He is also excited about his new junior lifeguard program.
“It serves a lot of needs. It’s a feeder into the beach patrol as they come up through the junior program. They learn skill sets and learn about our beaches. It also gets them out of the house and off of video games,” Edwards said.
Giulia Kirsch, Lewes parks and marina administrator, said 22 kids, ages 5 to 15, have registered for the program.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
