Annual bell ringing kicks off Rehoboth Beach Patrol season
It didn’t have the pomp and circumstance of the grand opening a few days earlier, but Rehoboth Beach Patrol officially kicked off the 2025 season with the annual bell-ringing ceremony May 24 at the city’s new beach patrol headquarters.
This season marks the Rehoboth Beach Patrol’s 104th and Capt. Jeff Giles’ fifth. Between lifeguards, senior staff, EMS personnel and beach ambassadors, the beach patrol has about 80 full-time and part-time seasonal employees.
The beach patrol serves an area from Pennsylvania Avenue south to Prospect Street from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through three weeks after Labor Day. Lifeguards are on duty 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, and 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
According to statistics found on the patrol’s website, in 2024, there were 137 saves, 78 assists, 241 missing or lost children, 277 beach wheelchair requests, nearly 5,000 tent takedowns and close to 300 EMT call responses.
For more information on the Rehoboth Beach Patrol, email rehobothbeachpatrol@rehobothbeachde.gov or call 302-227-2280.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
