THE EMOTIONAL trauma of losing a loved one to the ocean or watching them be rescued and resuscitated is something that sticks with people forever.
Despite their courage and training, it also takes a toll on first responders.
Fatigued volunteer lifesavers in the Port Stephens area are being backed up by crews deployed from Sydney after a string of tragic drownings and mass rescues.
Hunter Surf Life Saving NSW president Henry Scruton urged swimmers to think of themselves and their families before going for a dip at unpatrolled beaches.
A 33-year-old man died after being pulled from the water at the Anna Bay end of Stockton Beach on Wednesday afternoon, and a woman he was with remained in intensive care in John Hunter Hospital.
Two other men were treated but are both were recovering from the ordeal at home on Thursday.
It came less than two weeks after a Western Sydney father died at the nearby Birubi Beach.
Lifeguards and lifesaving volunteers have also carried out multiple rescues in the area.
"It's not only the emotional trauma it creates for your family, but our rescuers, our surf lifesavers, are in the same situation," Mr Scruton said.
"The emotional trauma created carries on for many, many years."
Surf lifesavers have been doing extra dusk patrols to give more coverage to the notorious stretch of coast at Birubi and Fingal.
"The morale is still wonderful, these are all volunteer people, but they are reaching their end," Mr Scruton said.
"They're trained, that's what they do, and they do it brilliantly."
The group of four that was pulled from the water on Wednesday afternoon, and the man that drowned on December 16, were not local to the area.
"If you're not confident, not capable, work on your suntan, do not go in the surf," Mr Scruton said.
The Surf Life Saving NSW crew from Sydney arrived in the Port Stephens area on Thursday, along with four-wheel-drive vehicles for on-beach emergencies, and additional jet skis.
The resources will relieve local volunteers from carrying out dusk patrols between 4pm and 7pm, and will help with regular coverage.
The organisation's chief executive Steven Pearce said it came in direct response to the spate of fatalities and rescues.
"We've seen some really horrible drownings up there but also we've seen such courageous action up there by the lifesavers," he said.
"There is a toll.
"When you see a family and they're involved in a tragic incident, even a near-fatal drowning, it's terrible and it will have an effect on some people for years and years to come."
Surf rescue helicopters and drones will also be active.
Mr Pearce said lifeguards and surf lifesavers were calling on the community to help.
"The safest place for anyone to swim - whether it be locals, whether it be visitors - is at a patrolled location," he said.
"If they can't see you, they can't save you."
He said lifeguards had carried out multiple mass rescues recently of groups caught in rips.
When lifesavers are around, they're also able to intercept people and warn them if they're about to do something dangerous.
There have been four drownings on the NSW coast since December 25.
"This year, since Christmas Day, has been one of the most horrendous starts we've seen in many, many years," Mr Pearce said.
Since July 1, 28 people have died at NSW beaches, up on 14 for the same time period in 2022.
Mr Pearce said if people did make the decision to swim at an unpatrolled location, they needed to be confident in their swimming ability, have a way to call triple zero (000) and have a flotation device handy.
On Wednesday night, four people were pulled from a rip at Frazer Beach on the Central Coast, with reports a one-year-old baby was involved.
One woman in her 40s was flown to John Hunter Hospital but has since been discharged.
Mr Pearce said it was going to be a "really long, arduous, hot summer" and people needed to be surf smart.
Swimmers and sunbakers flocked to the Newcastle coast to keep cool on Thursday as the temperature neared 30 degrees.
