Inaccessible: Shaun Durbridge and Richard Broomby said it is impossible to get their IRB down to the Lighthouse Beach.
THE surf life saving watch tower on Lighthouse Beach is at real risk if the sand dunes continue to erode.
What Tacking Point Surf Life Savingpresident Richard Broomby described as, usually a gentle slope down to the beach, has turned into a 2.5 metre sheer drop off.
Three weeks ago Mr Broomby said there was still about 15 metres between the sandy cliff and the watch tower.
Since another spate of big seas, roughly, another five metres has been eaten away as the ocean continues to encroach.
“All it is going to take is one more big sea to eat away another five metres and the watch tower is going to be in big trouble,” he said.
But that’s not the only cause for concern.
The drop off has made it impossible for the surf club to launch their IRB for training or emergencies.
Club captain Shaun Durbridge said the one saving grace was it has occurred in the winter months, or the off season for surf life saving.
“It’s just fortunate it is winter at the moment,” he said.
“And we have not had to rescue anyone because we can’t get any vehicles down there.”
The club has already damaged an IRB attempting to get it to the water.
Both men agreed the situation couldn’t be helped as it was a force of nature but Mr Broomby said assistance from the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council had been requested.
“We sent a letter to them last week basically just asking for help,” he said.
“We are hoping they might be able to send a backhoe over to level out the access point to the beach so we can at least launch the RIB in an emergency.”
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s manager parks and recreation Liam Bulley knew of the problem.
“Council inspected Lighthouse Beach yesterday and is aware of the erosion that has taken place,” he said.
“We recognise the importance to maintain access to the water for emergencies and are currently in the process of determining the best course of action to remediate this issue as soon as possible.
“We’ll continue working with the surf club, who we have a strong working relationship with.”