The New York Times, Thursday 7-21-05

Ironmen Who Float

The Lavallette Borough, N.J., team defended its title against eight challengers on Monday during the Kemble-Treumuth Lifeguard Tournament in Lavellette. Photo by G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: July 21, 2005

LAVALLETTE, N.J., July 18 - The chase began last month, when Hayden Quinn and Phil Lloyd left the chilly beaches of their native Australia, chasing the summer of 2005 across two continents.

Lifeguards sprinted to the ocean in one of the seven events in the 30th annual tournament in Lavellette, in Ocean County. Photo by G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

"Different hemisphere, mate" said Mr. Quinn, an 18-year-old from Sydney. "It's winter back home, so we get to have another summer here."

In a constant search for a season with no end, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Lloyd, a 28-year-old from the Gold Coast region of eastern Australia, set sail for the Jersey Shore.

On Monday, they washed up on the steamy sands of Lavallette Borough, in Ocean County, finding a summer resort community famous for million-dollar oceanfront views and a lifeguard competition that brings together the finest and fittest in the business of saving lives.

Lavallette is one of many places along New Jersey's coast that stage the kind of prestigious lifeguard tournaments that make headlines and appear on local newscasts. The Australian friends, working as lifeguards this summer for Long Beach Township, arrived here with four other teammates, rescue boards and surf boat in tow, to represent their patrol in the 30th annual lifeguard tournament held in Lavallette. .

"The purpose of this is to showcase the versatility of New Jersey lifeguards," said Jim Cresbaugh, Lavallette's beach manager and lifeguard captain. "Every event is designed to display the skills they need to perform their daily duties."

In the minutes leading up to the competition, late-arriving boats, dropped off by pickup trucks, were dragged down the beach, parting a sea of baseball caps and sunglasses, blond ponytails and rubber flip-flops. A cheering section had gathered near a big scoreboard in the sand, which listed the names, and eventually the scores, of each of the nine towns competing in a variety of swim, paddle and rowing events.

On a hazy day beneath rain clouds, suntanned men in Speedos, most carrying water in coolers and with six-pack abs, readied their equipment as an odd symphony of church bells and thunder played in the distance. Each six-member team, made up of lifeguards ranging in age from 16 to 50, settled into a designated lane and waited for the yellow flag to drop, signifying the start of the contest. Many of the 54 participants tugged nervously at their nylon bathing caps, each team wearing a color that matched the flags in their lanes.

Lavallette, last summer's champion, was now prepared to defend its title against Ortley Beach, Sandy Hook, Barnegat Light, Beach Haven, Island State Beach Park, Surf City, Ship Bottom and a Long Beach Township team with a heavy Australian accent.

"This tournament," said Bob Tormollan, the Lavallette coach, "means everything."

The yellow flag dropped, and the individual ironman competition was under way. Lavallette's Matt Ferreira, a 19-year-old with the body fat of a head of lettuce, dived into an onslaught of five-foot waves and began a furious swim toward the buoy in his lane, which was bobbing some 225 yards from the shore.

Mr. Ferreira, who is also a member of New York University's swim team, was the first competitor to tag the buoy and return to shore, the first to paddle out to it and return, and the first to row out and around the buoy through breaking surf, sending the small crowd into cheers that drowned out the church bells.

The ironman victory earned Lavallette early momentum and the maximum five points awarded for victory in each of the seven events, which also included a swim relay, an ironman medley, a row out and swim back, a line pull, a paddle relay and a boat relay.

"This feels great," said Mr. Ferreira, pumping a wet fist into the air after crossing the finish line. "This is what we train for, why we work so hard every morning."

Midway through the competition, the sun began to peek through the clouds and the haze began to life, offering the early evening's first glimpse of the giant Ferris wheel turning on the pier in neighboring Seaside Heights.

By now, however, the Lavallette crew had become the main attraction, as all eyes were fixed on the team with the home-surf advantage.

Lavellette had begun to pull away, literally. Coach Tormollan yelled "Pull! Pull! Pull!" into the ear of one of his lifeguards who was reeling in a teammate during the line pull. "Don't move your feet!"

Chris Farrell of the Lavellette team raced to shore in one of the swimming events in the Kemble-Treumuth Lifeguard Tournament. Photo by G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

Lavallette, on its way to 29 points and the victory, won the line pull and the rout was on. But Lavallette, the home team, kept up its intensity, drawing the attention of a competitor from distant shores.

"It's incredible that they are keeping up that pace," said Mr. Lloyd, one of the Australians, whose Long Beach team would finish second in the paddle and boat relays to earn 14 points, tying Ship Bottom for second place over all.

"They are incredibly fit," he added. "And they appear to be competing with a sense of purpose."

What Mr. Lloyd soon learned is that the Lavallette squad had dedicated its efforts to the memory of Carl Caucino, a 51-year-old lifeguard who died of a heart attack after shoveling snow in February. His younger brothers, Joe, 47, and Jack, 45, have been key members of the team.

The Caucinos grew up on Magee Avenue in Lavallette, a stone's skip from the beach, and started competing in lifeguard tournaments in the mid-1970's, continuing a New Jersey shore tradition that dates back to the Atlantic Coast Lifeguard Championships, which began in 1938, and included teams from Wildwood, Belmar and Asbury Park.

"Carl, he led the way for us," said Joe Caucino, a rush of tears filling his eyes. "He loved us, he loved all these guys, and he would have loved being out here for this."

When the tournament ended, Sandy Hook and Ortley Beach, Lavallette rivals that stage tournaments of their own, finished behind Long Beach Township and Ship Bottom. The Caucino brothers, breathing hard through long smiles, rounded up their teammates. Standing under shards of a fading sun, hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and the Lavallette lifeguards headed away from the beach, to a place where they would dive into cheeseburgers and beer.

"We'll be out here about 6:30 tomorrow morning, two hours before the workday begins, practicing these same drills," Jack Caucino said. "Nobody trains like we do - nobody."