Bondi Rescue

- Season 4

(2009)

The new Bondi season starts when the school holiday, which means lots of under 16 year old fun and knavery. Still surfing novices and irresponsible adults cause no less work for the lifeguards, who are sometimes hindered by rescuees or fake drowning. Bacon rescues a wounded surfer from the rocks. A mystery wound proves just a bee sting.

It's Christmas, so Yatesy dresses up as a most unorthodox Santa, who arrives by beach-craft, distributes healthy sweets and jumps on the jet-ski. Maxi is exempted from duty to attempt, without preparation, cooking the Christlas turkey, which Kerrbox's prankster part wickedly switches. The worst injury is incurred by teenager mountain-biker Jake whose arm hit concrete hard.

Jake Nolan, who won the 'academy' six months ago, joins the Bondi boys. He fits in with the mates almost instantly, even if his bared buttocks are the first some veterans see of his arrival. Both being 19, he becomes best buddies with Maxi, but Hoppo somewhat strains that friendship by warning only one of them can hope to become a full-time lifeguard after this season. Both get ample opportunity to help people from the start, as with another 'bluebottle' jellyfish plague. Locals loose their boat.

One Wednesday, nature sends huge southern waves, risky even for master surfers. Yet all day long, swimmers keep ignoring calls to stay out of the water, so the lifeguards are exhausted from countless rescues in grueling conditions, on occasion even brave danger to themselves. Injuries abound too, from a tiny cut to terrible fractures caused by elements-swung surfboards.

At new Year's Eve, reckless party-goers drink, swim and streak without any lifeguard supervising. after sunrise, most remaining are passed-off skunk-drunk. Their vast number and unruliness all day constitutes a dilemma whether to close the beaches or reopen at least one section so as to prevent them swarming over the more dangerous beach tracts. Harries enjoys a dubious attempt to demonstrate his tow-truck experience so as to unblock the beach's vast parking lot.

Hoppo welcomes an extremely inexperienced exchange apprentice, Temika from desolate Coffs beach, 500 kilometers up north, where swimmers are rare, rescues not even yearly. It's a chilly, calm day requiring few rescues, but bluebottle jellyfish and bus-loads of tourists ignoring warnings cause cues of stung victims.

Maxi enjoys his laid-back exchange apprenticeship weeks on Temira's beach, 500KM north of Sydney. It comes at a price, though: patrolling the nudist beach wearing just a tool belt and 'life guard' painted in blue on the bare buttocks. On Bondi, Australia day is the traditional busy national holiday, with beach barbecue brawl, rock climber wounds and revelers drowning even when only one lifeguard surfboard isn't locked up yet.

It's the annual iron man, a cancer fund-raising benefit this year, so everyone trains hard. The weather is grueling, with 3 meter high waves, so different route variation cause major differences. It gets so bad, Hoppo even has to interrupt his run to preside over rescuing one of his man, who is hospitalized, a first. Chappo wins, another first.

When Hugh Grant stroll on Bondi's promenade, only Bacon spots and approaches the movie star. Zac Efron however was announced to give a surfing demonstration and draws Bondi's largest crowd ever. Whippet gets to drive him around in a beach-quad. Last year's shark attack surviver Glen comes show the prosthesis for his bitten-off hand. A new shark alarm proves just a playful seal.

It's an extremely hot day on Bondi, so must assistance is for sunburn-victims. Still there are also an OD, bad falls and hopelessly inept swimmers. Although even the athletic lifeguards are exhausted by the heat, they soldier on relentlessly and help everybody.

After over 20 years, Bondi welcomes the world's best surfers again, notably ninefold world champion Kelly Slater, who teams up in the first event with has-been Kerrbox, whose board is soaped up by an anonymous prankster. Whippet fails to qualify by bad luck, Kobi gets in. Others remain on rescue duty during the events, next being an 'airial', surf jumps.

In the carnival atmosphere of surfing and music, a roll of builders plastic becomes a make-shift slip and slide on a hill at South Bondi. But what seemed like a good idea at the time ends badly.

A giant swarm of stingers hits Bondi, leaving beachgoers in pain and distress. Lifeguards are stretched as they must treat hundreds of men, women, and children. Meanwhile, a surfboard has washed up.