THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 19, 1996 TAG: 9608190034
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 100 lines
One person's pleasure is another's work.
For 78 straight days this summer, Ben Rosencrants got up, got dressed and reported to work - on the beach. But it was no vacation.
His shift began at 9:30 each morning and ended at 6:30 each evening - nine hours at the same spot, a sandy outpost where 17th Street meets the Atlantic.
He got one 15-minute break in the morning, another in the afternoon and 55 minutes for lunch. This break he used to run around - on a four-mile jog.
Rosencrants' efforts earned him a place in the lifeguard record books. The Cal Ripken of the Oceanfront is now the reigning champion for consecutive days worked for the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service.
Rosencrants', 22, a native of Virginia Beach, is a four-year lifesaving veteran. The rising senior at Virginia Tech will be honored as the Lifeguard of the Year at a banquet tonight.
Popular stereotypes paint being a lifeguard as a breeze. And you get a tan, too. There's gorgeous scenery, and the surroundings are swell. Sun. Sand. Surf.
But there is also responsibility.
``This spot is especially busy,'' said Rosencrants, on his 77th and next-to-last day of duty Sunday. He stood on the platform of his lifeguard stand as he surveyed the beach.
His zone covered 16th Street to 18th Street. ``We have the DQ (Dairy Queen), the stage, public bathrooms and the parking lot,'' Rosencrantz said.
If a rescue is called in neighboring zones, Rosencrants backs up the guard there.
On Saturday, he estimated that there were about 2,000 people in or near the water and another thousand or so on the beach.
His two-way radio crackled constantly with reports of missing children, a rescue on another part of the beach, and information on problems and conditions. A woman asked him how to inflate a beach ball. Another hadquestions about access for the handicapped, and a third wanted to know about umbrella rentals.
``Sometimes a child from Quebec gets lost and speaks only French,'' Rosencrants said. ``That gets interesting, since I speak only a little Italian.''
He was even a traffic cop, having to remind people setting up a blanket in front of his stand to leave an open lane to the water.
Rosencrants and about 100 colleagues work for what owner Kent Hinnant believes is the oldest private lifeguard service in the country. Hinnant took the helm from his father, Dusty, who started the service in 1930.
Hinnant runs his operation from an office/garage/warehouse at Arctic Avenue and 18th Street. The building has served as headquarters for the business since 1947. On a rainy morning last week, Hinnant sat in his office and talked about the business that has been part of his life ``as long as I can remember.''
He's something of a general, with three specially equipped pickup trucks, an all-terrain vehicle, a kayak, jet skis and 70 two-way radios at his command.
It's not cheap. The radios alone cost $70 each, according to Hinnant.
``Each lifeguard receives extensive training,'' Hinnant said. ``They're either Red Cross- or YMCA-certified, they undergo a 30-hour first-aid course and are trained in CPR.'' Many guards and all supervisors have emergency medical treatment training. ``And everybody has to know the basic rules and city ordinances.''
Hinnant has a contract with the city, but some of his overhead is defrayed by umbrella rentals.
``We feel we perform a valuable service to the city,'' he said. ``The tourism, for instance. Families are more likely to vacation at a beach with a good reputation for safety. Like ours.''
Somer Salomon is a newcomer at the Lifesaving Service. She'll be honored tonight as Rookie of the Year. Like Rosencrants and the rest of the lifeguard crew, Salomon takes part in daily fitness drills, which means one of the following: a 500-yard swim, a mock rescue or a 1 1/2-mile run.
Salomon also finished her season in the sun Sunday. The 22-year-old University of North Carolina graduate leaves for Manhattan this week for a job as a paralegal with a corporate law firm. She hopes to enter law school at the University of Virginia next year.
Salomon worked the 15th Street stand and spent much of her time Saturday blowing her whistle and waving her arms to keep swimmers away from a nearby pier.
The rip currents around the structure can pose danger, she said. But it's a message some swimmers don't want to hear.
``People don't like being told what to do sometimes,'' Salomon said. ``It can be stressful, intense.''
Then again, ``Most of the people have been really nice. One lady brought me pizza and Coke the other day.''
``My friends kid me about the job,'' she said. ``Some thinks it's cool; many think it's like really slack.''
She looked wistful as she glanced around and smiled, waving her arm again, this time at the setting and not at the swimmers.
``I think I'm really going to miss this job.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Ben Rosencrants, 22, who manned his stand for a record-setting 78
consecutive days, was named Lifeguard of the Year.
Photo by MIKE HEFFNER/The Virginian-Pilot
Somer Salomon, 22, is this summer's Rookie Lifeguard of the Year.
Though some of her friends tease her that her job is ``slack,'' she
says, ``It can be stressful, intense.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH LIFEGUARD by CNB