Sapphire Coast welcomes new beach superintendent and acting manager, Jayce Govender, just in time for the busy summer period.
Jayce was appointed in July, but split his time between Toti and Durban.
Since October he has been permanently based at Toti main beach. His area runs from the Umlaas canal to the Cutty Sark in Scottsburgh, a 47km stretch of coastline.
Jayce brings a wealth of lifesaving experience and passion for saving lives to Toti beaches. Although his working hours are from Monday to Friday, he is on call on weekends and public holidays, 24 hours a day.
“I was diagnosed with polio at the age of two and I could not move my legs,” he said. “My father used to take me down to the beach for me to walk and run on the sand to exercise them.”
At the age of six he joined the Isipingo South Lifesaving Club and qualified as a professional lifesaver at just 14. At 16 he was appointed as a part-time lifeguard and pool supervisor by the Isipingo Municipality. “I would work after school and on weekends,” said Jayce, who has over the years affected thousands of rescues.
In 1999 he was appointed as a lifeguard at Toti main beach and from 2003 to March 2010 was a senior lifeguard.
In April 2010 he was appointed as beach superintendent from Ushaka beach to Blue Lagoon and in 2013 he received an award from the mayor for zero drownings during bathing hours on Durban beaches for the three years he was in charge. This had never before been achieved in the city’s history.
He received another award from the city for his role in hosting the most successful fanpark during the 2010 Soccer World Cup at New Beach.
Jayce featured in an international lifesaving magazine for his part in saving the lives of tourists when a seven-metre rigid inflatable charter boat capsized off Oasis Beach opposite Suncoast Casino in 2012. When Jayce and two lifeguards arrived on scene, only one of the 12 people on board had made it to the beach from the upturned boat about 50 metres off-shore, with most of the German and Dutch passengers in life jackets in the surf and two trapped under the boat.
Jayce and the lifeguards pulled everyone to shore and freed the two from under the hull, saving them from drowning.
He has worked on and was the spokesman for the Durban-based sea rescue helicopter for five years, before the project’s funding ran out.
In 2004 he came to the aid of the big wave tow-in surfing crew, headed up by former world lifesaving champion Brandon Ribbink, who had to be airlifted to safety in a dramatic rescue in the Transkei.
Jayce is also a prolific fisherman, who has fished for KZN seven times and the president’s side twice, including in an international against Namibia in 2013. He captained a six-man team that won the gold medal at the Struisbaai Nationals Angling competition in Cape Town in 2012.
He has featured in a Dopa Africa video about how different ethnic groups interact while fishing together. This was filmed along the Transkei coast in 2013.
He also featured in a lifesaving documentary to market the city, as well as a sea rescue series filmed on Durban beachfront for DSTV’s travel channel in 2012 and 2013. “This was about the day-to-day experiences of a lifeguard on one of the world’s busiest beaches,” said Jayce.
“Other beaches around the world might be busier, but there about 90% of visitors can swim. People from outlying areas visit our beaches, especially in the festive season, and many of them cannot swim. Only about 20% can swim, so when they get into difficulty, they panic and start to drown.”
Beyond his duties, Jayce still finds time to head the municipality’s festive season management committee (FESMAC) which coordinates all safety plans and other logistics for residents and visitors to have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
“I want Durban South to be the best lifesaving outfit in the country,” said Jayce. “My goal is zero drownings on the Sapphire Coast during bathing hours for years and years to come.”
