2.15.26

Professor Rob Brander is an internationally recognized coastal geomorphologist and one of the world’s leading experts on rip currents and beach safety. His research has played a major role in reshaping scientific understanding of rip current behavior and how people respond when caught in them.

Professor Brander is based at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, where he serves in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Toronto and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Sydney.

Key Contributions to Rip Current Science:

• Conducted pioneering field research on rip current dynamics and beach morphology.

• Led groundbreaking studies examining swimmer behavior in rip currents, including interviews with survivors and GPS tracking of swimmers in controlled conditions.

• Helped challenge outdated safety advice by demonstrating that panic and fighting the current increases risk, while floating, conserving energy, and signaling for help often improves survival.

• Collaborated internationally with scientists such as Dr. Jamie H. MacMahan to link physical oceanography with real-world safety outcomes.

Resources

UNSW Beach Safety Research Group www.beachsafetyresearch.com

Personal website www.scienceofthesurf.com

Dr. Rip’s Essential Beach Book International Edition https://cup.columbia.edu/book/dr-rips-essential-beach-book/9780231217408**

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2.19.26

Taishi Otono is a respected leader in ocean safety and lifesaving in Okinawa, Japan, and an emerging international voice in collaborative drowning prevention. Through his work with the Okinawan lifesaving community, Otono has helped strengthen professional guard training, rescue operations, and cross-cultural partnerships aimed at improving coastal safety.

Okinawa shares many similarities with Hawaiʻi—both are island regions with strong ocean cultures, heavy tourism, and complex coastal environments shaped by reef systems, powerful currents, and seasonal weather patterns. Like Hawaiʻi, Okinawa faces the dual challenge of protecting residents while also safeguarding visitors who may have limited ocean experience. Otono’s work focuses on practical, field-based solutions that improve real-world outcomes for lifeguards and the public.

In recent years, Otono has collaborated with ocean safety leaders in Hawaiʻi, including partnerships connected with the Hawaii Lifeguard Association and North Shore ocean safety professionals. These exchanges have included joint training sessions, rescue technique discussions, jet ski deployment strategies, and shared analysis of rip-current response models. His involvement reflects a growing recognition that drowning prevention benefits from international cooperation and shared data.

A key aspect of Otono’s leadership is his emphasis on adaptability. Okinawan beaches, like those in Hawaiʻi, range from protected lagoons to high-energy reef breaks. Guard teams must understand localized hazards, communicate clearly with multilingual visitors, and respond quickly to dynamic surf conditions. Otono has been instrumental in refining operational approaches that integrate traditional lifesaving methods with modern rescue equipment and personal watercraft support.

Beyond operational work, Otono supports public education efforts that improve awareness of rip currents, reef hazards, and safe ocean behavior. By working alongside international experts and local community leaders, he contributes to a broader message: drowning is preventable when science, training, and communication work together.

His collaboration with Hawaiʻi represents more than a professional exchange—it reflects a shared island responsibility. Both Okinawa and Hawaiʻi understand that the ocean is central to culture, recreation, and identity. Through ongoing partnership, Taishi Otono is helping build a stronger, more connected global water safety network—one that prioritizes prevention, preparedness, and respect for the sea.**

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Why aren’t lifeguards first responders? This interview is focusing on a part of aquatic safety that is often overlooked but critically important the psychological impact of critical incidents on lifeguards and aquatic professionals. This conversation is about evidence, responsibility, and the people who protect lives in and around the water and what it takes to protect them in return.

Lifeguards are routinely exposed to high-stress events: rescues, near-drownings, fatalities, and repeated exposure to trauma. Yet unlike many other first-responder professions, the mental health and wellbeing of lifeguards has historically been under-studied and under-resourced.

Three leaders who are working together to change that through research, international collaboration, and practical support systems for lifeguards and aquatic professionals worldwide are part of this important discussion.

Dr. Jaz Lawes is the National Research Manager for Surf Life Saving Australia, with extensive experience in applied research that directly informs frontline lifesaving practice.

Dr. Sam Fien is a Senior Lecturer at CQUniversity Australia, the National Wellbeing Advisor for Surf Life Saving Australia, and the State Lifesaving Officer and Research Panel Chair for Surf Life Saving Queensland. Her work bridges research, policy, and operational wellbeing across lifesaving organizations.

And Tyler Anderson is the President of the International Lifeguard Critical Incident Response Alliance, an organization dedicated to peer support, critical incident stress management, and post-incident care for lifeguards and aquatic professionals.

Together, they are part of a team that created the International Aquatic Personnel Critical Incident Prevalence & Impact Survey a global effort to document, at scale, what lifeguards and allied aquatic professionals experience, how those experiences affect them, and what support systems truly make a difference.

The survey is open through July of 2026 and welcomes participation from adult lifeguards, past or present, as well as allied aquatic professionals including beach, pool, and waterpark leadership who support lifeguards in their work.

If you would like to participate, the survey can be accessed at :https://qr.ilcira.org/CISurvey

And for aquatic leaders interested in learning more about building Peer Support Teams or integrating post-incident Critical Incident Stress Management services into their operations, more information is available by contacting: info@ilcira.org**

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2.14.26: Jamie McMahan, a leading researcher whose work focuses on how people experience and survive rip currents in real-world ocean conditions.

Jamie is a professor of oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His research has helped reshape how scientists, lifeguards, and safety professionals understand rip currents not just as physical ocean processes, but as human survival events.

With coastal drowning remaining a critical issue worldwide and here in Hawaiʻi this conversation is especially timely.

We explore what research tells us about how rip currents actually work, why traditional safety messaging sometimes fails in real conditions, and how new, evidence-based approaches can better help both locals and visitors respond effectively when they find themselves caught in a rip current.

Rip-current science is solid. The challenge is human behavior and communication.Effective prevention depends on clear, location-specific messaging, early education, visual demonstration, and close collaboration between scientists and lifeguards.

He has volunteered to meet with guards online to discuss all the technical questions they may have about rip currents.

**

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July 18, 2025 Extra Interview: Margaret talks in studio with Ian Couch, the water safety expert for Worldʻs Toughest Row. The Toughest Row folks were on Kauaʻi receiving teams of rowers who traveled from Monterey, CA to Hanalei Bay. Ian talks about making safety a culture and how athletes take on this grueling and amazing trip.

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September 16, 2025 John Kaleimakaliʻi Thornton Clarke, who happens to be the grand nephew of Duke Kahanamoku, is an accomplished waterman in his own right and a researcher with the Hawaii Department of Health. He epically swam around Maui to bring awareness to the fact that native Hawaiians are drowning at a higher rate than other population groups.

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August 15, 2025 Niki Roderick is the founder and CEO of Free Dive Safe and is the NZ record holder for free diving. A dedicated ocean woman, she is also a strong advocate for water safety in schools. But not only for children, for adults and all ocean lovers. Her work supports free divers, paddlers, spear-fishers, boaters and more. She is currently working to get water safety as standard curriculum in Hawaii middle schools.

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Margaret invites North Shore lifeguard Chris Pico in studio to share about the importance of water safety from the lifeguard’s perspective and to share about the free app Pulse Point. What’s charming is that Chris’ daughter, Harper, was in studio as well, watching her show and petting the dog and you can hear it a bit. Chris said, before we started the show, that he sought out Pulse Point on Kauaʻi for her.

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