MEDIA ROOM

Results of Our Efforts

As a direct result of our years of continued training and dedication, Cabo San Lucas & San Jose del Cabo Fire departments both have Aquatic Safety Divisions with core trained “Bomberos Salvavidas” and both departments have active Junior Lifeguard Programs (Salvavidas Blackys Jr. – CSL, Sharks Juniors – SJC), with all lifesaving / training equipment – including two waverunners equipped with rescue sleds and trailer, donated by our organization.

Los Cabos now has 9 public beaches with fulltime (salaried) lifeguard protection provided by ZOFEMAT – all of their employees are trained & certified through our program, and all of their equipment was donated by our organization until their recent equipment purchases. ZOFEMAT also recently provided a Lifeguard Patrol vehicle staffed with a supervisor – a long term student / graduate of our program.

Additionally, every major beachfront hotel / resort on the Los Cabos & “corridor” oceanfront has dedicated Lifeguard staff as part of their security force, all trained and certified through our program – and most equipped with our lifeguard equipment donations. The immensely popular surfing beach of Cerritos in the Todos Santos area north of Cabo San Lucas has volunteer lifeguards trained / certified and equipped through our program. The Naval station in Cabo San Lucas has officers and seamen trained / certified through our program, which inspired them to purchase, equip and staff their own Lifeguard rescue craft. Paramedics stationed at key beaches along the Los Cabos coastline have been trained / certified through our program and carry our donated lifeguard equipment.

On mainland Mexico, the rural communities of Sayulita / San Francisco & Bucerias have volunteer lifeguards trained / certified / equipped through our program (in conjunction with Firefighters Crossing Borders) and are receiving rescue support from a core group of firefighters we trained / certified / equipped within Proteccion Civil y Bomberos Bahia de Banderas – after 4 years of consecutive Lifeguard Academies and equipment donations from our organization (in conjunction with FFCB / Zachary Chambers Emergency Services Foundation), Proteccion Civil y Bomberos Bahia de Banderas have moved forward with our coordinated plan to build Lifeguard Towers and ambulance bays in those rural communities.

The community of Troncones now has a group of volunteer Lifeguards trained / certified / equipped through our program (in conjunction with FFCB and Troncones Offshore Athletic Club), and is now working with us & FFCB on an action plan to build a Lifeguard Tower / Fire Station / Ambulance Bay and purchase emergency vehicles.

Perhaps most importantly, drowning rates in the communities we have focused our efforts on have declined drastically, and our continued presence and dedication to the future of professional lifeguarding in Mexico has elevated the awareness of the pivotal role that properly trained and equipped Lifeguards occupy within professional safety services in any coastal community throughout the world – combatting the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide and the leading cause of death in children ages 1 – 4 aside from birth defects! We are proud of the fact that through our coordination, education, and consultation with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department, the National Standard for Lifeguard Competency has recently been drafted and ratified by the federal government of Mexico.

Latest News

November 2024 (San Diego, CA)

Veteran California Beach Lifeguards Celebrate 20 years of Lifesaving Impact in Mexico

Inaugural Ocean Lifeguard Training Academy was hosted in 2004 in Cabo San Lucas in collaboration with Cuerpo de Bomberos De Cabo San Lucas

(San Diego, CA) October 2024 - Veteran Southern California Beach Lifeguards Laine Pepper and Jimmy Canale celebrate 20-years of lifesaving impact in Mexico. Since the inaugural ocean lifeguard training session held in 2004 in Cabo San Lucas in collaboration with Cuerpo de Bomberos De Cabo San Lucas (Cabo San Lucas Fire Department), they launched the non-profit Surf Lifesaving del Sur and have instructed a total of 37 academies in Mexico. (click for the Full Release)

June 2023 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts 29th "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico in collaboration with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department certifying 120 students. The seminar began with a tribute and plaque in honor of Cabo San Lucas Fire Department Sgt. García Tinoco a fire-department pioneer who assisted in leading this seminar for more than 20 years in Cabo San Lucas.

May 2022 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts 28th "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico in collaboration with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department certifying 108 students. Participants included lifeguards from hotels, firefighters from San Jose del Cabo, Pescadero, & Cabo San Lucas and ZOFEMAT. Click to Watch video

May 2021 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts 27th "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico in collaboration with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department certifying 118 students.

May 2019 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts 25th "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico in collaboration with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department. The Lifeguard Academy certified another 147 students, bringing the number of Firefighters, Medics, Red Cross, Naval, ZOFEMAT and Hotel security personnel we have trained in Los Cabos to well over 2,000!

In addition, funds raised from our annual Golf Tournament were used to purchase two Wave Runners fitted with rescue sleds and a matching trailer, all of which was donated to the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department during our graduation ceremony.

May 2018 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" in Cabo San Lucas, Baja Mexico in collaboration with the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department certifying 120 students.

May 2014 (San Diego, CA)

20th and largest academy to date for the Baja Peninsula, with over 120 students from Los Cabos, La Paz, Todos Santos, Puerto San Carlos, Ensenada, Rosarito, and Tijuana as well as another group of Naval personnel. Donations raised at our 4th annual golf tournament purchased the extra lifesaving equipment necessary to train such a large group.

November 2013 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur Hosts 4th Ocean Lifeguard Academy on mainland Mexico, in conjunction with Firefighters Crossing Borders and the Zachary Chambers Emergency Services Foundation. The trainees included members of the Bahia de Banderas Fire Dept. as well as volunteers from Sayulita, San Pancho, and Bucerias. Critical rescues have already been performed as a direct result of the training and equipment we have given to these rural communities.

November 2010 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur joins Firefighters Crossing Borders and the Zachary Chambers Emergency Services Foundation to train and certify 25 residents of San Pancho and Sayulita as lifeguards.

May 2010 (San Diego, CA)

Surf Lifesaving del Sur hosts 15th "Seminario de Rescate Acuatico" for the Baja Peninsula with another 25 sets of buoys and fins donated, as well as more rescue boards.

In addition, the 1st Annual Surf Lifesaving del Sur Golf Tournament was a big success with nearly one hundred golfers of all levels taking part, raising close to $4,000 to equip and train new lifeguards and implement lifesaving services.

March 2007 (San Diego, CA)

The IRS has granted non-profit charitable organization status to Surf Lifesaving del Sur. Accordingly, financial gifts and other types of donations are fully tax-deductible. Most importantly, your generous support of Surf Lifesaving del Sur helps save lives.

2004 (San Diego, CA)

The birth of "Surf Lifesaving del Sur", formed to direct funding into lifesaving training, equipment, and personnel to adequately staff and patrol the public beaches of Los Cabos. In addition to instructing advanced lifesaving academies for El Colegio de Bomberos y Administradores de Emergencias in Cabo San Lucas, we have donated the rescue equipment and literature necessary to run these academies, and equipped the existing Bomberos Salvavidas in the Cabo San Lucas Voluntary Fire Department. Through the dedication and training of volunteers from El H. Cuerpo de Bomberos de Cabo San Lucas and Surf Lifesaving del Sur, primary lifeguarding and rescue response are becoming a reality in Los Cabos.

Fallen Hero - Erick Jonathan Rasgado Bonilla

While on duty as a lifeguard near the Rui Palace, 33-year-old Erick Bonilla, a graduate of Surf Lifesaving Del Sur, gave the ultimate sacrifice. During Hurricane Genevieve, Erick attempted to rescue a 15-year-old girl in extremely dangerous conditions. Despite his training and heroic efforts, the conditions were too severe and neither he nor the girl survived.

A ceremony was held to honor Erick on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at the Cabo San Lucas Fire Department where a commemorative plaque was presented in his honor.

In Memoriam

Interview & Photo Ops

Surf Lifesaving del Sur welcomes inquiries from the media. Please contact our Team for more information and to arrange an interview or photo op. coveguard@hotmail.com