Jet Skis Make a Splash With ‘Baywatch’ Crowd

The Los Angeles County Lifeguards boast some speedy swimmers, but none as quick as a Kawasaki Jet Ski at full throttle.

That much was clear off Santa Monica this week as 16 lifeguards experimented with four of the “personal watercraft,” sizing them up as possible rescue tools.

No one expects the Jet Skis to replace the old fashioned crawl as the preferred method of reaching swimmers in distress. But among the guards who trained with the Jet Skis Sunday and Monday, the consensus was that in some scenarios they could come in handy, particularly when a swimmer is struggling far from the shore or when multiple swimmers need help.

“They’re interesting, we’ll see,” said lifeguard Lt. Bill Robinson. “I think they could work for certain things.”

The two-seater Jet Skis are on loan for six months from a Redondo Beach dealership at no charge to the county. They will be used at various local beaches and replaced after six months through Kawasaki’s Jet Ski Loan Program, which provides free watercraft to law enforcement and search-and-rescue agencies.

As rescue craft, the Jet Skis have a lot going for them. They are quick, maneuverable and lack exposed propellers or moving parts that could harm a swimmer. They also handle well in shallow or rough water and can be launched almost instantly.

Judging from the whoops and hollers from the “Baywatch” crowd, they’re also more fun than a long swim in cold water.

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SKY’S THE LIMIT: An aviation “walk of fame,” inspired by the Hollywood version, has been cleared for takeoff in downtown Westchester.

The precise nature of the exhibit, dubbed the “Flight Path,” is still a little hazy, but boosters say it will honor Southern California’s aviation heritage with displays and plaques. Backers hope it will draw some of the millions of LAX patrons into the faded retail district.

“It’s the first time in 40 years we’re getting something new built in the central business district,” said Morris Plotkin, a former Westchester/LAX Chamber of Commerce president who is spearheading the project.

According to organizers, the first phase of the Flight Path will be part of a new shopping village on Sepulveda Boulevard being built by Howard Drollinger, downtown Westchester’s biggest landlord. The path would gradually be extended down Sepulveda, as local shops and hotels get into the spirit by placing flight-related memorabilia in their lobbies.

The chamber, which is working in conjunction with the Aero Club of Southern California and the Southern California Historical Foundation, also hopes to acquire land from nearby Los Angeles International Airport for an aerospace learning center.

Enthusiasm for the project, which has the backing of City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, is running high, though there’s something faintly incongruous about downtown’s love affair with the aeronautics industry. It was, of course, the expansion of LAX during the 1960s that devastated the business district in the first place.