In Real Life with Anthony Shaw—From the Cloud to the Ocean

When people find out Anthony Shaw is a volunteer lifeguard at a busy surf beach, they always ask about the sharks: “Aren’t you scared?”??

His answer: “Not really.” That’s because there’s a more powerful and pressing issue with which to contend: the current.??

Anthony—who’s a principal cloud advocate focused on Python by day—has been patrolling at his local beach for just over five years now as part of the Australian Surf Lifesaving organization and told me sharks really aren’t the main worry on his stretch of coast. The bigger risk is coastal drownings—particularly at his home beach—and that’s why he trains so hard and shows up for his community regularly. He’s rescued more than 40 people in the past four years alone—mostly those dragged out to sea.?

“Our beaches in Australia are quite dangerous, very sandy. And we have a lot of rip currents. Australian Surf Lifesaving is a volunteer organization of people who are trained to perform rescues and first aid and try and prevent as many occasions that people need to be rescued as possible,” Anthony said.??

While many of us may envision Baywatch as a polished example of lifeguard work, Anthony said it’s not quite like TV has portrayed. A lifelong open water swimmer, he trains hundreds of hours per year swimming, paddling, and practicing rescues, because reaching a person in need of rescue is one thing—getting them on the rescue board in the ocean in heavy surf and back to shore is another entirely. And doing these things repeatedly in a day is sometimes extra human. This work takes both mental and physical strength, as well as knowing when to step back and work as a team with the other lifeguards.??

“It's important that we know what each other are doing because if I see somebody who needs rescuing and just jump in, then that doesn't necessarily help everyone else because there might be other lifeguards going in at the same time,” Anthony told me.? “So, we communicate using radios and work together to make the best decisions we can and hopefully make the safest rescues.”?

A father of three daughters, Anthony’s family is comprised of water-lovers—including his body-surfing pup—and his kids all compete in open water swimming as part of the lifesaving club. He’s taught them about the ocean from a young age, and reckons they’ll join him as junior lifeguards soon. He hopes their healthy appreciation for the ocean will help them keep others safe as well.??

When I asked him for a few tips for those of us who want to safely enjoy time in the ocean, Anthony boiled it down to:?

• Always swim at a patrolled beach. Remote ocean beaches are dangerous, if you want to enjoy a day at the beach, always swim on a beach with lifeguards and stay within the designated swimming area.??
• Learn how to spot a rip current. Most of the dangerous situations people get themselves into are to do with how the water moves in the ocean. Once you learn how to identify them, don't swim there!?

Anthony, I know your community appreciates the work you put into volunteering and teaching respect for the ocean. What you do is beyond impressive and so important, so thank you!?

You can follow Anthony on GitHub for Python-related content or Instagram for beach-related content, or read his book, CPython Internals. You can watch our full interview on Microsoft Learn.