Since the first lifeguards protected bathers here in 1898, no one has drowned on a protected beach in Ocean City. The Ocean City Beach Patrol finished the 2011 season with that stellar safety record intact.

“We had a good season,” said Tom Mullineaux, operations manager for the OCBP. The strength of the OCBP played out in other areas too, he said, as lifeguards won a coveted South Jersey Championship in the South Jersey Chief’s Association competitions.

Mullineaux said the number of “incidents” requiring a rescue were “way down,” which he attributed to a much calmer ocean this year.

“We did not have those big waves and rip currents in July and early August this year like we did last year,” he said.

In 2010, lifeguards rescued over 1,000 victims in 563 incidents. This year, there were 421 victims in 233 incidents.

“That’s down more than 50 percent. Our guards did a wonderful job. Last year in one week the guards rescued 316 victims, we had all that rough water. Fortunately we did not have that this year,” he said. “Our biggest week this year we topped out with 69 victims. Thank heaven everything was down a little bit all the way around.”

The number of lost children went down, from 300 to 267. The number of medical incidents went down slightly, from 829 to 800.

“All the way around, things were down a little bit,” he said. “In general, things were calmer and that’s good.”

Mullineaux said the number of visitors was also down. Last season, lifeguards logged a cool three million bathers at protected beaches. Mullineaux estimates another one million enjoyed unprotected strands through the season. This year, lifeguards logged 2.8 million, about 200,000 fewer bathers.

Mullineaux said it wasn’t because visitors were less enthusiastic about spending a day on the beach. He blames a four-day shutdown due to the arrival of Hurricane Irene.

“It could easily have been those four days,” he said.

The OCBP closed on Friday, Aug. 26 to prepare for the impending storm. On Saturday and Sunday the storm came through and on Monday, the OCBP put the beaches back together. On top of that, he said, it rained on Aug. 25 and many second homeowners and visitors did not return until later in the week.

“On that weekend, Saturday and Sunday in August the year before, we counted 238,000 for those four days, so we feel comfortable that’s what contributed to the numbers being down,” said Mullineaux.

Winning the South Jersey Championships meant a lot, he said.

“We sort of thought this would be a rebuilding year but we did better than anticipated,” he said. “Overall the men and women did a nice job. The ladies won the Invitational event and the Longport races, two out of three of their competitions. It was a good summer for racing. Our lifeguards train very hard for the competitions.”

The OCBP finished on Sept. 18 and three days later the equipment was removed from all the beaches. Lifeguards will work through the end of the week greasing, spraying and winterizing the equipment. Mullineaux is wrapping up 48 years with the OCBP.

“It feels like yesterday I was a rookie,” he said. “I thought it would be a good job for four years, put me through college and here I am 48 years later. One thing led to another. I still enjoy it.”

Ocean City historian and former OCBP lieutenant Fred Miller said Ocean City’s 113-year record of never losing a bather on a protected beach is “amazing.”

“I think when you consider the unpredictability of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s phenomenal,” he said.

The ocean can be unforgiving. Conditions can change in an instant. Millions of people go in and out of the ocean each summer, Miller said.

“It speaks for the training and expertise of our lifeguards. You have to be pretty darned talented to guard the beaches,” he said. “We have eight miles of beach and they keep everyone safe, which is why people like to come here. You have to be pretty proud of our lifeguards. They are the best trained guards.”

The South Jersey title, Miller said, speaks volumes.

“It’s very competitive in South Jersey, it’s very competitive in our intramural races,” he said. “These guards want to win, they keep themselves in very good shape and it shows during the competitions and it shows every day on the beach. Because they compete they are better rowers, swimmers and runners. It plays out every day on the beach.”

The boats are used in thousands of pictures each year, he noted, spreading the good word about Ocean City and the lifeguards throughout the country thanks to social media. There’s a lot of safety, but also a lot of heritage, he said, in those classic white lifeboats.