Del. beach patrol captain on guard for 40 years
When Tim Ferry started as a lifeguard in Bethany Beach, he may have been under 16, but the patrol was in need of members and he passed the test.
More than 500 rescues later, Ferry is in his 40th year of guarding Delaware beaches, now as captain of the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol.
After a stint at the Ocean Village community north of Bethany Beach, Ferry worked up the chain of command until 1991, when he was named captain.
"I thought it was going to be a great way to go through high school, maybe a little bit of college," he said about his potential tenure as a lifeguard.
In the offseason, Ferry is a guidance counselor at Pocomoke High School and an adjunct faculty member at Wilmington University, teaching courses on social studies methods in the education department. He previously was a social studies teacher in the Indian River School District.
"It wasn't until I got the captain's job and I was situated in the school system and thought this might be something that could work long-term and it did," he said. "It was the perfect storm, so to speak."
In 2004 he moved to lead the Fenwick Island patrol, after the town was awarded a contract to take over the unincorporated part of beach that goes to the Maryland state line.
He has seen plenty of changes over the years, from the beach environment, to the social crowds, the etiquette, the lifesaving equipment, even the bathing suits.
He's added a couple of roles in the lifeguard community, as well. He serves as president of the Sussex County Lifesaving Association and vice president of the United States Lifesaving Association's Mid-Atlantic region.
But one thing that hasn't changed is his passion for the job.
"There's a great balance of the seriousness of the job, but it's just such a fun job," he said. "There's also no substitute for saving somebody's life and it's something you'll always remember."
To the present day, Ferry instills in his lifeguards the importance of paying attention to detail and punctuality, which helps the beach patrol stand out from others in the area, he said.
"There's not one time you're allowed to slip up," said Josh Strine, the beach patrol's third lieutenant. "If he says be there at 8 a.m. tomorrow, if you're there at 8:01 it's the same as being there at 9:30."
Ferry is also seen each morning doing the same workouts his 30 lifeguards do, though slightly modified, he admits.
"This is one of the best parts for me," Ferry said after a recent morning routine. "(It) kicks my butt, but they keep me young and I think they enjoy the fact that they see the captain out there, at almost 55, still trying to do everything that they're doing, and I love it."
Strine said Ferry has become one of the legends of the area.
"There's not one thing he's going to tell us to do that he's not going to be right there kicking our butts in," Strine said. "He's definitely someone that I have much respect for, and maybe still am a little intimidated by, even after five years."
As for what's next for who many in the beach patrol community know as "Toast," he said he sees himself in the captain role for a few more years.
"He's super tan, I guess. He looks like a piece of toast," said Carter Michael, who is in his fourth year as a member of the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol, about the nickname. "He's been out in the sun for 40 years. Super tan."
Ferry said that's one of the more popular myths when it comes to the origins of his nickname. Without providing an explanation, he said he got it while in high school, it stuck, and it became a positive part of his identity.
"It's just as fun to hear people's ideas of how I got that nickname," he said. "But unfortunately, I think most people would probably be disappointed."
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