Brevard County lifeguards rescued 30 people Saturday, their first day of the season on the job. That compares with 92 rescues all of last year.

"In my 12 or 13 years as a lifeguard, it was the busiest first day I ever encountered. . . . It was pretty unsettling," said Wyatt Werneth, Brevard County Ocean Lifeguard chief. "Sometimes, our lifeguards can go through an entire season without a rescue."

Beaches were crowded, with the high temperature near 80 and the start of spring break for Brevard Public Schools students and many others.

But gusty winds and other conditions made for treacherous waters, and the National Weather Service issued warnings of rip currents, which can drag swimmers out to sea. Similar warnings are expected today.

"Never swim alone. Swim sober," Werneth said. "Do not fight the currents."

Included among those rescued was a group of seven trapped in rip currents near Shepard Park in Cocoa Beach.

Most of the rescues occurred at Cocoa Beach, and the majority of incidences involved swimmers getting caught in the strong currents.

Shortly after the lifeguards went off duty at 5 p.m., a swimmer was reported in trouble at Boardwalk Beach in Indialantic. A surfer helped the tired young man to shore before rescue personnel arrived.

And just before the end of the lifeguards' shift at Shepard Park, two adults reported they had seen a person struggling in the water. The search was called off, however, after lifeguards called people out of the water and determined that everyone was accounted for.

"They're hopping out there," Werneth said about his staff. "It's definitely been a full buffet for us today."

One man swimming near the Cocoa Beach Pier was stung on the neck by what was believed to be a man-of-war, Werneth said. Lifeguards pulled him from the water and he was transported by ambulance to the hospital. The man's condition was not available.

Sharks and jellyfish were problems at the Indialantic Boardwalk. A red-flag warning was raised after a shark sighting, and swimmers stayed out of the water for a short period of time. Later, five swimmers were stung by jellyfish or man-of-wars within minutes of each other.

Although there were many close calls, lifeguards received no word of severe injuries, and no one drowned. There were five reported drowning deaths on Brevard's beaches last year, all at unguarded sections of beach.

For the first half of the day Saturday, things were fairly mellow at the beach.

"I'm really surprised we haven't had to go in after anyone yet," said Steven Hughes, lifeguard supervisor at the Indialantic Boardwalk, who was about two hours into his shift at noon.

Hughes, 19, has been a lifeguard for the past four years, but says he has never gotten used to what it feels like to help someone in danger.

"It's a really big adrenaline rush," Hughes said. "Your instinct from training kicks in."

All Brevard County Ocean Lifeguards endure two days of rigorous training, including a lot of swimming and running. On the first day, they train at a pool, just to be sure everyone is a strong swimmer. Then, it gets tough, Hughes said.

"On the second day, they make you go in (the ocean) and rescue a 150-pound dummy," Hughes said. "That's probably one of the hardest things to do, especially when you only weigh 130 pounds."

It all pays off, though, when the lifeguards go to work.

"This is my office," Hughes said. "I'm sitting on the beach making money."

They don't just sit and wait for something to happen, however. Lifeguards have to answer any questions beachgoers have.

"We found this cool thing and the lifeguard told us it was a bird bone," said Stephanie Hall of Indialantic, who brought her daughters, Cassidy, 4, and Mackenzie, 3, to Boardwalk Beach Saturday.

Hall examined the hard, odd-shaped object.

"That's kind of gross," she said. "We were hoping it was a shark tooth."

The lifeguards also are responsible for periodically patrolling beaches with their Yamaha Rhino all-terrain vehicles and picking up trash.

And when they have to respond to someone in danger, it can be stressful, Hughes said, but it's worth it in the end.

"It's just a feel-good moment," he said.