Huntington beach: 156 swimmers compete and swim in 56-degree water for a $16.00 an hour lifeguard job!

56-degree water is quite formidable. It's how cold the water at Alcatraz is in June. From the L.A. Times:

"... In Huntington Beach, 156 applicants compete for 25 summer jobs paying $16 an hour. The test: a roughly 1,000-yard swim and a 500-yard ocean sprint, followed by a nearly mile-long run-swim-run.

"Employment opportunities are not what they were," said Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Mike Baumgartner. ..." [Los Angeles is suffering through a 10.5% unemployment rate.]

[Link]

The article did not mention that you can't wear goggles either.