Every single drowning that has made the papers in recent years, has occurred when there was no lifeguard on duty, before or after normal swimming hours.
In Far Rockaway, a little girl was swept away in knee deep water, as her horrified father (or uncle) looked on helplessly. the other kids had to be pulled from the water, too, but they survived. A girl downed recently on a school trip, some boys drowned when one fell in and the other jumped in to try to save him. No one survived, and there was no LG. If it happens even ONE time, it is one time too many.