New signs were installed last week at the three lifeguarded East Hampton Village beaches: Main, Georgica, and Two Mile Hollow.
At Main Beach, the top half of the towering 12-foot-tall light-blue rectangular sign, which is about four feet wide, includes a graphic of an umbrella with a beach chair. Under the picture, the words “Welcome to Main Beach Village of East Hampton,” are written in dark blue script.
The graphic on each of the three signs relates to the character of the beach it serves. At Georgica, for example, the picture is of a surfer on a wave. At Two Mile Hollow, it’s two rolling waves.
Eye-level information, such as air temperature, surf temperature, surf conditions, and tide times, is now displayed on magnetic strips on the bottom half of the signs. On the old sand-colored signs, those data were written in with a grease marker.
It’s hard to find a nicer spot to have a cup of coffee in the morning than at the Main Beach pavilion. Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, and Christopher Minardi, the deputy mayor, were there recently to meet with Emma Edwards, owner of Dama Creative Solutions, who installed the new signs. As they spoke, a squad of 20 lifeguards jogged by a crowd of about 200 yoga students, who were enjoying a free class with their mats spread on the sand.
“When we started, there was so much signage here,” Mr. Baladron remarked.
“Every parking spot had a sign,” said Mr. Minardi. “You couldn’t even see the beach.”
“We’ve met a few times,” said Ms. Edwards, who started her company last year, at the age of 21. “They kind of told me what they were looking for, and we thought it would be unique to combine something functional that looks nice and has meaning to the beaches.”
Mr. Minardi, long a lifeguard, described how the guards rather dreaded taking in the old water conditions signs each day. “They’re heavy and they’re cumbersome,” he said.
The new sign is actually two signs. At night, the beach conditions snap off to reveal the night rules. “We made it so the lifeguards can carry them. They’re interactive and at the end of the day, they can take it down quickly.”
“I saw people taking selfies in front of the old signs,” he recalled. “They were trying to contort themselves with the sign behind them. So, we wanted to do something up front on the beach that people could just walk up to, almost like a bit of a landmark for Main Beach.”
With a nod to the past, there is a whiteboard section. “I didn’t want to take the fun out of it completely,” said Mr. Minardi. As he spoke, a female lifeguard approached the new sign and wrote, “4th of July weekend LOADING.”
The day before, another lifeguard had written “Watch out for mermaids.” None were spotted over the holiday weekend.
