U S Ocean Safety Company

Tony Harris grabbed his stomach and panted. He had just finished first in a 1,200-yard run-and-swim test for prospective lifeguards at Aliso Beach, and he was paying a price. "It's the coldest I've ever been," said a gasping Harris, 19, originally from Australia but now living in Costa Mesa. "When I first started in the water, I could not breathe."

The City Council has rejected a $110-million claim filed against the city by the parents of a woman who drowned near Three Arch Bay this summer. Lynn Scollard, 30, a Huntington Beach resident, had been walking through tide pools inside a sea cave with a friend on June 23 when she was swept off a rocky ledge and into treacherous underwater currents. The friend was able to climb to safety, but Scollard was unable to escape. Rescue workers pulled her body from the ocean more than an hour later.

The City Council has rejected a $110-million claim filed against the city by the parents of a woman who drowned near Three Arch Bay this summer. Lynn Scollard, 30, a Huntington Beach resident, had been walking through tide pools inside a sea cave with a friend on June 23 when she was swept off a rocky ledge and into treacherous underwater currents. The friend was able to climb to safety, but Scollard was unable to escape. Rescue workers pulled her body from the ocean more than an hour later.

Tony Harris grabbed his stomach and panted. He had just finished first in a 1,200-yard run-and-swim test for prospective lifeguards at Aliso Beach, and he was paying a price. "It's the coldest I've ever been," said a gasping Harris, 19, originally from Australia but now living in Costa Mesa. "When I first started in the water, I could not breathe."

They both have been lifeguards since their teens. Now, Michael Gaughan and Jack Lincke find themselves in need of 60 of those rescue officers of the water. The two Orange County men recently formed a company called U.S. Ocean Safety to provide lifeguards to patrol 15 county-run beaches. "There's never been a call for this many lifeguards at one time before," said Lincke, 44.

One minute, Lynn Scollard was climbing the rocks with her friend John Griffin and marveling over how beautiful the ocean looked. The next, she was gone. As the two were climbing down an eight-foot-high rock above a tide pool at Three Arch Bay on Sunday, another climber yelled: "Take cover! Here comes a big one!," Griffin, 22, recalled Monday, a day after Scollard drowned. "The last thing I said to her was, 'Lynn, baby, hold on tight.'

Heading for the beach for the Fourth? Don't forget to pack your beach towel, sunscreen and vinegar. Vinegar? A surprise invasion of jellyfish along the Southland coast just in time for summer's kickoff is forcing thousands of beachgoers to seek a refreshing splash of vinegar to treat painful stings. Although in ocean waters for 600 million years, jellyfish have been almost nonexistent along local beaches for the last quarter-century, according to experts.

They both have been lifeguards since their teens. Now, Michael Gaughan and Jack Lincke find themselves in need of 60 of those rescue officers of the water. The two Orange County men recently formed a company called U.S. Ocean Safety to provide lifeguards to patrol 15 county-run beaches. "There's never been a call for this many lifeguards at one time before," said Lincke, 44.