Tara had just finished surfing at Dominical and was watching the waves and the sunset. It was after 5 p.m. and the lifeguards had already headed home for the day. Suddenly she noticed two people swimming very far out and one looked like she was having trouble. Tara didn’t like the look of the situation so she grabbed her board and paddled out to them. One of the ladies was dealing with a cramp and was exhausted. Tara put the lady on her surfboard and swam them both in.
Tara Ann Tiedemann is from Wisconsin. Even as a small girl, she loved all water- related sports and fishing with her family. As a teenager, she became certified through the American Red Cross as a pool lifeguard. In 2014, she visited Costa Rica for the first time and volunteered at the Flutterby House. She fell in love with Costa Ballena and surf is now part of her daily schedule. In 2017, she started training with the Costa Ballena Lifeguards and in December of 2017 she and her colleagues became certified lifeguards at the Costa Rican Coastguard Academy in Quepos.
Tara has her own tourist business and is an “on-call” lifeguard substituting for her colleagues when they are off. “I love training with the boys, who have accepted me as a girl and who are like brothers for me. They have taught me a lot of skills and their positive mindset has always been “you can do it!”
“Security comes first for YOU! Look at the tide charts, don´t swim when the tide is going out. Swim near the lifeguard tower, where we can see you!” For our hard working Guardavidas Costa Ballena Lifeguards financial security is also paramount. The team is mostly funded by business donations and the community and there needs to be a steady flow of funds to pay their salaries. Please consider donating today!
By Dagmar Reinhard
CONTACT: FB Tara Tiedemann - @surfingsirena – Instagram
FB GuardavidasCostaBallena/ - DONATIONS: PAY PAL: http://www.lifeguardscostaballena.com/
