Leighton 'Jongo' Sanderson displays two of his several inflated motor vehicle tyre tubes which he rents to patrons at Hellshire Beach in Portmore, St Catherine. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Leighton 'Jongo' Sanderson is no stranger to rough seas - economic or otherwise. The 32-year-old self-appointed lifeguard at Hellshire Beach, St Catherine, has found a way to keep 'financially afloat' by renting inflated motor vehicle tyre tubes to visitors at the popular attraction.

Swimmers, and non-swimmers alike, use the tubes to help them float freely in the water without fear of sinking.

For nearly two decades, Sanderson has made his daily voyage from the cool of hills of Belvedere, St Andrew to the sun-kissed beach in St Catherine.

"A 15 years now me a do it ... and me meet a whole heap a people out here," the lanky 'entrepreneur' said. He explained that the idea to use the discarded inner tubes of tyres as an added beach attraction was born out of necessity.

Sanderson said he had to fend for himself from an early age and always sought out opportunities to make an honest living.

"Mi and a friend come beach one day ... and the idea just come to me," he said.

Since then, the street-smart Sanderson has seen his enterprise grow and develop into a way of keeping his head above water.

"Yeah, mon ... a $100 a hour me charge fi rent one tube," he said. "But sometimes yuh can't hold out on the price, 'cause people nuh have it."

Sanderson, who now resides with his girlfriend in Waterhouse, St Andrew, since he lost his house on the beach to fire nearly two years ago, said he got a further setback a few weeks ago when he lost a stack of tubes to vandalism. But even with the losses, he is still able to help to take care of his one-year-old daughter.

"Me a do mi best fi take care a her," he said. "Me nuh want she struggle like me." And that motivation has become the driving force behind the business.

However, it is far from smooth sailing, as he now faces undercurrent from such competing inflatable plastic toys that children take with them to the beach and the decrease in availability of the inner tubes, since manufacturers have introduced tubeless tyres to the market.

"Me used to have 30 to 40 tubes for rent ... but now is only 11 me have," he said. "Dem hard fi get 'cause the tyres a come tubeless."

Safer tyres

Tubeless tyres are considered to be safer as, in the event of a puncture, the air escapes slowly through the hole in the tyre. On the other hand, a damaged inner tube could explode like a balloon, resulting in rapid deflation which could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

With the tubeless tyres on the market, Sanderson said the price of an inner tube has doubled over the years since he first started the business.

"Me used to pay $500 for a tube ... now, it can run all $1,000," Sanderson said. These he scouts from tyre shops across the city, as well as from persons who search the Riverton City dump for items they can sell.

Scarcity of the product has, therefore, pushed Sanderson into new waters - that of introducing such value-added services as body massages and reflexology to the beachcombers.

"This Chinese lady who came to the beach a couple time taught me ... now I know all the pressure points," he said.

The self-appointed lifeguard, who is also equipped with lookout post to shield him from the sun, said he has been called to action at least once, when a man fell off a jet ski and had to be rescued.

"Him did have on life jacket and did a drown ... is one of mi tubes mi use save him," Sanderson said.

"The tube dem very safe ... nuhbody never drown off dem yet," he boasted.

Sanderson said that he has no immediate plans to give up his tube business but he is still waiting on his ship to come in.

"Mi still a look fi better ... and when it come, mi haffi move," he said.

brian.bonitto@gleanerjm.com