SURF Life Saving NSW is urging caution in and around the water during the cool months, after two drownings and a near miss in the Newcastle-Port Stephens area in recent weeks.
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The organisation says it has received extra government funding to improve safety measures in unpatrolled locations - including at the notorious Fingal Spit, where a man died last month.
"Recent drowning tragedies in the Newcastle region have highlighted the dangers of entering the water at unpatrolled locations," Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce said.
"While our volunteer lifesavers and lifeguards do a fantastic job in saving many thousands of lives each year, they can't be everywhere all the time."
It has been a week and a half since 34-year-old Fiji national - and Tamworth resident - Patt Baleisuva was pulled unresponsive from the water at south Newcastle beach on May 20.
The father of three, who was working in Australia to support his wife and children back home, was described as a strong swimmer by his father in a conversation with the Newcastle Herald.
The tragedy came after a man in his 70s died after being pulled unconscious from the water at the infamous Fingal Spit, where he was spending time with family on Easter Sunday.
Then, on May 25, a man was air-lifted to John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition after being pulled unconscious from the water by lifeguards at One Mile Beach.
He was stabilised by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter's critical care team.
Mr Pearce said Surf Life Saving NSW was calling on people to be "particularly cautious during the off-season" and avoid swimming at spots that were not patrolled.
"The new government is providing Surf Life Saving NSW additional funding to help us expand resources in unpatrolled locations," he said.
"We are improving our surveillance capability in these areas such as rolling out more emergency response beacons, including one at Fingal Spit which will be installed in June.
"We are equipping our volunteers with jet skis and emergency response vehicles. It's all part of expanding our emergency response system so we can get on-duty lifeguards and volunteer call-out teams to incidents more quickly in off-season."
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