With the beach season heating up, lifeguards are climbing into lookout chairs across the Island.

But for some towns, hiring hasn’t been easy. No municipality has struggled more than West Tisbury. Lambert’s Cove Beach will be without lifeguards for the start of summer due to a lack of applicants. As of Wednesday, the up-Island town hadn’t had a single person apply for the job and beach sticker buyers were being alerted to the lack of guards.

“We are still advertising and looking,” said town administrator Jen Rand, “but right now we’ve got nothing.” 

Lifeguards have long manned the Island’s shorelines, but several beach managers said finding guards has become difficult in recent years, especially with the high cost of housing. In Edgartown and Chilmark, both of which hire more than a dozen lifeguards every year, all of the guards either already have a house here or are living with family. 

Lambert's Cove Beach has no lifeguards at the start of the season.

Ray Ewing

Lambert's Cove Beach has no lifeguards at the start of the season.

Ray Ewing

“I’m lucky it’s a lot of families,” said Martina Mastromonaco, the Chilmark beach superintendent. “None of my staff had a housing problem, because they are all living with their families.” 

Guards were out training on South Beach in Edgartown this week, practicing rescues in rolling waves up to seven feet high. Chairs were going up on Wednesday and guards were going to be stationed at South Beach and Bend in the Road starting Friday.

Andrew Kelly, an Edgartown parks commissioner, said the town had been able to find 19 guards, down from the hoped for 22 spots.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t fill all the roster,” he said. “It’s getting harder and harder to find lifeguards.” 

Most of the guards end up coming from families who have historically worked on the beaches. Cousins, brothers and sisters all continue the tradition. Mr. Kelly worries about what could happen down the line as this crop of guards gets older. He hoped some day the town could build seasonal housing for public workers. 

“Most of the younger group we have, their parents all have housing,” Mr. Kelly said. “I don’t know of anyone who is actually renting a house here.” 

To battle the hiring struggles, Chilmark hired about 15 guards, and offered widely flexible schedules. Some are summer residents here for a few weeks, others are short-time staff. 

Ms. Mastromonaco also has started sponsoring lifeguard training to get Islanders and seasonal residents into the pipeline. 

“I’ve had the same employees come back year after year,” she said. “I’m hoping the parking guards grow up to be lifeguards.” 

Ms. Mastromonaco commiserated with West Tisbury’s plight, and she hoped the neighboring town could find someone soon. 

“They are doing the best they can,” she said. “Like we all do.”