Despite a distinct lack of surf and rips on the beaches he patrols, one Cairns lifeguard has been crowned Queensland's best.
Jon Murray, 37, has been patrolling beaches in the far north for almost 20 years, racking up more than 38,000 hours on the job.
But on the beaches he works, jellyfish are a bigger hazard than the surf.
"We don't get the rips and waves like our southern counterparts do but we can certainly hold our own when it comes to being a lifeguard," Mr Murray says.
Lifeguard supervisor Jay March says Mr Murray's award is recognition that "there's more to surf lifesaving than being able to surf".
"It's about public safety and we've got a lot more issues up this way than the beaches do down south," Mr March says.
"We've got potentially deadly jellyfish, sharks obviously, and crocodiles too.
"We take all that very seriously and judging from the number of questions we get asked every day, other people are concerned about it."
Lifetime managing syndrome
Mr Murray's two-decade career as a lifeguard has at times been hampered by a rare condition he has lived with since childhood.
Kleine-Levin Syndrome (KLS), sometimes referred to as "sleeping beauty syndrome", is a rare neurological disorder characterised by recurring periods of excessive sleep.
"There are approximately 800 to 1,200 people in the world with it," Mr Murray says.
"My episodes would last between two and three months at a time and I would sleep probably 23/7.
"I wouldn't wake up for an hour straight, I might wake up for five minutes here and 10 minutes there."
Mr Murray says as a teenager and a young adult he used his KLS to push himself toward a healthier lifestyle.
"I just had to learn what my triggers were and minimise and mitigate those," he says.
"For me it was alcohol. Anything more than three or four drinks and I would get KLS, and late nights, so anything past about 2am I'd wake up the next day feeling groggy and KLS would kick in."
In April 2023 Mr Murray will celebrate eight years without a KLS episode.
"I must admit, it's great to be able to have a full year and not fall asleep like that," he says.
'The best job in the world'
Mr March says his younger colleague's dedication to Surf Life Saving Queensland and public safety won him the title of Queensland Lifeguard of the year.
"He's pretty quiet and unassuming but when he gets his teeth into something he's very passionate about it, which he is with lifesaving," he says.
For Mr Murray, being a lifeguard is "the best job in the world".
"I wake up and I get paid to go to the beach and be in the sun," he says.
"One of the first things I used to love doing after waking up from a KLS episode was going for a walk along the beach and feel the sand between my toes.
"That's when I knew I was back on deck and could start knuckling down and getting back to where I was before."
