Rip Currents Print

When a rip current catches you, be cool, and escape. If a rip catches you, move out of it on a course parallel to the beach. The rip zone is narrow, and you will be out of it in less than a minute. Don’t try to swim back to shore against the rip — it can exhaust (and kill) the strongest swimmers. Another alternative is to let the current carry you out through the surf zone where the rip usually degenerates into a big lazy plume. Then you can swim back to shore well away from the narrow rip current. Pass this information on. The life you save may be a relative – especially a young relative. Train the children. Explain rip currents to them, train them to recognize these seashore killers. And teach them to swim. Until they can handle themselves in the ocean their safety is totally up to you.