Comments on: How to Escape a Riptide

By: ProSimsor

ProSimsor — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:42:06 +0000

Swimmers should be aware rips flow in a circular motion meaning that it’s possible to swim against a rip whilst swimming parralel to the shore. So the most important thing to remember is, don’t swim against the rip.

Even if the rip pulls you away from the shore, it should also push you back to the shore once you complete the circle.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 17:10:26 +0000

Keep an eye on your children. I was a lifeguard, in S. California for several years. Kids love to throw objects, like those new flip-flops, into the surf and watch them wash back to shore. Trouble is, the toys tend to wash laterally with the side current, towards the rip. Kids follow them. Next thing you know, the toy doesn’t wash back and the child is drawn out to retrieve it. Presto! Kid in the rip. The current in water rip channel tears up the sand bottom, making foot traction difficult. Happens all the time. Rips on sandy beaches move around with the tide, wind and swell direction, too.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:22:29 +0000

My son and I got caught in a rip while vacationing in Puerto Rico this past January. I am still upset at myself for not catching the signs earlier but thankful I was out swimming with my teenager because he didn’t know what to do (or not do) and may very well have drowned.

We had been swimming in that area before but it was more calm. Once the waves picked up, it created a flash rip and it was so strong from there being a deep drop off or gutter like Brad above mentioned. We tried to swim out of it at first but it was too strong and that is a shitty feeling my friends…

Luckily we are strong swimmers and were able to stay afloat (back floating to save strength) until I could holler at a surfer nearby and we hitched a ride to shore. I won’t go out in the ocean and try body surfing again. Much rather work on my surfing skills and although I suck, at least it’s a floatation device.

Great article and the pics are very helpful. Thank you.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:50:03 +0000

As counter-intuitive as it sounds, why the big hurry to get back to shore? It’s salt water. I’m relatively muscular and lean and I can float in salt water with very little effort. Once you’re out past the wave breaks (which you will be if the rip current pulls you out there), you’re not going anywhere in a hurry, so just relax and start swimming at an angle back to shore. There’s a stroke my Dad taught me where you’re on your back and frog kick. As your legs come together, your hands come from over your head and as your legs are thrusting your hands are pulling. As you rebend your legs, keeping your arms and hands in close (less drag) move your hands back over your head. If you do this in a lazy manner it’s essentially the same level of effort as walking. It’s not as fast as a freestyle, but you can swim with this stroke for hours. Take your time and you’ll eventually end up back on shore. When you get close to shore, try to stay on top. Even as the water underneath is going out, the water on top is coming in.

By: Shane

Shane — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:41:28 +0000

Great article. I hope that someone read this and learned from it. Take it from someone who has been in this situation, it is horrific!

By: Days and Adventures

Days and Adventures — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:39:17 +0000

Nice advice. You may have just saved some lives!

By: thehuhman

thehuhman — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:31:24 +0000

Good article! I live near the coast of North Carolina, and we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But, as with any coast there are hazards. Many of our beaches have become notorious for their deadly riptides. They are so common along the “Crystal Coast” that the riptide risk has become part of our daily local weather forecasts! Our lifeguards use a flag warning system, and it is a good idea to know how to read them (and to obey the lifeguards!) http://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/pdfs/Residents-VisitorsGuide.pdf

By: Brad

Brad — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:10:29 +0000

Here in Australia we have always merely called them rips. I was taught at a young age what to look out for and have passed that onto my daughter.All very good advice in this article, though I would add that some of the most dangerous rips form where there are deep gutters close to the shoreline, between a sandbank & the shore, as there is a lot more water there waiting to head back out to sea.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:07:44 +0000

Perry, colloquial language is here to stay, and it’s not really concerned with accuracy as much as it is poetics. The educated/professionals will dutifully continue to point out that the colloquial term isn’t accurate, and tell us why, but it’s difficult to change a catchy phrase until it wears itself out. Those things follow socio-linguistic forces, not academic ones. Brett does the correct thing by bowing to the correct term, then returning to the colloquial use, because he is writing to a general audience.

Most people don’t know the difference between currents and tides anyway, and the distinction is of little concern to them; neither is it the writer’s point.

Next someone will be telling me I should abandon the highly-romantic and evocative “starfish” for the pitiful and committee-generated “sea star,” because “they aren’t really fish, you know.” Yeah, I know. They aren’t really stars, either.

Cheers, All

By: J.C.

J.C. — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:01:40 +0000

A good article, and important for people who live by/visit the ocean. We’ve had two deaths from rip currents on the Outer Banks this month.