How to avoid being caught up in a riptide (danger while ocean swimming)

[brentspeak]

A bunch of people have been killed while swimming at Coney Island this past weekend, most probably trapped by riptides.

If you're planning to swim while at the shore, here's some tips on how to avoid getting caught-up in a riptide:

1) Ask the lifeguard on duty if there are any known riptide spots.

2) If caught in a riptide, first, force yourself not to panic (you'll only suck needed energy from yourself). As relaxed as you can, swim either parallel to the shore or on a diagonal to it. Keep swimming along the undercurrent until you feel the current ease. Then (and only then), swim towards the shore. You can also tread water until the riptide carries you outside the breaking waves.

DO NOT TRY TO SWIM AGAINST THE CURRENT!! Attempting to swim straight to the shore while trapped in a riptide is futile; it's how people drown.

3) Stay away from big surfs.

4) Swim with a buddy.

[DS1]

1. Watch the water for a few minutes for objects traveling in loops

if there are no lifeguards to point out riptides.

[RebelOne]

2. I was caught in a riptide on Miami Beach once.

I was fortunate that I was able to swim back to the beach. But my friend and her daughter who were also in the water had to be rescued by the lifeguards.

[brentspeak]

3. I should also add:

If, while swimming parallel or diagonal to the shore, you are still being carried out to sea, again try not to panic; this is normal. Keep swimming parallel or diagonal as you are, and you'll soon be out of the riptide. Don't give in to the temptation of trying to swim against the riptide. Once you're out from the undertow, you'll be able to make it to shore, even if you're further away than you'd like.

[flvegan]

4. Or, just stay out of the ocean.

That's where they keep the sharks.

[taterguy]

7. I only swim with vegan sharks

Sorry, couldn't resist

[Blue Diadem]

5. Good information! Rip currents can also happen elsewhere. Lake Michigan is an example.

Even people wading can be sucked in and it's especially dangerous for little ones.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/indu/rip.htm

[Madrone]

15. I was wondering if these were what this MI girl remembers as an "undertow" -

Undertow is the term I know, from years of swimming at Lake Michigan.

[Blue Diadem]

16. I've heard it called that quite frequently. I didn't know it existed other than the ocean

until we lived in Mi. for a few years. Course, rivers have their own way of fooling people too, where they can look calm but have a strong current underneath.

Snip from the link:

4) Water rushing back into the lake "rips" an opening in the sandbar (much like pulling the plug in a bathtub). Lake Michigan swimmers and beach users often describe a mysterious force that "sucks" or "tows" swimmers under the water. This force is sometimes called an "undertow." In reality, there is no such thing as an undertow. The force that most waders feel pulling at their legs in shallow water is the "BACK WASH" from a wave that has washed up on the beach. This force can cause a person to lose their balance and even fall down in the surf. Small children are particularly at risk from this force. Swimmers and waders near an opening in the sand bar may become caught in the strong flow of the RIP CURRENT and be carried beyond the sandbar to deep water.

[Squatch]

6. I was caught in a rip tide in Nags Head, NC a few years back...

It happened with astonishing speed. Before I knew it, I was 50 yards out to see, thinking "WTF"? It took me a while to get back in (swimming parallel to shore), and even then I was spent.

[kwassa]

8. watch out for shorebreaks, too.

This means the waves are breaking on sand rather than in the water.

Last week saw many injuries, including 10 spinal injuries, on the Delaware beaches. We were there, and saw one kid put on a backboard and ambulance called. The head life guard in Rehoboth said it was the worst week he had seen in his 8 years on the job. Broken ankles, clavicles, etc.

A colleague of mine has a husband permanently disabled from a body-surfing attempt there that broke his neck, years ago.

[brentspeak]

10. Yes, thanks for reminding me about those

[begin_within]

9. Just stay on the boat in the first place.

The ocean water is no place for people.

[Chan790]

11. Can't surf on the boat.

Can't surf in the pool.

Bad waves, shorebreaks and riptides are a part of my life...so is wearing a rash-guard to avoid being skinned against the bottom.

[begin_within]

12. Well if you're a good enough swimmer to go surfing then you already know

how to deal with a riptide.

[MonkeyFunk]

13. Yup! Good advice

I learned to swim in the ocean on the beaches off Long Island. This method was drilled into us from day 1. Don't try to fight the ocean - you won't win. Just casually swim parallel to the shore and get out of the riptide.

[lizziegrace]

14. Lelapin got caught in one a couple years ago in NC

If her father hadn't been within swimming distance, she'd have drowned.

[conscious evolution]

17. Good advice

I would also recommend that anyone spending time in the water learn how to drownproof themselves.
I also HIGHLY recommend swimming lessons for ANYONE who spends time in water.

[pokerfan]

18. Don't panic

That's good advice.

[Critters2]

19. It's good that you posted this, but I gotta wonder...

Is this a big problem in Mason City? Maybe Clear Lake is larger than I realized.

[petronius]

20. Also, watch for areas of browny, silty water

especially if the silty area extends outward in a tongue away from the shoreline...