Rip Currents Spot Them. Respect Them. Know What To Do.
Rip currents are powerful channels of water moving away from the shore. They can catch out swimmers, surfers and experienced water users surprisingly quickly.
If lifeguards are present, alert them immediately.
What Is a Rip Current?
When waves break onto a beach, water needs a route back towards deeper water. In some places that returning water becomes concentrated into a stronger channel flowing away from the shoreline.
That channel is a rip current. It may look calmer than the breaking waves around it, which is one reason people can accidentally enter one without realising.
A rip transports water back towards deeper water.
Some rips can move faster than even very strong swimmers.
Larger waves can produce more powerful currents.
Swimming directly against the rip can rapidly exhaust you.
Water In. Water Out.
Breaking waves push water towards the beach. That water doesn't simply stay there, it flows back towards the sea.
Where that returning water becomes concentrated, a faster-moving channel can form.
Waves push water towards the shoreline.
Water collects close to the beach.
A channel carries that water back out.
A Rip Current Is Not an Undertow
The main danger is being carried away from the shoreline and becoming exhausted or panicked while trying to swim directly back against the current.
How to Spot a Rip Current
Rips can be difficult to identify and they don't always look the same. Take time to watch the water before entering and ask a lifeguard if you're unsure.
A Different Colour
A channel may sometimes appear darker because the water is deeper, or look different from the water around it.
A Gap in Breaking Waves
A calmer-looking gap between areas of breaking surf can sometimes indicate a channel of water moving seaward.
Churning Water
Look for sections of choppy, rippled or disturbed water travelling through the surf zone.
Foam or Debris Moving Out
Foam, seaweed or floating debris travelling steadily away from shore can reveal the direction of the current.
Don't Fight It. Do This Instead.
The immediate goal is to avoid exhaustion, stay afloat and get yourself out of the strongest part of the current.
Stay Calm
Don't immediately try to sprint-swim straight back towards the beach.
Wade, Don't Swim
If your feet can reach the bottom, wading may be safer than swimming.
Swim Parallel
Swim across the current, parallel to the shoreline, until you are free of the rip.
Float to Live
Lean back, regain control of your breathing and conserve your energy.
Signal for Help
Raise an arm and shout loudly so lifeguards or people on shore can see you.
Float to Live.
If you can't escape the current or become exhausted, stop fighting the water and focus on staying afloat.
See a Rip Current in Action
Rip currents make much more sense once you can see how water moves through the surf zone. Watch the guide before heading into unfamiliar water.
Reduce the Risk Before You Enter.
Choosing a lifeguarded beach gives you access to trained lifeguards who understand where hazards such as rip currents are developing.
Ask the lifeguards about local conditions if you're unsure.
These mark the swimming and bodyboarding area on lifeguarded beaches.
Swell, wind and tide can significantly change currents around a beach.
At the coast, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
DON'T FIGHT THE RIP.
Stay calm. Wade if you can stand. Swim parallel if able. Float if you're struggling and raise your hand for help.