How to Avoid a Rip Current

Rip current often invokes panic to beachgoers familiar with the term. People often associate rip currents with being pulled out to sea and drowning. But these currents are easy to get out of if you find yourself caught in one and even easier to avoid.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Check a local tide chart. Rips tend to be strongest during high tide or as a tide is going out.

2. Look at the waves. Waves are caused by ocean swells hitting a sandbar or reef, and rip currents occur in the small channels between sandbars or reefs. If there are two distinct spots where waves continually break in close proximity to each other, then you can bet on a rip occurring between them.

3. Look for lines of odd discoloration in the water. While blobs or spots that are darker than the water around them may only indicate either a school of fish or a reflection of scattered cloud shadows, long stretches can indicate where a rip will occur. Because rips occur in a channel or break between 2 sandbars or reefs, the water will appear darker.

4. Extreme or very fast moving rips will actually appear choppy, especially in relation to a calmer ocean. Avoid jumping into sections of water that appear to be churning, have boils or sudden chop. Very fast rips can look and feel like a river.

5. Local knowledge is always your best bet. Ask people familiar with a specific beach about its reputation for having dangerous rips.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that even if you don't see a rip current, they can spontaneously form by collapsing sandbars or extreme tidal changes. Always know your swimming ability before entering the ocean.
• Never swim alone.
• To take the pressure off yourself, swim in sight of a lifeguard.