How to Escape a Rip Current

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By Ellis Christina
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warning sign

Far more people are killed each year trying to fight off a rip current (rip tide) than are killed by sharks.

What is a rip current. A rip current is formed as waves disperse along the beach, causing water to become trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other structure. Gravity pulls the trapped water out. If you are caught in it, you go out with it. If you accidentally find yourself in such a situation, there are 3 steps to remember.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Stay Calm
Focus on what you need to do

Step 1

REMAIN CALM. It will not pull you under. DO NOT swim against it.
Step 2

SWIM OUT OF THE CURRENT. Since the currents are relatively narrow, you can escape the flow by swimming PARALLEL to the shore until you break free, THEN swim DIAGONALLY toward the shore.
Step 3

FLOAT IF YOU CANNOT SWIM out of the current. Float until it dissipates, then swim diagonally toward the shore or float and call for help, if you can't call then wave for help.

Tips & Warnings

Know how to swim
Always be cognizant of where the shore line is, high tide/low tide, winds
In general you need to know if there is a strong ocean current (not rip current) in the area you are and which direction it is traveling. For example, let's say there is a strong ocean current traveling from north to south and you were swept out by a rip current. In that case, you would want to swim parallel to the south and then diagonally to the shore. If you swam parallel to the north (1) you would have a harder time swimming against the ocean current and (2) if you did succeed to break free, the north to south current could possibly still take you into the rip current again.
Never swim alone
You could be swept out and drown -- IF IN DOUBT DON'T GO OUT
Warning signs are for a reason -- why take the risk