101 On Rip Currents - Everything You Should Know

More than 80% of water rescues on surf beaches are due to rip currents, as the leading surf hazard for all beachgoers. Rip currents can occur at any surf beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes. The more you learn about them, the better. As a surfer, its important to respect the ocean and recognize its power. Here are some tips on what to look for and what to do if you get caught in one.

Rip current warning signs in Dutch, English, French and German near the beach in Scheveningen, the Netherlands. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A rip current is a suction of water that pulls you away from the sand into open and deeper water. Rip currents are the leading surf hazard for all beachgoers. Their speeds are typically 1-2 feet per second. However, speeds as high as 8 feet per second have been measured – this is faster than an Olympic swimmer can sprint! Thus, rip currents can sweep even the strongest swimmer out to sea.

A rip current is a horizontal current. They do not pull people under the water, but rather they people away from shore. Drowning deaths occur when people pulled offshore are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore. This may be due to any combination of fear, panic, exhaustion, or lack of swimming experience.

Rip Current Diagram, Wiki Media Commons

There are 3 main components to a rip current, which include the FEEDER(S), the NECK and the HEAD (diagram above). As waves approach, they will break along the sandbars (shaded light blue) then finally impact the beach (shaded brown). After contacting the beach zone the water becomes trapped by the sandbars, thus finds the path of least resistance, accelerated by gravity back to the ocean. This path is usually a break between two sandbars, as shown in the diagram. The current becomes focused between the sandbars, thus increases in speed seaward. Eventually the seaward component of the rip will lose speed and disperse in the head area.

How to get out of a rip current:

#1- DON’T try to swim directly back to the sand where you entered the water.

#2- Do not panic; panicking runs the risk of you losing all motor function. You have to remain calm. Clear thinking is the only way to survive.

#3- Swim parallel to the shore so you can escape the pull out. The ocean has lateral currents that move up and down the shoreline, so it’s very important to recognize this. If other swimmers are drifting along the shore this is your clue on what direction to swim. If the drift is moving from left to right, swim in that direction. If the drift is moving from right to left, swim in that direction. The movement of the drift will push you out of the current more easily.

#4- Once you have swam out of the current the pull of the rip current will decrease. Now is where you can start to swim back into the beach. Body surfing in the waves will also help push you into the shore.

: Notice the line of foam and channel of churning water. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

To identify a rip current, look for any of these clues before entering the water:

- A channel of churning, choppy water

- An area having a notable difference in water color

- A line of foam, seaweed, or debris moving steadily seaward

- A break in the incoming wave pattern

Thanks for taking Rip Currents 101; class dismissed! Happy surfing!

Alex Smith (5 Posts)

Currently a sophomore at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY majoring in Management & Business. College tennis player, and all around sports enthusiast!