It’s Rip Current Awareness Week. Surfers all over the world know the rip current can be both a blessing and a curse. Click here or our educational video on Rip Currents given by our in house lifeguard Michael. Sometimes referred to simply as “rip” or by the incorrect term “rip tide”, rip currents are responsible for more than 100 deaths annually on US beaches and cause more than 80% of US beach rescues required each year, according to NOAA and the US Lifesaving Association. On a surfboard, a rip current can be the helpful force that carries you out beyond the break and keeps you from getting caught inside, but if you aren’t on a board or if you don’t know how to navigate the current when it’s strong enough to suck you away from shore, it can be deadly. ‘ Thus, it is important, when on a surf vacation, to know and understand better how to identify rip currents, how to avoid rip currents and get out of them if you or someone you see is in trouble.
Unlike an undertow, which pulls you under the water, rip currents run perpendicular to shore along the top of the water. They can be short or long (some as long as 2500 feet), and are about 20-40 feet wide. This narrow current, often found on beach breaks between sandbars and the shoreline but also found in places like point and pier breaks, can be very helpful to surfers who are adept at spotting, using, and getting out of the current, but they can very easily catch swimmers, children, and inexperienced surfers off guard and result in a scary incident.
You can spot a rip current by looking for narrow, sandy streaks in the ocean between shore and the sandbar. If you are not experienced at using the current and find yourself caught in it unexpectedly, the best thing you can do is stay calm and think. Paddle parallel to shore but don’t exhaust yourself. If you don’t make any progress, float and let the current carry you beyond the sandbar. The water is milder there, and you can ride the waves back in to shore.
When attempting to use the rip current as a means of getting beyond the sandbar on a surfboard, the best thing you can be is aware. Be aware of your skill level and ability as a surfer and a swimmer. Be aware of the ocean conditions and the strength of the current. And be aware of others in the water with you.