What are they?
A strong forceful current heading back out to sea from the shore is known as a rip current. Think of them as a river in the sea, but flowing out to sea. It’s water that heads towards the shore, generated by the waves, wind and the tide. It has to return back out to sea, the channels where the water is sucked back out are the ride currents.
How To Handle Rip Current
If you find yourself in a rip current the first thing you shouldn’t do is panic as you’ll be wasting your energy and you want to be able to hold your breath if needs be. Also don’t paddle or swim against it as you’ll tire easily. The key to getting out of a rip current is to paddle or swim parallel to the shore towards where you see waves rolling in. Rip currents don’t tend to be very wide so you should be able to paddle or swim out of them. Stay calm and work with the ocean not against it.
Key Signs of a Rip Current
- Waves don’t fully break in the rip current and water looks rough as if it’s heading out to sea.
- You may notice debris or even surfers being sucked out to sea with minimum effort.
- Rip currents are often darker in the colour of the water due to unsettling the sediment at the bottom.