How to Escape Rip Currents
Image courtesy of Anders Marlowe
Staying Alert While Swimming This Summer
We love spending hot summer days wading in the cool beach waters, especially on Amelia Island in the beautiful state of Florida. Locals and visitors alike take to the beaches to enjoy the sun and fun year-round but not everyone is familiar with the ocean and its potential dangers of rip currents.
What Are Rip Currents?
Rip currents are powerful narrow channels of fast-moving water that are common along the shores of the Great Lakes and the East, Gulf, and West coasts of the United States. They can be very dangerous to those who don’t know how to identify them, or what to do if caught in them. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration roughly 100 people are killed by rip currents annually.
When waves crash onto the beach, gravity pulls the water back out to sea. Most of the water will just run back down the beach, but some of it will gather and rush out in a narrow path. This is what we call a rip current.
Sometimes there are areas where the seafloor is deeper, like a channel between sandbars or near jetties and piers. These deeper spots make a pathway for the water to rush back out to sea. And that rushing water can become a rip current.
Image courtesy of Alex Perz
4 Steps to Escape Rip Currents
Rip currents are not easy to see from the shore, but they can be very dangerous. That’s why it’s important to always be careful when you’re swimming in the ocean.
If you are caught in a rip current, do not panic. Simply follow four simple steps, as laid out by the National Weather Service.
Relax. The current won’t pull you under water.
Do not swim against the current.
Swim parallel to the shore and then out of the current.
If you can’t escape, conserve energy by floating on top of the water and yell or wave to a lifeguard for help.
For general beach safety, always swim near a lifeguard and don’t swim alone.
Image courtesy of Matt Hardy
Tips for Safely Avoiding Rip Currents
To keep our neighbors and visitors safe, here are a few important tips from our experience to help identify rip currents and what to do to avoid them.
Before entering the water at any beach check the warning flags, often posted at the entrance and by the lifeguard stand. A yellow flag means there is a medium level hazard and moderate surf or currents. A red flag means there is a high hazard level and high surf or strong currents. However, this doesn’t indicate if rip currents are present.
One sign of a rip current is a narrow dark gap between areas of breaking waves. Rip currents can be very narrow or measure up to 50 yards or 150 feet wide. One misconception is that rip currents pull you under water which is untrue—they pull you away from the shore. This can be dangerous because these currents can move up to 8 feet per second which is faster than an Olympic swimmer, meaning you won’t be able to out swim them back to shore. Trying to fight against a rip current can exhaust even the most experienced and fit swimmers quickly. So if you are caught in a rip current, remember to stay calm and do not swim against the current.
Visit Timoti’s Seafood Shak
There’s nothing better than ending a fun and safe day at the beach with a trip to Timoti’s Seafood Shak. With locations in Fernandina Beach and Nocatee, you’re never far from delicious, wild-caught seafood.