Rip current safety: how to spot one at Australian beaches

Rip current safety comes down to three habits: swim between the red and yellow flags, learn what a rip looks like, and know what to do if one takes you. Scientists say rips are the main cause of drowning and rescues on surf beaches, and Professor Rob Brander of UNSW estimates about 17,000 of them are present on Australian beaches at any given time.

Summer swimming season is about to begin, so this guide sets out the signs to look for and the steps to take, in plain words.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019); Brander, Don't get sucked in by the rip this summer (The Conversation, 2 January 2014).

What a rip current is

A rip is a strong, narrow current of water that flows away from the shore through the surf zone. Waves push water up the beach. That water has to get back out to sea, and it takes the easiest route.

The easiest route is usually a deeper channel between two sandbars. Waves break on the shallow sandbars, so there is lots of whitewater there. They break less in the deeper channel, so the water flows out through it, like a narrow river. Not every beach has rips, but if waves are breaking across a wide surf zone, there could be one.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019).

Why rips are dangerous

Rips can look like the calmest part of the water. Because of that, many people walk in right where the rip is. The scientists who wrote a 2019 guide for young readers say rips can flow faster than 2 metres a second, which is as fast as some Olympic swimmers. They say a rip can move a person the length of a football field in about a minute.

You do not feel much, because you are just going with the flow. People often only notice when they are a long way from the sand. Many then panic and swim hard against the current, which uses up their energy.

Two myths are worth dropping. A rip is not an undertow, and it will not pull you under the water. It also will not carry you out to sea forever. Most rips take swimmers out as far as the breaking waves, and a little beyond, and then they stop.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019).

Swim between the red and yellow flags

The best way to avoid a rip is to swim at a patrolled beach, between the red and yellow flags. The 2019 guide says that in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, safe areas are marked by a pair of red and yellow flags, and the rule is to always swim between them. Lifeguards are there to watch the water and can reach you fast if you get into trouble.

Look for the flags before you unpack. If a beach has no flags and no patrol, think twice about swimming. The 2019 guide gives a simple rule for those days: if in doubt, do not go out. It also suggests staying no deeper than waist height, and keeping your feet on the sand, if you do go in.

Read the signs at the beach as well. A sign can show where a rip tends to form, and it can warn you about other hazards.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019).

How to spot a rip

Rips can change shape and place quickly, and they are not always easy to see. Take a few minutes to watch the water before you go in. Look for these signs:

• A gap of darker, deeper water where fewer waves are breaking.
• Calm-looking water running out to sea between two areas of whitewater.
• A bumpy or different surface texture on the water.
• Foam, seaweed, debris or sandy-coloured water moving out beyond the waves.

You will not see every sign every time. A handy trick is to find where waves break steadily, then look to each side for a patch where they do not. That patch may be a rip. Stay out of it.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019).

What to do if you are caught in a rip

Knowing your options helps you escape a rip. Start with these steps:

1. Stay calm. Panic wastes energy. The rip will not pull you under.
2. Raise an arm. On a patrolled beach, this tells lifeguards you need help. Other swimmers or surfers may also see you.
3. Float. You can float with the current until it releases you. Research suggests rips often bring swimmers back toward the shore in the end.
4. Swim across, not against. If you are not getting anywhere, swim parallel to the shore or toward the breaking waves, and use the waves to help you in.

Do not try to swim straight back to the beach against the current. Rips are generally no wider than about 15 metres, so you only need a short sideways swim to leave it. If one plan is not working, try another until you are rescued or back on the sand.

Sources for this section: Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? (Frontiers for Young Minds, March 2019).

Sources

1. Brander, Don't get sucked in by the rip this summer, The Conversation, 2 January 2014: theconversation.com
2. Pitman, Gallop and Brander, Staying Safe on a Surf Beach: What Are Rip Currents? Frontiers for Young Minds, 6 March 2019: frontiersin.org