To survive a rip current, stay calm
When Robert Brander talks to people who have survived rip currents, he often finds they were so terrified, they won't go near the ocean again.
But this week, as he meet with area lifeguards, he said it doesn't have to be that way.
Brander, an expert on rip currents and professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, said he hopes to learn more about peoples' experiences with rip currents by asking them to visit a website and fill out a short form.
So far, about 1,000 people have done so in Australia and 300 in the United States.
Rip currents form as water builds up along the shoreline. As the water escapes, it retreats like a fast moving river.
Big swells from offshore storms often can set up conditions favorable for the formation of rip currents. But in storms like Hurricane Arthur – at least in Delaware – rip currents weren't much of a problem because almost no one was in the water as the storm passed by.
The worse-case scenario, said Wendy Carey, the University of Delaware sea grant coastal specialist, is a beautiful summer day when an offshore storm produces swells.
The National Weather Service estimates that about 80 percent of ocean rescues performed by lifeguards are because of rip currents.
Often, Brander said, people don't realize they are in a rip current until they look back at land and see how far from the beach they are.
The best strategy, he said, is to ride the current of water out and not panic.
Other strategies include swimming parallel to the shoreline to break out of the current, which is flowing perpendicular to the beach.
Carey said the information Brander is gathering with his online survey can help researchers and lifeguards in the United States learn which outreach efforts about rip currents are working.
"We want to evaluate the effectiveness of the Break the Grip of the Rip campaign," she said. The key question: "are we having an impact?"
Brander said learning more about how people react in a rip current really can help target education.
"Rips can be avoided so easily," he said. People "shouldn't go to beaches without at least thinking about rip currents ... I just want people to think about it."
Rip currents form in oceans all over the world.
And Thursday, as Carey and Brander looked out over the ocean just south of Indian River Inlet, they noticed a few small rips – especially close to the inlet jetty. It was a calm afternoon.
Carey said just raising awareness can have a huge impact. She likened it to preparing for a storm. First you educate people about the hazard, then focus on prevention and finally you train lifeguards in intervention, she said.
For Brander the key is assessing conditions at the beach. For instance in Delaware, big swells can be a formula for the formation of rip currents. But swimming near jetties or inlets also can be trouble spots.
"The average beachgoer doesn't know how to spot rips," he said.
Brander is the author of "Dr. Rip's Essential Beach Book: Everything You Need to Know About Surf, Sand and Rips."
His recommendations are to check conditions before you get to the beach. Once there, assess the conditions and then ask lifeguards if they've noticed rip currents forming. Just being aware of the situation can make a huge difference, he said.
"We're preaching avoidance," he said.
And Carey said many vacationers are unfamiliar with breaking waves and are too dependent on flotation devices like boogie boards.
In surveys so far, Brander has found many people on boogie boards who get caught in a rip, panic and let go of the board.
Instead, they should hang on and ride the current out and then signal that they need help, he said.
"Plan before you go to the beach. Swim at a life-guarded beach," Carey said.
Reach Molly Murray at(302) 463-3334 or mmurray@delawareonline.com
Follow her on Twitter @MollyMurraytnj.
Learn more
To tell your rip-current survivor experience go to: www.ripcurrentsurvey.com
Beach conditions that cause rip currents along the Delaware-Maryland ocean coast:
• Large, messy waves and strong northeast winds combine to push more water onto the beach
• Water is channeled into areas with inlets and rock or wood jetties
While rip currents occur all over the world, inland waters like the Delaware Inland Bays and Maryland Coastal Bays don't have problems with them nor does Delaware Bay.