Study at Auckland's Muriwai Beach shows 78pc of people unable to spot deadly rip

Wednesday, 20 January 2021

How to spot a rip this summer (first published in December 2018).

A new study conducted at a popular but dangerous beach on Auckland's west coast has shown the majority of people are unable to identify a rip.

The study, undertaken by Surf Life Saving New Zealand and beach safety experts, found up to 78 per cent of beachgoers in New Zealand could not spot a rip current in the surf.

Those conducting the study decided to choose Muriwai Beach given its surf conditions.

University of Canterbury coastal geomorphologist Dr Seb Pitman said they saw a “dangerous and well-established” rip moving offshore from the beach and asked people at the beach to point it out.

The study was conducted at Auckland’s Muriwai Beach.

* New Zealand's popular but dangerous swimming beaches

Rips are often mistaken for the safest place to swim because waves don't break in them.

‘The vast majority were unable to do so,” Pitman said.

Pitman said rips are narrow strips of water that start near the beach and move far offshore.

“They commonly occur in deeper channels that are cut between sandbars, which means waves don’t break as much in the rip current – this means that beachgoers often mistake them as the safest areas to swim because the water looks so calm when compared to the breaking waves either side.”

Surf Life Saving New Zealand chief operations officer Adam Wooler said rips accounted for about 80 per cent of rescues each year.

Many of the rescues are needed because people don't know how to spot a rip, he said.

SLSNZ said on average, five people drown in rips at New Zealand beaches every year and a further 700 people require rescuing.

As part of the study, people were also asked to identify a rip in a photograph – as this is a main way people are taught about rips.

This found two thirds of people who were able to see a rip in the photos couldn’t pick it out in real life.

Wooler said it was a real concern and showed the way people were educated about rips may need to change in the future.

“It also reiterates that the best way to stay safe at the beach this summer is to choose a lifeguarded beach and swim between the flags.”