How to spot a rip at the beach - and how to escape from one

Monday, 28 December 2015

It is shaping up to be a dangerous season on the water, with several deaths and close calls on New Zealand beaches already this summer.

Lifesavers are urging swimmers to make their jobs easier by learning how to recognise a rip before stepping into one.

During a warm evening last week, five teenagers had to be rescued near Christchurch's Taylors Mistake Beach after getting trapped in a rip.

Shortly after they were rescued, another four teenagers – who lifeguards said had watched them save the previous group – became trapped in the same rip, and also had to be rescued.

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Rips could appear out of nowhere and become active for just minutes, which was what made them so deadly, Surf Life Saving New Zealand services and education manager Allan Mundy said.

As you walked out into the surf, you could use your toes to feel the warning signs, he said.

A ripple pattern on the sand beneath your feet in the water – what the experts described as 'scalloping – an undulating sea floor, and a 'sucking' feeling around your hips were all signs a rip current was about to begin, Mundy said.

If you walked into the water and felt a sudden drop, it was a clue a strong current would be present.

Swimmers should take that as a warning sign to step back on to the shelf and stay in the shallows, Mundy said. 

'If you step into a deep hole that is definitely the start of a rip.'

In Christchurch, Taylors Mistake and Sumner beaches would likely be hotspots for swimmers this summer.

Both beaches had a mixture of fixed rips – which were always there – and flash rips, which came out of nowhere.

Patrol captain Naomi Darvill said learning how to spot a rip was the best way to stay safe.

'Consistently we've been doing rescues in the same spots,' Darvill said.

'[Swimmers] do the classic mistake of going where it looks the most calm – which is where the rip is.'

A clear sign of a rip was a stretch of calm water with waves breaking around it, she said.

It was common for swimmers to end up in trouble after-hours, when the flags were not up to warn them away from danger, she said.

If someone found themselves trapped in a rip, Darvill's advice was simple.

'Don't panic, is the main thing. Rips don't go out as far as you might think – they only go out as far as the last breaking wave.

'So if you relax and let it take you out, you can swim parallel to the shore and come back in.'