Understanding rip currents

There has been a recent spate of drownings and near-drowning incidents on the North Coast since the start of the year, highlighting the dangers of the ocean.

The North Coast has some serious rip currents and it is imperative to know what you are dealing with when you go for a swim somewhere on our beautiful, yet dangerous coastline.

“Wherever there are rocks, there will definitely be a rip current,” said KwaDukuza lifeguard supervisor Bongani Xulu.

He said rip currents are formed when a mass of water, the waves, crashes onto the beach.

“That water has to go somewhere, so it goes back out to sea over the sand bank, and that forms a channel or a rip.”

Xulu said people should only swim at a designated swimming beach, when lifeguards are on duty.

“Every beach has a tide board which will give you information on the day’s conditions and you should read that before going for a swim,” he said.

If you know you are not a good swimmer or are not comfortable with the conditions then you should rather stay on the beach.

The National Sea Rescue Institute explains that rips are like a river of current that gets formed by water draining from the beach back out to sea.

Sometimes rip currents move slowly and are not a problem, but in other circumstances with a specific combination of waves and beach profile, rips can move at speeds of up to two metres per second. That is faster than anyone can swim and therefore it is futile to try and fight a rip.

Rips differ every day determined by the size of the swell and the wind.

You can spot a strong rip by looking for water in the surf zone that is a different colour from the surrounding water. Rips are deeper so the colour of the water would be darker. If there is a break in the pattern of the waves or there is isolated choppy water in the surf zone then there is a rip current.

If you are caught in a rip current it is important to stay calm and relax. You are not going to win a fight with the ocean. “All you need to do when you are caught in a rip is to swim parallel to the rip or the shore,” said Xulu.

He said people should know that a rip won’t do anything to you but take you out to behind the waves.

“You just need to relax and go with the flow.”

Rip currents will not pull you under so long as you can tread water or float. You will be safe if you stay calm until you can escape the current and head back to the beach.

“Don’t panic but wave your arm so that the lifeguards can see you need assistance,” said Xulu.

He said most people who get into trouble with a rip current start to panic and then swallow water which makes them even more panicky.

“That’s usually how most drownings take place,” he said.

Before you go out in the water, talk to the lifeguards on duty and ask them where the rip currents are and the safest place to swim.