Rip Currents: How to Survive the Deadliest Ocean's Trick

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Hey going to the beach well listen up this phenomenon takes hundreds of lives each year but only 5% of people know about it any experienced lifeguard will warn you about a deadly phenomenon that claims the lives of more than 100 American beach goers every year in fact about 80% of all rescues that lifeguards make have a connection to this danger no it's not sharks or poisonous jellyfish or anything like that the most treacherous thing that can happen to you in the ocean is a totally natural phenomenon called a rip current we're going to tell you everything you need to know about it in order to stay safe in ocean waters what is a rip current and how is it so deadly a rip is basically a strong current on the surface of the ocean that flows away from the shore different factors can cause a rip current to form for instance if wave heights change too rapidly a rip will usually appear this type of current can show up near pierce voting docks and groins not the bodily kind but the structures built to protect the shore from erosion that go by the same name also when there are some breaks and sandbars water returns to the ocean through these channels this usually happens near the beach and creates extremely strong rip currents that can stay in the same place for weeks or even months but in any case the main ingredient for all rip currents is breaking waves if there are no breaking waves you don't have to worry about any rips the main danger of a rip is that it flows seaward away from the shore so it can easily pull unaware swimmers with it how dangerous a rip can be depends on the weather the shape of the beach tides and other factors average rip currents move at a speed of about one to two feet per second but if a current is particularly strong it can pull you out into the open ocean at an astonishing eight feet per second even the best Olympic swimmer out there wouldn't be able to get back to the shore against such a mighty current what's worse tend to gain speed dramatically over a short period of time a lot of beachgoers who can't swim prefer to stay in waist-deep water because they feel safe when their feet are touching the bottom but they're no safer from rip currents because a rip can easily sweep you off your feet and yank you away from the shore and if you can't swim this can end tragically there are all kinds of misconceptions surrounding rip currents one of the most popular is that they'll pull you underwater but in reality a rip won't drown you it'll simply carry you away from shore whoo that's a relief I guess another widespread myth is that if you get caught in a rip current it'll keep pulling you out into the ocean forever again not quite yes a rip can pull you quite far into open waters but even in the worst case scenario you won't find yourself miles away from the shore you'll probably just have to swim a pretty long way to get back to the beach it's also entirely possible and quite probable that the RIP itself will bring you back and that's because 90% of rip currents move in gigantic circles this means that they flow from the shallow waters to the open ocean and then back again there's also a misconception that if you don't see a rip current you don't need to worry but these things can totally form out of the blue like if several waves coming from different directions crash into each other boom you now have a Riptide so if the beach you're visiting is infamous for rip currents always be extra cautious how to identify a rip current going off that last note in order to be extra careful and safe at the beach you need to know how to spot a rip current it often looks like a calm patch of water between breaking waves which at first glance seems like the best place to enter the water but don't let the tranquility deceive you because you might inadvertently pick the most dangerous place to swim the following signs can also indicate the presence of a rip current some area has a deeper darker color than the rest of there's a break in the coming waves there's seaweed and foam moving toward the shore from the ocean you see an area of choppy water what to do if you've been caught in a rip current when a person gets caught in a rip their actions determine their fate period the first thing you absolutely must do is stay calm panicking does not help in fact it ends up costing people their lives when they're overcome by it second you need to conserve energy do not attempt to swim against the rip current toward the shore even the weakest rips move faster than you can swim if you try to fight the current you'll just expend all your energy and strength which will lead to tragic consequences as we already mentioned the vast majority of rip currents move in huge circles they typically flow 160 to 300 feet offshore and then come back around but still associate professor Rob Brander whose field of research is rip currents and beach hazards and safety measure drips that went up to 1,300 feet away from the shore doctor Brander also established that there isn't just one overarching escape strategy from a rip current you should take into consideration the conditions and the RIP features the best thing you can do is stay afloat remember to hold your hands up to get the lifeguards attention and signal that you need help after that you have two options if the RIP is circulating it will eventually bring you back either to a sand bank or to breaking waves that'll take you back to shore it could also just take you seaward until there are no more breaking waves at that point the current ceases to exist and you can wait for rescuers or even swim back to the shore just make sure you're swimming around the rip the second option will only work for really good swimmers if you're one of them you can try to swim parallel to the beach to get out of the current in some cases it's possible to break free this way but this is still a subject of ongoing debate dr. Jamie McMahon a professor of Oceanography was once caught in a rip current himself well he wasn't really caught but put himself in one at his own free will as a rip current expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey California he decided to research rip currents from the inside and record a safety video for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at one point while he was trapped in the current he tried to follow life-saving guidelines and swim parallel to the shore but realized he couldn't do it because the RIP wasn't giving in dr. McMahon is very experienced with this sort of stuff which is why he wasn't in any immediate danger but the situation made him think perhaps trying to reach the beach swimming parallel to it isn't the best escape strategy he started his own research using GPS devices to track rip currents in France England and the US on top of that he himself has eagerly jumped into rips all over the globe talk about dedication to your work among the great number of currents he studied only 10 to 20 percent did not return back to the shore the rest of them moved in circles so if you get trapped in a rip you can't really know where it's flowing therefore swimming parallel to the beach leaves you with a 50/50 chance that you'll be struggling against the hazardous current the conclusions he made based on his research are certainly different from what most people are told according to dr. McMahon when caught in a rip current you should just relax and go with the flow he says that chances are it'll bring you back to the shore in a few minutes McMahon's research has definitely sparked a number of heated discussions within the rip current research community and while his findings are used in Australia to teach people how to survive dangerous rips in some countries his conclusions and recommendations are ignored or even considered potentially fatal in any case the main reason why people lose their lives when stuck in a rip current comes down to panic when they find themselves suddenly being pulled away from the shore at a high speed terror ensues they start to panic wear themselves out in the fight and drowned because of it what you should do instead is stay calm take control of the situation keep afloat weigh your options and don't exhaust yourself if you take these steps you'll have a much better chance of getting out of this horrible situation alive so have you ever seen or been caught in a Riptide what would you do or have you done to escape one let us know about your experiences and opinions on the topic in the comments below we hope this life-saving information has been useful for you and if it has give the video a like and send it to everyone you know stay safe out there and we'll see you next time you

Channel: Survival Tips

Views: 610,791

Rating: 4.7217045 out of 5

Keywords: Ship, Health, Fish, Fishing, Dangerous Situation, Dangerous, Emergency Situation, Emergency, Raft, Boat, Rescue Team, Rescue, Swimming, Swim, Security, Safety, Keep Safe, Stay Alive, Adrift, Floating, Float, Water, Open Water, Ocean, Sea, Survive at sea, Ultimate Guide, Survival Skills, Survival Guide, Survive, Survival Tips, Rip Current, Survival, Current, Riptide, Tide

Id: w8eIcPDlHJY

Length: 10min 7sec (607 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 21 2018