Got taken in one 2 weeks ago in southern australia. I'm a good swimmer and couldn't make it back even when trying swimming parallel. Started to panic thinking about sharks as i was getting far (about 100m). Calmed down on floating on my back and thinking "ok i'm a fish and i'm in my element" then backstroked a bit less than parallel to beach. Finally got caught in the circular current back to beach... came out extenuated! PANIC is really the main dangerous factor here, your real enemy.
@@jasiahhill3133 What does a rip feel like? No 2 are exactly alike. However, the closest example I can give is a jetted swim forever pool on steroids, where you loose ground and not gain and are really powerless to fight against it. Some rips just pull you out and others can pull you under, though those are less common. When a current is that strong, it is impossible to swim out of. The first time it happened to me, I was pulled out about a half mile. I tried swimming across it, to no avail, so I floated til it was finished. When it finished, I swam with the circuit and I ended up about a mile down the beach. Second one pulled me under and out around 500 yards, then just out about 1/4 mile. Needless to say, I don't want to experience them again.
watching a video just like this out of boredom probably saved me from death.... I went on a trip to LA Serena Chili, didn't look at the danger sigh on the beach. Got into the water. Was just floating for a few minutes, when I look up I was about a 1/4 mile away. I tried to swim directly back to the beach but I wasn't moving. Stayed calm a remember the video I watch. Watch the way the water was moving. Decided to swim parralell to the beach. Was going with the current till it started to pull me back to land. Then I found out people die there all the time. I have so much more respect for the ocean.
I unwittingly took this advice. I remember being caught in a rip in California when I was a kid about 13 or 14. I had no idea what was happening. All I knew was the beach was getting farther and farther away and there was nothing I could do. I waved, tried to get attention of anyone. When that failed I just floated and started crying....and then I noticed the shore starting to get closer again, swam to some breakers and they carried me in....To this day I haven't even told my mom of this. Whole thing happened in a few minutes.
Same here. I was very young, about 14 or 15, but could swim well. I’d been training all summer to be a Jr. Lifeguard. Doing all sorts of drills. I went to the pool every day except Sundays. At the end of the summer I went on a church youth group trip to the beach. I was in water waist high jumping the waves. I got caught in a current and only realized it when I landed, but the water was over my head. I began to tread water. I naturally tried to swim back to shallower water, but could not, so I gently treaded water, then I decided to stop treading and just float. When I got tired, I floated on my back. Once I turned on my belly opened my eyes and only saw blue. I was amazed. I just switched from back floating and gentle side stroking angled more horizontally. When I finally made it to shore I could barely walk and at one point collapsed on the beach. Later that night I could still hear the ocean and feel the floating sensation. The walk back to my group was gruesome. I was at New Smyrna beach. Last year I learned this beach is rated as a very dangerous beach known for sharks and rip currents. I never told my father or family. Even though I scuba dive, at the age of 53, I’m still super careful on the beach, especially when waves are around and have instructed my daughter and told her the same.
When I was 11 my friend and I were swimming in the shallow part of Myrtle Beach. What I now know to be a rip current slowly but surely pulled us deeper into the ocean. We started to panic but no one was close to us. A short while later the current pushed me back to the beach while she was still in the deeper part. I screamed for help and two men swam out and saved her. I thank God we made it, especially when I hear stories of people dying like this.
My friend died 2 weeks ago at Myrtle Beach due to a rip current. He was athletic and strong minded, but I guess he panicked and didn't have a plan. Reading these posts convinces me that it's important to remain calm and have a prearranged strategy. For many it may not be if, but when. Be safe.
I got caught in one when I was 12 and I was underwater because I dove into one of the waves. I was underwater for a minute straight, but I was able to make it out because it pulled me back to shore!
Years ago I got caught in a rip current and I wasn't even in the sea. I had been walking along the sand close to the water. i was chatting with someone whilst we were walking and they were slightly ahead of me, when a wave came out of nowhere and knocked me over and a rip current pulled me way out to sea. It happened very, very quickly. The person i was with hadn't even noticed I had been sucked out to sea and was still walking along talking to themselves thinking I was right behind them. I had no idea what to do and couldn't shout as the waves were hitting me in the face and it seemed like I was being dragged out at incredible speed. I was struggling trying my hardest to get back in. Thirty second later, the person I was with still hadn't noticed I had been sucked out to sea. I was fuming that they hadn't noticed and that I was about to drown and nobody knew would ever know what had happened to me. Then luckily, some surfers saw what had happened and paddled over and told me to hold onto their board, which I did, and they brought me back to shore. They also explained to me about rip tides and what to do if it ever happened again. I told them I had not even been in the water and they were not surprised to be told that. By that stage the person I was with just about noticed that.I had gone but they were still ridiculously slow to respond. If I had relied on them noticing me gone missing then no doubt I would have drowned. The surfer left me on the shore and I spluttered my thanks and wanted to thank them more but they went off surfing again. Those surfers saved my life and I didn't even know their names or even if I would ever recognise them again. But wherever you are and whoever you are surfers, thank you for saving my life in 1992 on a beach near Cape Town.
Whited Out beaches with decent swell on a big day have shorelines that can move up 10-20 metres from a large set or large wave, and usually moving pretty fast
I once got caught in one back in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was relatively close to the shore. I was using a bodyboard to catch some waves, and it was really fun. Suddenly, in a span of less than a minute, I realize that I had been taken really far from the shore, I could barely see my friends that were with me that day. The shore seemed really distant. The worst part was that, the bodyboard I was using was attached to my hand, and the rip current was literally pulling me even harder from the board. It was like if the current was pulling me both from my hand and my feet. I tried swimming back to the shore without any real success. I spent the next 20 or so minutes just using all my energy trying to swim back but I just kept being pulled afar. At some point in this struggle, after I tried screaming for help, I looked back to the ocean and saw that a big-enough wave was forming. I quickly positioned my self into the bodyboard and thankfully I was able to catch the wave. While on it, I tried going a little bit diagonal to the shore so I could move out of the rip current. This spontaneous wave I was able to catch made me cut the distance between me and the shore by about 50%. After that, I was able to swim back to the shore. I have never been as exhausted, I was really scared that day. I have never told anyone about it, not even to my friends that day. If it was not because of that wave and my bodyboard, I would very probably have drowned on the beach due to that rip current.
I was rescued when i was 10yrs old by lifeguards. A man and myself were sucked out by a rip in rough surf ,at Maroochydore in Queensland,Australia.I lived there and knew how to swim, but had no chance in that swell.The man,that was no more than 10 meters from me, died on that overcast morning.I remember them unsuccessfully trying to revive him.It was the first time i had seen a dead body and i remember it as if was yesterday. Underestimate the sea and it will gladly take your life.
I got caught in one at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. I was diving under the waves with a buddy on a day of work and after this large wave hit I found myself come up and I was no longer able to touch the bottom after the rip pulled me backwards. I remember thinking I’ll just swim hard to get more shallow. Then I realized I was still going backwards and quite fast. Just as I was getting exhausted I got hit with a hard wave and had a gallon of sea water up my nose. I was absolutely disoriented and definitely was in a panic. I remember thinking how my wife and kids would find out. Then I just went very still and I forced myself to breathe slowly and I box breathed. I oriented myself to see waves coming so I could roll and body surfed them. I was about 150 metres from shore. It took about 30 minutes to get back in. When I got to shore my buddy said “There lifeguard was calling on the PA for you to stop playing that far out and come in”. I sat down on the beach exhausted. I’ll never forget almost dying. I think about a lot and I actually use it to remind myself when things are stressful that breathing and situating yourself is just good practice.
Awesome and harrowing story. The most harrowing part is when you realize that the lifeguards had no clue you were in distress and would've essentially let you just drown out there. Did you wave your arms? If not, why? It's the universal sign for distress in water
Great story, but you failed to actually say how you did get back in. Did you swim parallel or did you let the rip carry you out and then, bring you back in?
one of the teachers of my school just died from one of these rip tides over memorial break trying to save his kids, in which he did. he sacrificed his life for his kids..
I was caught in a RIP current and I was all by my self on an big empty beach . Holy shit .. eventhough I'm a great swimmer only by a miracle I was able to get out of there . Thanks God
@@ShellG. I also got caught in a riptide and I asked the Devil to get me back so I could smite my enemies and I miraculously got thrown back to shore within seconds after that. Thanks Satan!
I didn’t even know what a rip tide was! Never even heard of it. I heard about Shad Gaspard disappearing whilst swimming with his 10 year old son a couple days ago and just read the sad news that they found a body on the beach and it’s confirmed to be him!😔 Thoughts and prayers with his family! I’m from London so people don’t go to beaches too often but the Shad incident made me want to know what to do in that situation incase hence why I’m here. He made sure the lifeguards saved his son first. Much respect to you Shad! May you rest in peace!🙏🏽
This is the biggest problem, most people don't have a clue about what this is. It's more of a danger in ocean water but can be dangerous on big lakes as well depending on the conditions. This is something that really should be tought in school and not just in communities proximate to Lake and Ocean shores.
Read an article that said they found him washed up on shore dead such sad news....but when the lifeguard was attempting to rescue both his son and him he pushed his son towards the life guard saying "save my son first" after that he got drug back more and hit by a wave and wasn't seen till they found him I believe last night... absolutely crazy
There were no signs, the water looked exactly all the same, I was 10 and alone gathering sea shells along the shore. I was in mid calf depth, all of a sudden a wave came knocked me down, pulled me out to sea. I swam parallel to the shore and I never set foot in the ocean again and I'm in my sixties.
Different people react different ways. I was hip-deep jumping swells when a big wave came and crashed on me and rolled me along the sand all the way to shore! I was about 8 or 9 when that happened and it scared me, but I became a life-guard and avid diver in time. I've never been caught in a rip probably because I know what they look like and how to get out of them, but many people are. I've had to swim out and rescue them, and that was before the jet-skis that are used now for rescue, and that's so much better!
Yeah, got caught in one in Hawaii with my wife. Some of the current signs in this video would have helped us out, since we had the bright idea of going into the water in that calm middle area where the surfers and waves weren't. A surfer helped us out of it, or it could have gone badly. My general rule of thumb is stay out of the ocean altogether. I got talked into that particular swim.
Getting back in the water that day with an excellent swimmer and encouragement could have helped overcome the horror. Almost lost my life when I was 10 years old at Kaena Point Oahu when a riptide pulled me out to sea then a 30 foot wave crashed over me repeatedly. I was saved by a 76 year old woman. My father made me go back in the water after the waves had calmed down (same day). He stayed with me and taught me several ways to get out of a riptide. He called it forceful swimming using adrenaline to swim parallel with the beach and if you are too tired then relax and float on your back and let it carry you - the minute it stops carrying you - swim away from it. So thankful for the lessons I learned that day.There are good people in the world who care. We can survive against tremendous odds.
@@thereseward7852 You are so lucky you had a father who knew the consequences of fear in the ocean, and taught you what to do so you could handle it. The ocean is extremely powerful and you can get swept off your feet even when you are only mid-leg deep, if you lose your footing in the onrush of the wave and fall down, the back-wash (receding wave) will carry you back out to deep water. People get overwhelmed and overpowered by ocean waves and currents all the time, and when they do not know what to do, they can drown.
I have been caught in two rip currents in my life. I surfed growing up in Florida, and they were most common during hurricane season. On both occasions, I stayed calm, rode it out, and when I was no longer being pulled out, paddled approximately 75-100 meters parallel to the shore, and then paddled back to safety. Now I truly realize that it is a lot different when you do not have a board to float on, but I have known and seen many people get pulled out, and the ones who stayed calm, were in the best shape when life guard units saved them. I'm not going to lie and say if I we're just swimming, that I could stay calm. It was scary enough on my surfboards. But the most powerful muscle in our body, our brain, can be our worst enemy or best friend during these dangerous situations. Stay safe everyone! Salt Life!!!
Important topic that should be discussed in schools worldwide. As a swimmer/ surfer- totally agree, staying afloat and calm is key. I almost lost my life few years ago after losing my surfboard as my leash broke. NYC area just lost 4 beachgoers in last 2 weeks. Great video, keep spreading the word 👍
I was on the beach when a big muscle bound man drowned in a rip current. It was terrible. The lifeguards all lined up and dove and searched and couldn't find him. My ex had been swimming near him and they both were caught and were trying to power swim back to shore. My ex is really tall 6'6" so maybe he was able to stand earlier. I don't know but he was able to make it back to get the lifeguard and tell him to get the other guy, but when he turned around to show him the other guy who was stuck out there with him, he was gone. I was walking back to the blanket and saw all the life guards and vehicles and thought at first they were looking for my boyfriend, until I saw him exhausted. Then we watched to see if they would find the other guy. I felt so incredibly sad for the guy's family who were sitting on a blanket terrified and hoping. But as far as I know, they never found him. Put a pall on my whole trip. I'll never forget the image of them waiting and watching. Looked like he had a wife, little kids and his parents all there on the beach. So incredibly sad.
Wow thats heart breaking. Thank goodness your partner was able to survive. An ex football player just died in a rip in florida. Just goes to show no matter how good of shape your in it can still kill you
I was caught in a riptide when I was younger. I had some drinks and went to the beach with a friend at like 2am. I was by a pier and had never even heard of a riptide before. I just thought you could swim and drift out into the ocean, no big deal, for as long as you wanted without worry. All of the sudden (it seemed), I was VERY far away from the beach and it was pitch black all around me. For the life of me I couldn't make any progress at all when I tried to make my way back to shore. I became exhausted quickly and just remember drifting away. I honestly think the whiskey in my system kept me calmer than I might have normally been, but it also made me weaker. I ended up just saving energy and using short bursts every 30 seconds or so. I was trying to dance with the ocean in a weird way. I knew the only way I was going to get back was to do it on her terms. I eventually used my last burst of energy (I feel like I did these bursts at parallel angles at least 20x altogether) to break free. It was intense. I had no choice but to stay calm. I was depressed at the time, but I wasn't ready to leave this world yet. My heart breaks for Shad. He was a strong man. It had to have been extremely powerful to take his life. God bless his family and give them the comfort they need through this most tragic and difficult time.
Got caught in a rip this afternoon. Im a fairly decent swimmer, but 30 seconds swimming against a rip quickly exhausted me. I didnt panic, but I couldnt believe how tired I got. My arms were dead. I had to wave someone passing by on a paddleski to help me. I got to the beach and I just sat there for 30 minutes. Im still playing it over in my head now.
Same thing happened to me on the Greek island of Kefalonia. I was snorkeling fairly close to the beach....25 metres....then got caught in a rip...suddenly I was many hundreds of metres off the beach...it took me all of my strength swimming in a zig zag at an angle to the rip to get back to the beach.... possibly 30-40 minutes....lost all power in my legs which cramped up...hauled myself onto the beach and massaged legs back to life.....got back to the sun beds and the missus said "where have you been ?"..A very close shave with Death !
R.i.p. Shad Gaspard. Dozens of years going to the beach I never knew this could've happened to me. here I am educating myself on how to survive one after such a tragic death.
back in 1974 i was swimming in San Pedro beach all of sudden a current pull me far inside the ocean and did not now how far i was because i could not see anything but waves and no way to tell what direction to come back and after half hour i was laying tired on the beach i don't know how i did it, and now i am advising my daughters and grand sons to watch your video. Its a great help. Now i'm 77 years old and telling them to watch your video. Thanks
Well, if the survey pool took in account peoples far away from the beach that go there, a few times in their life at best, it would explain that number.
@@ldbwa1050 Google wasn't around when I was a kid and my family would go to the beach all the time. Never knew about this. Also Google is for when you know you want to find out more about something but it's possible there are people that haven't heard of undertow or riptide.
Thanks a lot I just finished talking to my dad about this and he told me the same thing❤️ the most important thing is don’t be scared just relax and go with the flow😂🙏🏽
That happen to me on the beach in Santa Monica CA. I was walking along the shore and my daughter who was 8 years old at the time. I fell and told her to stand back away from the water. The waves took me out I really did not know what to do. I was trying to walk back to the shore and it was like a really strong man was pulling me out to sea. I was getting tired of trying to fight my way back. And my daughter was calling mom mom. I could feel my feet leaving the sand. but I was a 911 operator so I was taught to stay cam. When I looked down in the water something was near me I really thought I am done but luckily for me it was a dolphin. She started to swim as dolphins do and I copied her moves and it worked. I was grateful for that dolphin she saved my life. And trust me, I am No! Swimmer.
Sandra Gayle wow , look at God . The dolphin came to your rescue . God was truly watching over you . That’s such a scary situation to be in . Glad you made it out alive
@@golden.queennn you are so right. He is always on time when you need him. It also make me feel like all the times I would go to the beach to play my harp and pray and like king David praise the father with the harp. My prayer was answered.
Wait what?? I’m a bit confused you were walking on the shore like along a pier? Or a road? And you fell, found a dolphin, copied the dolphin moves even tho you can’t swim and do that until you reach the beach???
I was caught in a rip current today. I did almost all the wrong things because I’m not a great swimmer and I knew nothing about this. I panicked. exhausted myself. My young son was watching me and got me help to save my life…. I’m still a bit spooked but dedicated even more to be a better swimmer. Thank you to my son Isiah and the beautiful man that saved me!🙏🏼💖
I've been caught many times. It's gotten much worse because lifeguards don't let people swim past the breakers. In my experience, staying in front of the breakers is the worst place to be. Once you swim past them, you can choose to swim, float, body surf, or catch a wave back. The main thing is to realize where you're drifting in the rip. As soon as I enter the ocean, I turn towards shore and fix on a large landmark. It doesn't matter even if I'm just going in up to my knees. As I swim, I'm always checking where I am. When I've been in a rip, I relax, check my land mark, and swim in its direction, not exactly parallel to the shore but relatively so. I NEVER fight the current. I float and tread to get back to the landmark, then watch the wave formations to time myself to get back into the shore. Sometimes it can take a while. I'm not a strong swimmer at all. I know the salt water will help me float. I breathe deeply and rest, always moving towards the landmark. If you feel tired just tread. Put your head back and rest a few seconds. If you're really scared you can attract a lifeguard. For me, that would have to mean I'm injured. Just find a landmark and stick to it.
In 1981 at age 7, I got caught in a powerful one at Emerald Ilse, NC. No one on the beach except my family. My Daddy came for me and we are both strong swimmers...we struggled over an hour, then two Marines in the house next door came to our rescue on a raft...they just kicked us in. We'd never heard of such a thing and had no idea how to survive... education is the best thing, and it's only by the grace of God (and two Marines!) that we survived. My Daddy, my hero kept me alive!
Amanda muthalovin Manning she said her dad helped her stay alive, and that’s true the marines saved them in the end but if no one had gone after her she probably would have died.
I very nearly drowned in a rip at Glen Beach in SA. I thought I knew the beach as I swam there every day of my life...never lose respect for the ocean no matter how well you think you know your spot. I am a strong swimmer and tried to swim sideways out of the rip but ended up being pulled back and forth with waves crashing on me and I was quickly exhausted. Next time I am swimming out towards the ocean and rather take my chances there than drown meters away for the beach. Thank you for this amazing video hopefully it will save lives!
@@TheBelilu Lifeguards were luckily on duty and they had to come fetch me, if it were not for them I would not be alive today. I was exhausted and swallowed alot of water. My body just gave up and they came in with floatation devices to rescue me.
@@TheBelilu this is exactly the same spot I was caught in, the rocks create a structural rip pulling sideways in outwards. Very dangerous. ruclips.net/video/Io-U-ZOuYYc/видео.html
I got caught in rip on the south coast of Australia, surfing for my 3rd time only. Thank god my elder friend (who’s an experienced surfer) noticed me struggling and paddled out into the rip with me and guided us out thr back of it and we caught a wave back to shore. Biggest thing I learnt is not to bloody panic. The ocean is a scary place, and should be treated with ultimate respect. If your surfing or swimming on your own at a beach think twice about your actions
I'm a beach-head, love to bodyboard & surf. I live in Vegas, but during the summer I'm at the beach damn near every weekend somewhere in Southern California. I know that I've been caught in currents before. I'm strong, 6'2'', 245lbs, a good swimmer, but that means absolutely nothing against the awesome raw power of the ocean. Was swimming with all my might towards the beach one time, for about 15 seconds & was going nowhere, then remembered to swim parallel to the shore (which I've done several times in similar circumstances), & it works. God forbid something stronger sweeps me up, I'll use the info in this video to swim with the current until it gives, then use waves and/or the current coming in to make it to shore. God Bless everyone! #RIPShadGaspard
I got pulled under when I was 8 or 9 at Clearwater beach FL. It was horrifying, the waves pulled my feet out from under me and slammed me onto my face, it dragged me fast and being so scared, I just stayed completely still until the water got deep enough. Then swam sideways. It took me pretty far away from where my family was. I'm glad I didn't drown or try to fight it.
Keeps calm and stays afloat, goes with the flow and gets carried 500ft into ocean, rip current loses steam and no longer pulls. Time to swim back *gets eaten by shark*
SWIM ON YOUR BACK!!!! I can’t believe this isn’t mentioned, but swimming on your back conserves an incredible amount of energy and possibly saved me from drowning. If you are ever stuck swimming for your life, flip to your back, relax and breathe normally.
Got caught in one today. I was going against the shore and I was just getting farther and farther away and getting so tired. I thought I was about to die. So I had some memories and flashbacks and said in my mind that I’ll always love my family. I prayed to God that he will help me. Then a life guard came out of nowhere and I was like thanks God! I was being too dramatic😂🤣 but yea, vibes
Got caught in one before and had my goggles on, my dumbass thought it was smart to try to swim under the water but that just cost me alot of energy and I felt lost for a second. I'm a fairly good swimmer but I'd say the worst thing when getting swept like that is the waves that come smacking your face left and right. I had to gasp for breath really quickly in between waves so that I don't get smacked twice in a row because not only are the waves covering my entire body, I couldn't touch the ground which is already causing me to use more energy to just stay afloat, the sun literally blinds you for a second and you cant see where you're going, it's a very dangerous situation if the waves and rip are strong enough, and the constant salt water swallowing while in that situation was horrible, it made me feel like I was fainting from how much I swallowed. I was literally fighting for my life, it was both a mental game and a game of time(i just kept thinking to myself, this can end in really quickly if you think), I had to make sure that my head was above water at all times, that I had enough oxygen in my lungs to survive that horrendous, gigantic next wave, I had to be able to shoot my self back up right after the wave crashed in order to gasp and prepare myself for the next wave, all this while attempting to swim parallel to get out of this situation. It's a very, very very hard situation but the best thing is really to stay calm and figure your way out.
@@smithson8806 Its not under water, the current can be very different. Its like a river. And somtimes in rivers you fail swimming parallel to the current.
I was stuck in a rip tide once, I had my toe hooking on a rock so that I dont get pulled back, I was getting extremely tired and asked my friend for help but he was just laughing, and its crazy because I couldn't understand why I'm getting pulled back and yet he wasnt, he was like 3 meters next to me he wasn't getting pulled back, I started stressing because I slipped off the rock and was now swimming against the rip, literally thought I was going to drown I had absolutely no more energy to keep myself up, all of a sudden some random father came and grabbed me out and told me I was stuck in a RIP tide, told me everything about them and to swim sideways until I'm out the current
I had something similar happen to me except in my gut I felt like something was off about where I was so I only put one leg deeper into the water and kept my other leg in the shallow shore. That leg I decided to put felt like it was going to break it was yanking my leg so hard. I almost didn't get out but when the water came back to shore I pulled as hard as I could even though my leg felt like it was going to break and I got out.
Rest In Peace Naya Rivera🕊. She and her son were swimming when rip tides occurred in the lake. It’s said she used her last energy to push her son into the boat and when asked her son said he looked back and his mom disappeared. She brought me here because I’m terrified of dying in a body of water
Growing up in Newport Beach, we were warned about riptides. It happened to me several times. Usually the water was shallow enough to escape. One time, I had to do what was recommended: I let it take me out until it stopped, then swam parallel to the beach for 100 feet, then swam in the 200 feet. If you can’t swim 500 feet with no fins, stay out of the ocean.
Interesting video and agree that staying calm and conserving energy is vital. I grew up on Oahu from the 40's and 50's in the Koko Head area. My friends and I spent this time body surfing at Sandy Beach, Makapuu. and the Koko Head Point, now called "China Walls". The most dangerous beach is Sandy Beach in which waves come out of very deep water into rapidly shallowing water. Rip currents are very common when the surf is above 4 feet. I remember when I was 6 or 7, seeing a person trying to fight the rip current and drown. I was with my father who was not a good enough and experienced swimmer to do anything. Living close to "Sand", my friends and I were likely the first to regularly surf Sandy and Makapu'u. Initially we were very cautious of the rip currents and stayed away. Eventually, we found the the rip currents were our friend, as a quick ride out through the waves to catch another. If the rip current was close by, we would enter it until we were the desired distance from the beach and swim sideways out of the current. In the case of Sandy, there was NO circular current. Eventually the current dissipated quite away from shore and left you in the down-beach current which took you down the coast and rocky cliffs. So, as a body surfer of about 45 years, I vote for swimming across the rip current. By the way many of the beaches in the islands have this phenomenon so be careful and alert. For those who are good ocean swimmers, have a ball.
Grew up by the ocean - and even tho we had no waves where I lived - just by being "friends" with it, I just sort of knew what to do with rips and huge waves later in life, crashing over you, over and over. I have never been afraid - tho quite tired after multiple waves.
Yeah, I used to do that when I lived in jersey, sometimes I even would swim into a rip current and swim with it so I feel like I am swimming really fast
On the southern tip of Lake Michigan when there's a North Wind they always post Beach closed Riptides which is not true it's rip currents I like the waves so I use these to get out deep and then bodysurf back in I'm 64 years old if you use common sense you'll survive anything except a gunshot to the Head LOL
Got caught in a rip current recently in Miami. I ignored the red flag and thought if I just got in thigh-deep I’d be okay... wrong. It swept me off my feet and carried me about 1/4 mile out; the waves were so big and constantly hitting me that I thought, I’m really about to die out here and nobody will ever even know. I started to swim parallel and I could feel myself being pulled further and further out. Thankfully a lifeguard way on the shore saw me, started blowing his whistle and was signaling for me to swim the other direction... I was apparently swimming right into the current. I am so grateful to him for my life and have so much more respect for the ocean.
I got caught in one when I was twelve. The lifeguards hadn't started yet as my friend and I got to the beach early. I remember walking into the water and being yanked. I panicked a bit and went under the water a couple of times. I somehow managed to calm down and then I didn't feel the great pressure in the water after a while. I was able to return to the shore. Later that day I fell asleep on the sand in forty degree Celsius weather wearing a two piece swim suit. I ended up sunburned from head to foot. I blistered up so much. I had to have cold baths because the shower felt like acid. So all in all it was not a fun day.
I just got caught in one today, I was swimming with my 11 year old daughter. I didn't know about this phenomenon until today. We slowly found our selves getting far from shore and started panicking. I yelled at my daughter to start swimming towards the shore but she said I can't 😫. I then got her and pushed her towards land as hard as I could, luckily there was my friend close by and yelled at him to grab her and take her to shore. I was already exhausted and very scared. My friend was like our guardian angel, he saved my daughter and I was able to save my self, barely... I then got very angry on my self for putting my daughter at such great danger... It was an incredibly scary experience and now I respect the sea so much more... I immediately started to research this phenomenon and now I feel so much safer being aware of it.
@@cmw12 he was able to touch the ground, we were not. 1st off he was a few meters closer to shore and 2nd off he is taller. Why would anyone make up such a story?
I had the experience just 10 days ago. I was just swimming near the shore and in a matter of seconds I was already 50 meters away from the shore. I tried very hard to swim back but it just kept on pushing me away. I am a good swimmer but started to panic because the waves kept on crashing and I was alone in the vast beach. Started shouting for help but of course nobody could hear me. Raised my hand calling for help and 2 guys noticed me from the shore. I was lying afloat when four people came to rescue. Felt so exhausted and was literally shaking when we got back. Very traumatizing event. Yes, panic is the real deal here. Be calm and conserve your energy.
I windsurf and spend a lot of time in the sea. Your greatest enemy is panic. Once your out in open sea don't give a shit about sharks or jelly fish. There's nothing you can do. Just relax, float and hopefully you'll get back on the back circle.
I’ve been caught in so many rips, and some of them even on purpose, and I find the best strategy is to swim diagonal that way you will be getting out of the rip and swimming back to shore at the same time. I’m not saying this will always work because I am quite an experienced swimmer although it hasn’t ever not worked for me.
I’ve been swimming at the beach for almost 40 years never been caught in a rip until last Wednesday. I was between the flags but more so to the left of the flags. Little did I realise there was a rip just outside the flags. A wave came in and I went under as you do. When I came up out of the wave I could no longer touch the bottom I hadn’t been out deep at all. I was suddenly take out with the rip so quickly. At first I tried to swim back, only lasted a few seconds as I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Waves kept coming and pulling me under the water. I kept telling myself not to panic but it was hard and I was getting so tired. A man who had been swinging near me saw me. He put up his hand to the lifeguard and then yelled that he was coming to get me. As much as I knew it was the wrong thing to do I was so glad he had seen me. Next thing I went under again and he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. He was so calm which in turn helped me be calm. We did swim sideways for a while and then a couple of big waves came and he just said I’m going to throw you into the wave to get you closer to shore. He did this twice and suddenly I could standup. By that time the lifeguard has reached us. She then told me that the other beaches had all closed due to the rips! I know I wouldn’t be here now if that man hasn’t saved me
Got taken by one before I knew what they were in Cancun Mexico. I wasnt aware that there were beaches where swimming could be dangerous due to the waves. I decided to race my friend as I was very confident with my swimming but before I realized it, I was soooooo far away from shore I was shocked. I tried to swim back but with no success until I had too much lactic acid buildup on my legs. The waves kept smashing towards me while I was dragged further and further out. I decided to just submerge myself and resurface after a wave passes to grasp for air and keep doing that until my friends could get help. I remember thinking about how its checkout time and that this was it for me but not until I've given it 10000% of my everything. Some time passed and I see a dude on a jetski reaching out to me. I was dragged by the jetski and while we were going to shore, the jet of the vehicle was blowing my short off my legs. And then once again I thought to myself, do I want to go back to shore and live with disgrace or should I die in the ocean with my shorts on and my dignity intact? I let go of the lifeguard's hand and pulled up my shorts 😎 eventually we got back to shore after several attempts from the lifeguard to secure me as he had to angle the jetski in an optimal position in order for him not to capsize. I did give him money for the extra pain I was to preserve my dignity.
I was caught in one in New Smyrna Beach FL along with my nephew. I kept him calm and we both swam in our backs to conserve energy. We swam parallel to the shore for a few minutes and then we were able to swim back to shore. It started when we were in neck deep water and a swell lifted is off our feet and we were swept out no longer able to touch bottom, and we were unable to swim toward shore. Stay near lifeguards. Saw a rescue at same beach this weekend.
I have been to New Smyrna it looks like a breathtaking beach I ran to get my bathing suit on... We drove there from Daytona to go eat at The Garlic I think, It was delicious!!! But!!! I do not have to tell you or do i that is the SHARK Florida Capitol of Beaches Not to Swim In.... I did not got in after I got my swimsuit on I was warned... That was enough for me, I couldn't go in after that, you all be safe by all means so awesome what a miracle you and your nephew are safe!!!
Remember this video it’s really important I went to the beach a week ago and got caught in the biggest one I’ve ever been in. I go to the beach a lot since I live in Florida so being in rip currents is common for me. Anyways I got caught in one the first thing I would do is try to catch a wave and use your body like a surf board and try to catch a wave back to the shore if this doesn’t work then go on your back and control your breathing don’t freak out once you don’t feel the current or it’s weak swim sideways typical rip currents are 50-100 feet wide so swimming sideways until your out and swimming back to shore is your best bet. Just remember never fight a rip current your goal should be conserving as much energy as possible, keeping calm, and swimming sideways do these things and you will live. And I know the video says it swimming parallel to the current is debatable but it gets weaker and easier for you to get back to the shore. And btw how I escaped the current is I rode a wave back to shore this won’t always work but it’s worth a try if your ever stuck in one Edit: today I saved a 11 year old girls life who go stuck in a rip current, she fought the current until she had no strength left to keep her head above the water. Luckily I came in just in time and pulled her onto my body board just as she lost all of her strength and went under the water. Btw her dad didn’t thank me the first thing he did was yell at her for going out to far
Growing up in Florida I can legitimately say I have been caught in a rip. No, you can't fight them head-on, and only sometimes can you swim parallel to the shore to exit them. My best advice is to wear a life vest, no matter your skill level at swimming. That vest will save your bacon when no one else can. Also, for goodness sake, watch your kids and don't swim where the water is dark and deceptively calm. Stay near shore on the sand bar.
When I last found myself caught in a rip tide, firstly I panicked, secondly I attempted to swim parallel to the shore to get out of it's hold over me, this proved ineffective. Finally it occurred to me: Dummy! Don't panic!! Just then I remembered what I believe to be the best advice I had ever received on the subject... Just lie with your back upon the water, breathe calmly and consistently, and begin a slow, leisurely back stroke in the direction of the shore... Focus only on remaining calm and perhaps the regularity of your own breathing, look back towards the shore only when you really have to for your bearings and or progress, but overall don't worry nor obsess over how long it seems to be taking you to advance back to shore... Try to create a positive tranquility as you're making your way back to safety. It really is a much better (and safer) means of getting you back to where you want to be, and also out of harm's way!
I once was carried by the ríptide, i let it carry me and then took me back to the beach about 1km north, i had to get out in a rocks in 2 mt high waves, almost drowned,i had to borrow a cellphone to call my family they thought ive drowned best holliday ever
I’ve been caught in many rips- swimming parallel has always always brought me back safe. However, once, before I was safe I got caught in enormous tidal waves for 10 minutes, far from the beach. Terrifying. I’m glad I was alone because I could only save myself, but I came looking for a video about drowning because I’m still reliving the traumatic experience
Been looking for waves as well. I just went with the waves - not struggle. Just got a good breath between each wave. Some of my friends got smashed pretty good on the bottom, but I think it was because they didn't go with the flow of the wave?
It's fucking crazy isn't it? Same thing happened to me on a family vacation. It was only by pure chance that I was able to survive it. I didn't even put myself in danger either - I was keeping myself in absolute safety by just wading around at less than waist deep within a "swimming only" flagged area when this FUCKING kid on body board fucking rams into me and knocks me over. I was fucked the moment my feet came out from under me - in the super short time it took me to get my head above water again I had been swept out to where I couldn't reach the bottom. When I think about it and how the waves kept pushing me under and tumbling me around while I was fighting my hardest to somehow just get a breath of air and how my life was flashing before my eyes, and thinking about how badly my parents were going to be hurt because I was certain that I was going to die there my heart just starts to pound and I get the same sense of dread. I was in an absolute last ditch fight for my life where my brain's primitive survival systems kicked in. If I think about it too much it even makes me start to tear up just because it brings back that fear and panic of being so close to death and not being able to get air. I will never swim in the ocean again ever in my life because of that. It's not even a fear I want to overcome - I just never EVER want to go into the ocean again period. Even to this day I don't really fully know how I survived that. It was so intense that my memory has gaps in it between when I was certain I was going to die and the point where I somehow had my head above water again and was back in the current headed back to the beach. A surfer managed to see me once I was no longer being ragdolled by the waves and helped to pull me back to shore. I'm so glad he did, because even though I was out of the waves it took every last bit of energy I had and I wouldn't have been able to stay above water on my own in order to make it back to the beach. I threw up so much ocean water I remember my stomach was like bulged out and bloated that I swallowed so much and I had to get my lungs pumped out too because I ended up inhaling quite a bit as well. Just typing this even is kind of bringing back the panic in a way. It just reminds me of being completely overpowered and certain that death was like 5 seconds away. I also have so much anger, to the point of rage towards that kid who almost cost me my life by knowingly doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. To this day I wish so badly that I could get my hands on him... I don't even know what I'd do, but him being able to just go on his merry way without ever answering for or even being aware of what he did by thinking the rules didn't apply to him just isn't right. I didn't die but he affected my whole life and honestly fucked me up in the head yet he doesn't even have a clue.
I had a similar experience last summer, but I wasn't alone. I was with an 8 year old boy I was babysitting. We were where we could touch when all of a sudden we started getting pulled out while HUGE waves started tumbling us around. I was able to hold onto him for the first few and try to keep him calm, but I lost grip of him and he had to go through a huge wave without me holding him. Luckily the lifeguard came quick and got him out, and I was able to get myself out shortly after. It was the most terrifying experience and I am still traumatized by it. I consider myself a strong swimmer and grew up swimming in the ocean, but you never know when it can just turn on you.
Wow Taylor! That sounds terrifying.....one thing that scares me most when I reply the day in my head is if I’d had someone with me- let alone a child. Well done and glad you’re both safe x
About 10 years ago I was in Aruba at a beach with no lifeguard but many people were swimming in the ocean. It gave me a false sense of security. I went out swimming where other people were, thinking this would protect me, and was swimming close to a group of 5 people swimming. When I decided to swim back to shore, I basically could not move towards the beach at all no matter how hard I tried and I felt I was slowly moving further away. Very scary! I called out for help, but no one in the group heard me. They were all talking together and I think they did not notice me. I started to feel very afraid and kept saying help until a young boy swam out to me. He said "I'll help you." and I was so concerned for his safety but I also needed his help. I asked him if he would help pull me to shore so he swam towards the shore pulling me by the hand. Because he did this I believe he saved me from drowning. I will be forever grateful to him for helping me that day. I made sure I thanked him but I regret not asking him his name and where he was from. Since then I have made sure I do NOT go swimming unless there is lifeguard present at the beach. Also, I would consider bringing a life-vest if I decide to go snorkelling again. Blessings to the boy, now young man who saved my life that day. 🌴🌊😍👍🏊🏖🙏✝️
He looked about 10 years +/- 2 years of age. I have no idea why I could not swim back. All I know is I was swimming in the direction of the beach and was not getting any closer to the shore. It was a very scary feeling. Again, I am grateful to the boy who saved my life that day.
i was about 8 years old when i went on vacation to clear water FL. it was a super hot day so my brother & i walked down the beach while my parents stayed at the pool where we were staying. i remember we started hopping with the waves because it was fun & they weren't super big. little did we know about rip currents back then.... within around 10 minutes of getting into the water, i found myself jumping with a wave & it ended up being a lottt bigger than i thought it was, and it went over my head & i got caught under water & pulled out pretty far. i remember trying not to freak out & trying to swim only with the waves, but i guess i just wasn't strong enough because i just kept going out farther & farther. thankfully my brother saw it & grabbed help from a couple that was near. they saved me. i wouldn't be here today if it weren't for my brother & that wonderful couple. 💚 it was one of the most terrifying experiences. i kept getting trapped under waves that would push me down over & over.
My father taught me at a very young age if ever get caught in a rip current let it take me out and stay calm. Never fight it. As kids we use to let them take us out on purpose for fun using boogie boards. You get very use it especially at beaches with big waves.
Great dad! my dad also taught me when I was little, before I even learnt to swim, how to float on my back and keep calm even if water splashes in my face - saved my life many times when I was sure I was gonna drown
Extremly good video. Wish I saw this 20 years ago. I think many drown in rips because they are afraid of the breaking waves. But it's the breaking waves that usually bring you back. It's feels counterintuitive to swim into big braking waves, but thats the only way of getting back without swimming.
Last week at Mount Maunganui beach my 7 year old boy was chest deep while I was waste deep, he started drifting out so I went over to get him, within seconds we were out of our depths and far beyond the breaking waves, we had drifted 30 m out, I tried to stay calm but by lad was using all his energy up so that made me use mine to help him, he kept climbing on me as he was tired which made me start to panic, luckily a paddle boarder was near bye and heard me shout for help, luckily he came over instantly, the life guard girls on the beach didn’t even notice, this has made me take extra caution and I’ve bought a inflatable wrist band for the kids, a very close call, as the beach we normally go to doesn’t have anyone nearby!!
What a miracle !!! After reading all these stories i feel so nervous. I have for years went swimming at the beach and I never experienced a rip and I never want to.... Bless all you super brave super strong people!!!
As a scuba diver....we loooove rip currrents!! however the best strategy if ur caught in one is exactly as described in the clip...and as with all ocean related emergencies....DO NOT PANIC
Shadow Deluxe awesome, I found out that surfers also love rips, because their exhausted from all the surfing, all they have to do is swim around the rip
@@958342 hi!!. As a scuba diver air consumption and the ability to be relaxed is crucial. You tend to use up a lot of energy when doing a shore dive getting out and coming back in to shore. Rip currents take divers out without any energy being wasted and air is ultimately conserved.
I was caught in a fast moving rip tide 20 years ago. I had two previous life threatening experiences in a closed pool so what helped me escape this sudden dangerous situation was that I did NOT panic. I found the outer edge by floating away from the shore. I went further out. When i realized I could go parallel that's what I did. I was 30 blocks away from where my family was on the beach and it took me 30 minutes to walk back. No one even missed me. It's important to understand the differences between rip currents and a whirlpool. While next time I may consider going with the flow, that's not what you want to do if you are being sucked into a whirlpool. Good video but would have loved to see the professor's actual footage. 👍
When I was 13 years old I was sucked into a very powerful rip current at sailsbury beach in MA usa. It was like being sucked away by an underwater tornado I got sucked almost 1400 ft deep offshore prior to that I had been swimming my whole life had no fear of water and understood that they work in a circular motion it sucked me out then I swim parallel to the shore and got brought back by the rip current I had to grab on to a foundation of the building which was built with a concrete dock on the bottom I grabbed the dock and it tried to suck me out again I broke my nose and got two black eyes but yes I survived my mother was sleeping on the beach whatever you do don't panic conserve the air in your lungs energy there was no lifeguard I am lucky to be alive today thank you for this video I wanted to explain to a friend that's why I do not go to the beach anymore
Got pulled back, all of a sudden, by one in Costa Rica. Tried walking and swimming, but kept going further back and further back. Not a good swimmer, btw. Legs were getting tired, so I was getting scared. Started walking 'diagonally' (facing the beach, started to swim/walk at 45-degree angle), and actually started making progress and eventually made it to shore. I'm guessing it would be considered a mild rip current, too...It was a terrifying few minutes. Thanks for the info!!
I was at beaches in Maui and even without the rip current, the water can still pull you damn well and then if the waves are big your right were they break and they knock you over and your tumbling under the water which is scary
Water comes to the beach, usually in the form of waves, same amount goes back out, bigger waves create stronger currents, its simple. Its like a conveyor, use it to your advantage. Don't enter the ocean if you don't have strong swimming skills, be smart and don't panic. Changing tides can also cause rip currents, its possible to escape one current, only to find yourself in another one sweeping the coastline, many variables.
This is absolutely true today I was stucked in a really strong rip current and I searched on RUclips and see this video this is really what is happened to me you can't really come to the beach it pulls you back and the best way is to get over this stay come please don't panic I could tell you from my experience don't panic stay calm and wait or stay float to save your life and raise a signal to the lifeguard I was almost date then my uncle comes and save me... Please don't go far stay as close as much possible to the beach even a best swimmer can't really come back if they get panicked... stay calm stay close
I got caught in a rip current in Costa Rica. I was totally unaware of the danger and had no idea how rip currents worked. The current pulled me out away from the shore and then started running parallel to the beach (which by that time I could barely see). The current was so strong it felt like I was in the middle of a fast moving river dragging me parallel to the beach, there was no breaking away from it. Luckily the current let me free but I was a very long way from where I had started. It was one of those times in my life that I was certain I was going to die, I was sure of it.
got caught twice in life. Once when I was 12, life guards saved me. Second time just a month ago, I swam parrallel and made it out with some effort as I have not heard about the floating method yet. Next time I will try that one :)
When I was about 12 me and my sisters along with a couple of friends liked to get out past the waves and just float around on our backs and talk. I asked one of them a question and when I didn’t get an answer, I looked up and they were really far away. I was in a riptide (this was in California.) I was really scared and started swimming towards shore but I wasn’t getting anywhere so I started swimming as hard as could. IT had to have been a mild riptide though it had taken me out really far. I didn’t stop or look at anything. When I finally reached shore there was a life guard waiting. He said to me: “I can’t believe you were able to swim out of that riptide straight to shore. I was getting ready to come out to get you but you were doing so well I just decided to stay ready but not interfere.” Then he explained to me the action of a rip tide and told me if I ever got caught in one again I should swim parallel to the shore until I got out of it and then swim to shore. I hadn’t ever heard about riptides. I sure got lucky to get out of it. I guess I was a strong enough swimmer at that time. In the summer we went to the beach every day.
@@Caleb_Mangan hmmm not true... people who know what they're doing know how to get out of danger more easily. still 100% present - that's part of being someone who enjoys those sports is realizing that you're always in danger.
Tr3vahn Jam3s I’ve been caught in one years ago smartass. So if you really wanna know about the experience I’ll be more than happy to share. That’s why I was Forreal asking for knowledge because the one I was in must of not been super strong.
I did 6 years in the US Navy and they taught us more about swimming than most people ever learn. Even so, I got caught in a rip due to an approaching hurricane having the water churning and damn near didn't make it. Now, when I say churning, I mean forevermore rolling. The fact that I was dog drunk didn't help much either. Lol. I went into water that no one had any business going into and before I knew it I was out in the raging waves and couldn't touch the bottom. I fought like a caged tiger because the further out you went the worse it got. For no reason whatsoever, I had spent months developing my skills of swimming under water. I got to where I could swim 2 laps under water at the swimming pool at my apartment. As it turns out, I think that is what saved my life as I could hold my breath for between 3 and 4 minutes. Thank God I never smoked. I held my breath and dove under and basically used the bottom to drag and kick myself back to the beach. When I got into water that I could stand up in and touch the bottom, I would push off as hard as I could and finally I was in waist deep water and that's when things got hard. The waves were breaking much more violent. I clawed and pushed and finally dragged myself onto dry sand. It was quite an experience. My friends were all asking me wtf I had been and I told them what happened and they thought it was funny.
Been caught by rips hundreds of times. Mostly unpatrolled beaches. Have two strategies and am always watching for them. Firstly I try swimming flat out, to get in, by catching EVERY tiny wave/whitewater coming thru, and keeping my body on the SURFACE. Usually can get a toehold in the sand within a few minutes. If that doesnt work, swim over to the break and catch a wave in. You do need to be a strong enough swimmer, happy underwater, and able to read the waves and rips. The circular approach sounds interesting. Young and learner surfers need to learn to not be too embarrassed to put their hand up for help. In patrolled beaches. (Otherwise yell for help. Sometimes there are people around unexpectedly) I would never have done either, as a kid.
Got stuck in one in Huntington Beach. I was unaware of what was happening until the lifeguards started yelling and trying to get to me. Luckily someone else was able to grab me and pull me to shore!
A week ago I was swimming next to my child, playing with the waves at the left side of a shore for surfers. It was the spot that many younger and children were using to stand and have a short fight game with the waves there, smaller waves than everywhere else in the beach. There was a current but we did not realize the far extend it would blow us to. The current took my child to the deeper and I followed him. The left side of the shore was near the rocks and I would feel better if I didn't see that they were "approaching". Or better I did. I set my child to stand on my back of arms and I tried to swim opposite. No success. My best chance was to stay at the same spot if not go deeper slowly, approaching to the rocks. I would have thought that was just a challenge for my swimming abilities If I did not hold a child with me. the child was really calm with no panic at all, making a few jokes. It seemed I could make an effort. But you know, I trust myself but I never know what the child would feel one moment after. A quick idea run into my mind to swim parallel but I didn't know the waters, could have been a rock around there. and it was the first time I entered a current, so I had not experienced or learnt a saving tip before. I stayed calm, took a few breaths and raised my hand. Just raised my hand, since I knew there were many surfers on the beach. The whole show took around 5 minutes I believe, just after a while I saw two of them entering the water towards us. One along rock side to prevent us from being there (I believe) and the other straight on us. It was around 100 meters long, it took 2-3 minutes to reach us. He onboarded the child and I was left alone. the other guy instructed me to swim like the video demonstrates, which I started to do. The surf with the child was very slow coming out. A wave turned them upside down. I was next to them and helped the child to climb on again. We were brought safe on the beach after a while. We had a short rest on the beach and left with the car heading east. After 10 min drive we noticed a helicopter making circles over a coast nearby. Later we learnt than a 17 year old child was lost in the other coast. Probably by the same way. 5 days after they found him drowned almost 500 meters from that shore. He was a local guy. He went to the beach with his friend. His friend was in danger after a few waves and he entered to help him. His friend is in the hospital but this child has been lost... I came here searching to learn more about currents. I feel responsible to learn and share the knowledge. If only there were instructions on every dangerous beach and one guy to help. I am also seeking for a map with local currents. Seems that I will not find. Perhaps one day I will build one... Ikaria island, Greece, Mediterranean, end of July 2022.
Living in a country with a relatively large shoreline and not big in size it appears odd to me (here or elsewhere) so little people know about this. These rip currents, they change i.e. monthly or hourly, or by the minute. Since it appears so odd to me, maybe dependable information on how to handle rip currents is better. And I doubt creating exact maps is a good idea. Because you said you wanted to help, and I'm under the impression this would become very difficult and time consuming to want. Though not really leading anywhere. If standing on a higher ground nearby the coastline I learned it should be possible to recognize them to allegedly a well trained eye, however precarious as it was explained.
Surprisingly, most people are unaware that board riders and waveskiiers deliberately enter the surf, by going into the rip. It takes you straight out, and the break is flattened in that area. Once out the back (of the break), and depending on the current out there, you can paddle or swim to where a set's coming in. And if you're a swimmer, or lost your board, then surf, kamakazi, or let the wash cycle take you to shore.
The first ever rip current I got stuck in was when I was 9. I didn't know what to do so I ditched my surfboard and went under water. By then I nodest that it was still there. Then I came back up an was hecka far from the beach. So I had to swim back. That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in the ocean. And who ever is reading this far try to find my surfboard, it is at long beach. It was a blue and white fish tail surfboard.
No attention was given to sweeps or reading foam movement before entering the water. This analysis is the first thing you do. Rips are very useful but need to be respected. The people who die from rips in Australia are nearly always tourists or immigrants. A rip to surfers is a travelator. Waves travelling toward a rip make a circular fun park. Rip means rip it up
@@miceskin In big swell (big waves) water moves very fast. When the wave breaks it moves a lot of water and it has to go somewhere, this means it usually sweeps (moves) to the closest rip. You dont usually have to worry about it in small waves but it's a big deal in bigger waves because you can NOT swim against it. The problem with sweep though is unlike a rip, it's really hard to see, so looking at the foam after a wave breaks will tell you which way the water is sweeping. Hope that helps :)
I recently took up surfing, I’m always going to surf with others in designated spots, I hope I never have to deal with these situations. As I have a “safety first” mindset, however it seems based on some of these stories I’m reading that sometimes things happen and you need to be prepared.
Punta Borinquen, Puerto Rico. 30 years ago, still remember it. I'm a panicker, could not for the life of me get back to the shore. Maybe the undertow wasn't as strong as I believed, but I could not get out. Thankfully a male friend, who was nearby and tall, grabbed me by the arm and said "the next wave coming, I'm going to hoist you up and push you forward, and go with the wave!" I made it. My legs were like jelly when I got out. Thank God he was there. I would have drowned from panic. Btw that beach was dangerous af, one day our group witnessed a drowning in the far off distance. The lifeguards couldn't make it in time.
Got caught in a rip. Went out just over my head almost touching then in an instant was beyond the pier. I had extreme panic and my friend and another guy about 10 yards farther out started yelling help. My friend went after the guy then they both couldn't get back. A lifeguard got to them eventually but I swam straight to shore. I collapsed at the shore and was never so tired in my life. Now i get it due to this video
Got caught in a weaker rip current in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I went to the beach reluctantly and stayed in waist high waters. I am 6ft tall btw. I know my limits very well and knowing that i can't swim made me extremely cautious and very alert to even the tiniest detail while in the water. I noticed that my feet were being swept off the ground ever so slightly at regular intervals. Waist high waters was almost now at chest height and i thought i've seen enough to know that this is not right. I started walking towards shore but my feet were being slighlty raised off the ground and the resistance i felt was too much. So i knew i was going against the water current. I adjusted and started going to my right parallel to the shore and i was getting slighlty deeper in the water but the resistance was not as powerful. I continued walking until i saw a wave coming and i knew that i can probably get to the shore. When i finally reached the shore i swore to never again go into the water. That was the most terrifying experience i've had in my 23 years of life. I wake up at nights from with my body is drenched in cold sweat due to nightmares of me drowning.
I've swam all my life and been on swim teams when i was younger so i'm not to worried about currents but there have definitely been some riptides on the beach that even I couldn't escape. In one of them, I somehow ended up maybe 60 ft away from my group of friends and rode a huge wave back to shore. It knocked my ass to the ocean floor but that's better than drowning.
I came here because of what happened to Shad Gaspard (RIP). This tragedy scared me so bad that I’ll possibly never go to the beach again. But we all need to be educated on how to survive these sort of stuff.
Thank you so much for the valuable explanation. You're correct 100%. I'm a good swimmer, and I had been caught today in a very strong rip current "with high waves", I tried desperately to go to the shore against the mighty rip, and failed miserably as I was going deeper and deeper, I started to panic, then I calmed myself by praying, and said: Lord, what should I do now? I'm starting to drown? I got immediately inspired from above to just sleep on my back. I said: OK, I'll just sleep on my back, get some rest, and swim to the shore again. What happened after 15 minutes from sleeping on my back was amazing, and I understood it only from this video. The same rip obviously made a complete circle, and I found myself on the beach again without any effort, and very close to the point where I entered the water. NB: The rip current I was caught in took me 2 kilometers deep far deeper than just 1300 feet.
Story vvvvv I was at my family's beach house on the Oregon Coast a few years back (Manzanita, Oregon for those of you who are curious), at the time I really didn't have prior knowledge to rip tides despite having been to plenty of beaches, and all my experience swimming in the ocean. But that day I had for some reason decided it was best not to swim (thank god), so I was just taking a walk on the beach like the cheese ball I am. I had come across this lady with a cute little leashed dog, she must have been up there in age, if you asked me, probably about 75-80ish; and as I was walking away I had turned around to look back, and her little dog had broken free of her grasp and ran straight into the water. Of course, she went chasing after the pup, and she had to go in about waist deep in order to grab the doggo and when she did her and her pup ended up in a riptide. It was awful, and scary. She immediately lost her footing, and it didn't seem like she knew how to swim, let alone had the energy for swimming at her age. Panic ensued, her daughter came back from wherever she was, just in time to see the situation unfold. Eventually with a lot of time and energy, we managed to get her, and her dog out before they were drifted out. I helped her collect the belongings that had fallen in the shallow water and said our goodbyes. I was very happy that she was safe and sound. I'm not gonna' lie though, after we rescued the elderly woman, the daughter didn't even bat an eye, she didn't say thank you, or show an appreciation for me helping her mother before she had made it to the water. In fact, the daughter was extremely cold. She screamed at me like in a really cold and hellish tone when we were trying to help her mother out, and no, not in the "I'm a panicked daughter, and I'm desperate for your help" type of way. I mean, she seemed genuinely unappreciative and disgusted with my presence. I recall her shouting calling me a "retard", for not grabbing her mother out of the water in the "right way". Like, I know you're stressed, but I'm sorry lady-- If I witness someone being nearly swept away or drowning, I don't care where I grab them, as long as I get them out of the water. Period. Her mother, however, did thank me for picking up her belongings, though she was pretty out of it, and shaken up (for obvious reasons). Afterwards the daughter stormed off as quickly as possible without saying another word to me, she also left her soaking wet, and cold mother behind to walk the rest of the way up the shore, to the streets.
My brother got caught in one when we were 8 I thought I lost him...I remember the look of panic on his face. Luckily my grandpa saved him. It was moving fast
I was caught in a rip current as a young teen on vacation in Newport Beach and was saved by a guy a on a surf board.. I stayed out of the ocean for a long time but learned about rip currents and a couple years back I saved two little girls who were sucked out here in RI with a boogie board after a storm..now I try and warn kids whenever I’m at the beach at night some listen some don’t … I have been caught in some smaller ones and always went underwater and swam sideways.. never realized the rip would just take you back to shore ..
4 members of my girlfriends family got pulled out a couple of weeks ago in Panama City. Do not fight the current. My girlfriend and her sister are certified life guards and still couldn’t swim parallel to the beach to escape. Luckily they caught my eye from the beach between the breaking waves and I was able to grab a float and get them. Whenever I got within 10 feet I could finally hear them screaming bloody murder. Hearing your loved ones screams is the most bone chilling experience and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I got them all out safe, but the experience has caused me to have nightmares since. Everyone please be safe and do not underestimate the power of the sea.
You want to check out EFT (Meridian tapping) for the trauma (I am not joking, it IS trauma, as your nightmares prove). EFT Universe Dawson Church. he has instructions on the site and an archive with many examples how people used it. Search for "trauma" on his site. Dawson and his wife barely made it out of a California wildfire but had to leave their kittens behind, so I guess he has very recent instructions for trauma tapping in place. (happened in 2018 or 2019 if I remember correctly).
Got taken in one 2 weeks ago in southern australia. I'm a good swimmer and couldn't make it back even when trying swimming parallel. Started to panic thinking about sharks as i was getting far (about 100m). Calmed down on floating on my back and thinking "ok i'm a fish and i'm in my element" then backstroked a bit less than parallel to beach. Finally got caught in the circular current back to beach... came out extenuated! PANIC is really the main dangerous factor here, your real enemy.
Wow! You were pretty darn far! Happy you made it back!
@@clydefloyd8751 thanks man, happy too! For some reasons it became one of my worse experience...
I would never swim in australian waters f that!
Grand Jean - I'm really inspired by how you calmed down. Good for you!
@@lovesings2us thx. Thinking 'i'm a fish and i'm in my element everything is ok' does really help to relax! Kind of meditation...
You know what, I’ll just stay in my pool
@י 😛 After surviving 2 rips myself and getting older, I, too, am staying in my pool! [Former Lifeguard]!!!
Your right
@@chanamoriel8696 how does a ript current feel like how far does it pull you out and why you can't just swim out
@@jasiahhill3133 What does a rip feel like? No 2 are exactly alike. However, the closest example I can give is a jetted swim forever pool on steroids, where you loose ground and not gain and are really powerless to fight against it. Some rips just pull you out and others can pull you under, though those are less common. When a current is that strong, it is impossible to swim out of. The first time it happened to me, I was pulled out about a half mile. I tried swimming across it, to no avail, so I floated til it was finished. When it finished, I swam with the circuit and I ended up about a mile down the beach. Second one pulled me under and out around 500 yards, then just out about 1/4 mile. Needless to say, I don't want to experience them again.
Chana Moriel man that’s scary. Nice job surviving
watching a video just like this out of boredom probably saved me from death....
I went on a trip to LA Serena Chili, didn't look at the danger sigh on the beach. Got into the water. Was just floating for a few minutes, when I look up I was about a 1/4 mile away. I tried to swim directly back to the beach but I wasn't moving. Stayed calm a remember the video I watch. Watch the way the water was moving. Decided to swim parralell to the beach. Was going with the current till it started to pull me back to land. Then I found out people die there all the time. I have so much more respect for the ocean.
I agree with the respect
My co-worker died in a rip current , so sad .. reason I am here for educational info .. stay safe peeps
@@aydinvisionhd6640 Woah when dude what happened
Same here! I watched a video on rip currents out of boredom and pure luck. If I hadn’t known what to do I’d be a goner. Scary stuff
Chile, not Chili.
I unwittingly took this advice. I remember being caught in a rip in California when I was a kid about 13 or 14. I had no idea what was happening. All I knew was the beach was getting farther and farther away and there was nothing I could do. I waved, tried to get attention of anyone. When that failed I just floated and started crying....and then I noticed the shore starting to get closer again, swam to some breakers and they carried me in....To this day I haven't even told my mom of this. Whole thing happened in a few minutes.
Damn glad you made it out alive buddy
Same here. I was very young, about 14 or 15, but could swim well. I’d been training all summer to be a Jr. Lifeguard. Doing all sorts of drills. I went to the pool every day except Sundays. At the end of the summer I went on a church youth group trip to the beach. I was in water waist high jumping the waves. I got caught in a current and only realized it when I landed, but the water was over my head. I began to tread water. I naturally tried to swim back to shallower water, but could not, so I gently treaded water, then I decided to stop treading and just float. When I got tired, I floated on my back. Once I turned on my belly opened my eyes and only saw blue. I was amazed. I just switched from back floating and gentle side stroking angled more horizontally. When I finally made it to shore I could barely walk and at one point collapsed on the beach. Later that night I could still hear the ocean and feel the floating sensation. The walk back to my group was gruesome. I was at New Smyrna beach. Last year I learned this beach is rated as a very dangerous beach known for sharks and rip currents. I never told my father or family. Even though I scuba dive, at the age of 53, I’m still super careful on the beach, especially when waves are around and have instructed my daughter and told her the same.
@@joellebowers2862 that’s insane that you survived. Do you think that swimming parallel to the shore would’ve helped your situation?
so it worked.
(btw i'm telling your mom)
@@joellebowers2862 you are lucky lucky lucky! thanks for sharing
When I was 11 my friend and I were swimming in the shallow part of Myrtle Beach. What I now know to be a rip current slowly but surely pulled us deeper into the ocean. We started to panic but no one was close to us. A short while later the current pushed me back to the beach while she was still in the deeper part. I screamed for help and two men swam out and saved her. I thank God we made it, especially when I hear stories of people dying like this.
My friend died 2 weeks ago at Myrtle Beach due to a rip current. He was athletic and strong minded, but I guess he panicked and didn't have a plan. Reading these posts convinces me that it's important to remain calm and have a prearranged strategy. For many it may not be if, but when. Be safe.
Those men are heroes
Steve Fitzhenley so sorry to hear that!
I got caught in one when I was 12 and I was underwater because I dove into one of the waves. I was underwater for a minute straight, but I was able to make it out because it pulled me back to shore!
Brave Davia
Years ago I got caught in a rip current and I wasn't even in the sea. I had been walking along the sand close to the water. i was chatting with someone whilst we were walking and they were slightly ahead of me, when a wave came out of nowhere and knocked me over and a rip current pulled me way out to sea. It happened very, very quickly. The person i was with hadn't even noticed I had been sucked out to sea and was still walking along talking to themselves thinking I was right behind them. I had no idea what to do and couldn't shout as the waves were hitting me in the face and it seemed like I was being dragged out at incredible speed. I was struggling trying my hardest to get back in. Thirty second later, the person I was with still hadn't noticed I had been sucked out to sea. I was fuming that they hadn't noticed and that I was about to drown and nobody knew would ever know what had happened to me.
Then luckily, some surfers saw what had happened and paddled over and told me to hold onto their board, which I did, and they brought me back to shore. They also explained to me about rip tides and what to do if it ever happened again. I told them I had not even been in the water and they were not surprised to be told that. By that stage the person I was with just about noticed that.I had gone but they were still ridiculously slow to respond. If I had relied on them noticing me gone missing then no doubt I would have drowned. The surfer left me on the shore and I spluttered my thanks and wanted to thank them more but they went off surfing again. Those surfers saved my life and I didn't even know their names or even if I would ever recognise them again. But wherever you are and whoever you are surfers, thank you for saving my life in 1992 on a beach near Cape Town.
LOL! Sorry for laughing but that's like a movie. Gosh so good you are good tho!
@Whited Out : the big wave came. It can totally happen!
@@MoneyStrategiesSOULutions .. a rouge wave cab come ( where waves are high ) and you think you are on sand but the wave comes in further....
Whited Out beaches with decent swell on a big day have shorelines that can move up 10-20 metres from a large set or large wave, and usually moving pretty fast
You always have to keep half an eye on the water- it's called a 'sneaker wave'.
got cought in such current recently...I stayed calm and let it carry me....now I am dead. Thanks for advice
lol
Dont be stupid.. That is the exact way to escape just chill
😂😂😂 Omg.
How about trying to respawn so you'll be alive again?
Naaaah just kidding got u! U all thought i was dead didnt u , fooled u all, lol i am so clever
I once got caught in one back in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was relatively close to the shore. I was using a bodyboard to catch some waves, and it was really fun. Suddenly, in a span of less than a minute, I realize that I had been taken really far from the shore, I could barely see my friends that were with me that day. The shore seemed really distant. The worst part was that, the bodyboard I was using was attached to my hand, and the rip current was literally pulling me even harder from the board. It was like if the current was pulling me both from my hand and my feet. I tried swimming back to the shore without any real success. I spent the next 20 or so minutes just using all my energy trying to swim back but I just kept being pulled afar. At some point in this struggle, after I tried screaming for help, I looked back to the ocean and saw that a big-enough wave was forming. I quickly positioned my self into the bodyboard and thankfully I was able to catch the wave. While on it, I tried going a little bit diagonal to the shore so I could move out of the rip current. This spontaneous wave I was able to catch made me cut the distance between me and the shore by about 50%. After that, I was able to swim back to the shore. I have never been as exhausted, I was really scared that day. I have never told anyone about it, not even to my friends that day. If it was not because of that wave and my bodyboard, I would very probably have drowned on the beach due to that rip current.
If you’re ever caught in a rip with something that floats, use it to ride out and preserve your energy.
wow. I'm glad you are ok.
Tell your friends and family now
That exact same thing happened to me. If it were not for that huge wave I would 100% of died.
Or you would've drowned on the beach due to you attempting to swim against it.
I was rescued when i was 10yrs old by lifeguards. A man and myself were sucked out by a rip in rough surf ,at Maroochydore in Queensland,Australia.I lived there and knew how to swim, but had no chance in that swell.The man,that was no more than 10 meters from me, died on that overcast morning.I remember them unsuccessfully trying to revive him.It was the first time i had seen a dead body and i remember it as if was yesterday.
Underestimate the sea and it will gladly take your life.
Oh my I'm so sorry
There is a link him.it
I got caught in one at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. I was diving under the waves with a buddy on a day of work and after this large wave hit I found myself come up and I was no longer able to touch the bottom after the rip pulled me backwards. I remember thinking I’ll just swim hard to get more shallow. Then I realized I was still going backwards and quite fast. Just as I was getting exhausted I got hit with a hard wave and had a gallon of sea water up my nose. I was absolutely disoriented and definitely was in a panic. I remember thinking how my wife and kids would find out. Then I just went very still and I forced myself to breathe slowly and I box breathed. I oriented myself to see waves coming so I could roll and body surfed them. I was about 150 metres from shore. It took about 30 minutes to get back in. When I got to shore my buddy said “There lifeguard was calling on the PA for you to stop playing that far out and come in”. I sat down on the beach exhausted. I’ll never forget almost dying. I think about a lot and I actually use it to remind myself when things are stressful that breathing and situating yourself is just good practice.
Awesome and harrowing story. The most harrowing part is when you realize that the lifeguards had no clue you were in distress and would've essentially let you just drown out there. Did you wave your arms? If not, why? It's the universal sign for distress in water
Float on UAR back
Oh god the fact you survived
Great story, but you failed to actually say how you did get back in. Did you swim parallel or did you let the rip carry you out and then, bring you back in?
What a good friend did he even think to call the life guard to help you?
Remember that advice people: if you're drowning, the best strategy is to stay afloat.
lol if ur drowning...u wont be floating eh lmao
I found the best not to drown os dont inhale the water try to only breathe air.
Yeah I guess when you're dying try not to die.
@willie billie ask ur mother son...she would tell you differently 👍🏼
@@kameelrahman4106 LOOOOOOOOOL WTF MANE
one of the teachers of my school just died from one of these rip tides over memorial break trying to save his kids, in which he did. he sacrificed his life for his kids..
I know I'm a bit late to reply, but God bless him. Now that's a good father.
@@souwls5172 God is not real. This video is. Had this father watched one similar to this, he may here now to see his kids grow up. .
Dude wtf this is literally the same thing that happened to Shad Gaspard a few days ago. Drowned in a rip but told rescuers to save his son
Same thing happened to shad beast damn
@@eclecticmusica dude I'm an athiest too and honestly you need to shut the fuck up.
I was caught in a RIP current and I was all by my self on an big empty beach . Holy shit .. eventhough I'm a great swimmer only by a miracle I was able to get out of there . Thanks God
Same! I can’t take any credit for saving myself from my experience either, God just blessed me with a miracle. Praise the Lord!
@@ShellG. I also got caught in a riptide and I asked the Devil to get me back so I could smite my enemies and I miraculously got thrown back to shore within seconds after that. Thanks Satan!
Maybe don’t swim by yourself lol
Thank God indeed!
Shell G. hail Satan!
I didn’t even know what a rip tide was! Never even heard of it. I heard about Shad Gaspard disappearing whilst swimming with his 10 year old son a couple days ago and just read the sad news that they found a body on the beach and it’s confirmed to be him!😔 Thoughts and prayers with his family! I’m from London so people don’t go to beaches too often but the Shad incident made me want to know what to do in that situation incase hence why I’m here. He made sure the lifeguards saved his son first. Much respect to you Shad! May you rest in peace!🙏🏽
Same brother RIP to a good man
This is the biggest problem, most people don't have a clue about what this is. It's more of a danger in ocean water but can be dangerous on big lakes as well depending on the conditions. This is something that really should be tought in school and not just in communities proximate to Lake and Ocean shores.
@@redhawk0329 I believe it has only happened on some of the Great Lakes after a storm. But even that is very rare I think. Still can't be too careful.
Hearing that Shad Gaspard probably died from a riptide, makes my heart ache so bad for him and his family
Same
His body washed up shore on Venice beach, but not his sons.. ;(
Read an article that said they found him washed up on shore dead such sad news....but when the lifeguard was attempting to rescue both his son and him he pushed his son towards the life guard saying "save my son first" after that he got drug back more and hit by a wave and wasn't seen till they found him I believe last night... absolutely crazy
@@jassplays_5050 the life guards saved his son from the rip tide...hes alive and well.
J he’s son is alive man . He was saved while shad sadly disappeared in the waves
There were no signs, the water looked exactly all the same, I was 10 and alone gathering sea shells along the shore. I was in mid calf depth, all of a sudden a wave came knocked me down, pulled me out to sea. I swam parallel to the shore and I never set foot in the ocean again and I'm in my sixties.
Different people react different ways. I was hip-deep jumping swells when a big wave came and crashed on me and rolled me along the sand all the way to shore! I was about 8 or 9 when that happened and it scared me, but I became a life-guard and avid diver in time. I've never been caught in a rip probably because I know what they look like and how to get out of them, but many people are. I've had to swim out and rescue them, and that was before the jet-skis that are used now for rescue, and that's so much better!
Yeah, got caught in one in Hawaii with my wife. Some of the current signs in this video would have helped us out, since we had the bright idea of going into the water in that calm middle area where the surfers and waves weren't. A surfer helped us out of it, or it could have gone badly. My general rule of thumb is stay out of the ocean altogether. I got talked into that particular swim.
Getting back in the water that day with an excellent swimmer and encouragement could have helped overcome the horror. Almost lost my life when I was 10 years old at Kaena Point Oahu when a riptide pulled me out to sea then a 30 foot wave crashed over me repeatedly. I was saved by a 76 year old woman. My father made me go back in the water after the waves had calmed down (same day). He stayed with me and taught me several ways to get out of a riptide. He called it forceful swimming using adrenaline to swim parallel with the beach and if you are too tired then relax and float on your back and let it carry you - the minute it stops carrying you - swim away from it. So thankful for the lessons I learned that day.There are good people in the world who care. We can survive against tremendous odds.
@@thereseward7852 You are so lucky you had a father who knew the consequences of fear in the ocean, and taught you what to do so you could handle it. The ocean is extremely powerful and you can get swept off your feet even when you are only mid-leg deep, if you lose your footing in the onrush of the wave and fall down, the back-wash (receding wave) will carry you back out to deep water. People get overwhelmed and overpowered by ocean waves and currents all the time, and when they do not know what to do, they can drown.
Quitter
I have been caught in two rip currents in my life. I surfed growing up in Florida, and they were most common during hurricane season. On both occasions, I stayed calm, rode it out, and when I was no longer being pulled out, paddled approximately 75-100 meters parallel to the shore, and then paddled back to safety. Now I truly realize that it is a lot different when you do not have a board to float on, but I have known and seen many people get pulled out, and the ones who stayed calm, were in the best shape when life guard units saved them. I'm not going to lie and say if I we're just swimming, that I could stay calm. It was scary enough on my surfboards. But the most powerful muscle in our body, our brain, can be our worst enemy or best friend during these dangerous situations. Stay safe everyone! Salt Life!!!
Brain isn't muscle
Ok, now that’s an overreaction. There’s a difference between pointing out a mistake and hating on a comment.
@@The_Dirt_Merchant 🤣😭
What the fuck that’s a pretty harsh reply to someone who’s right...
@Shrek IKR?
I was like 😳
Important topic that should be discussed in schools worldwide. As a swimmer/ surfer- totally agree, staying afloat and calm is key. I almost lost my life few years ago after losing my surfboard as my leash broke. NYC area just lost 4 beachgoers in last 2 weeks. Great video, keep spreading the word 👍
Oh damn I surf on Long Island where was this at?
brew, i also surf, and lost my leash (many times), but i surf j-bay so i just swam, climb on the rocks and get my board. also i was small so uhhhhh
They do teach it in Florida. We have commercials about how to identify and escape rip currents.
I was on the beach when a big muscle bound man drowned in a rip current. It was terrible. The lifeguards all lined up and dove and searched and couldn't find him. My ex had been swimming near him and they both were caught and were trying to power swim back to shore. My ex is really tall 6'6" so maybe he was able to stand earlier. I don't know but he was able to make it back to get the lifeguard and tell him to get the other guy, but when he turned around to show him the other guy who was stuck out there with him, he was gone. I was walking back to the blanket and saw all the life guards and vehicles and thought at first they were looking for my boyfriend, until I saw him exhausted. Then we watched to see if they would find the other guy. I felt so incredibly sad for the guy's family who were sitting on a blanket terrified and hoping. But as far as I know, they never found him. Put a pall on my whole trip. I'll never forget the image of them waiting and watching. Looked like he had a wife, little kids and his parents all there on the beach. So incredibly sad.
Wow thats heart breaking. Thank goodness your partner was able to survive. An ex football player just died in a rip in florida. Just goes to show no matter how good of shape your in it can still kill you
I was caught in a riptide when I was younger. I had some drinks and went to the beach with a friend at like 2am. I was by a pier and had never even heard of a riptide before. I just thought you could swim and drift out into the ocean, no big deal, for as long as you wanted without worry. All of the sudden (it seemed), I was VERY far away from the beach and it was pitch black all around me. For the life of me I couldn't make any progress at all when I tried to make my way back to shore. I became exhausted quickly and just remember drifting away. I honestly think the whiskey in my system kept me calmer than I might have normally been, but it also made me weaker. I ended up just saving energy and using short bursts every 30 seconds or so. I was trying to dance with the ocean in a weird way. I knew the only way I was going to get back was to do it on her terms. I eventually used my last burst of energy (I feel like I did these bursts at parallel angles at least 20x altogether) to break free. It was intense. I had no choice but to stay calm. I was depressed at the time, but I wasn't ready to leave this world yet. My heart breaks for Shad. He was a strong man. It had to have been extremely powerful to take his life. God bless his family and give them the comfort they need through this most tragic and difficult time.
you didn't break free, sir. you drifted around and it let you out. your strategy actually made it much tougher and more deadly pure luck for you
Got caught in a rip this afternoon. Im a fairly decent swimmer, but 30 seconds swimming against a rip quickly exhausted me. I didnt panic, but I couldnt believe how tired I got. My arms were dead. I had to wave someone passing by on a paddleski to help me. I got to the beach and I just sat there for 30 minutes. Im still playing it over in my head now.
Glad u r OK!!!!
Same thing happened to me on the Greek island of Kefalonia. I was snorkeling fairly close to the beach....25 metres....then got caught in a rip...suddenly I was many hundreds of metres off the beach...it took me all of my strength swimming in a zig zag at an angle to the rip to get back to the beach.... possibly 30-40 minutes....lost all power in my legs which cramped up...hauled myself onto the beach and massaged legs back to life.....got back to the sun beds and the missus said "where have you been ?"..A very close shave with Death !
I wish my husband was calm as you when he got caught by a rip current, he would still be alive right now😭😭😭
@@xxdarksidexx9058 so sorry for your loss.
@@xxdarksidexx9058 So sorry to hear this...so tragic.
R.i.p. Shad Gaspard. Dozens of years going to the beach I never knew this could've happened to me. here I am educating myself on how to survive one after such a tragic death.
SAME
the ocean can be so majestic, but so terrifying and the same time
back in 1974 i was swimming in San Pedro beach all of sudden a current pull me far inside the ocean and did not now how far i was because i could not see anything but waves and no way to tell what direction to come back and after half hour i was laying tired
on the beach i don't know how i did it, and now i am advising my daughters and grand sons to watch your video. Its a great help. Now i'm 77 years old and telling them to watch your video. Thanks
They should really raise awareness for this shit lmao. How is it that only 5% of the people know about this?
Well, if the survey pool took in account peoples far away from the beach that go there, a few times in their life at best, it would explain that number.
Well they have google. People should use it
@@ldbwa1050 Google wasn't around when I was a kid and my family would go to the beach all the time. Never knew about this. Also Google is for when you know you want to find out more about something but it's possible there are people that haven't heard of undertow or riptide.
Why are you laughing your ass off? This is a serious matter.
A lot of folks won't need to know either they live inland and won't be swimming at beaches or don't like swimming at beaches
Thanks but I’ll just stay on my bed eating chips
Lol. They go well with pizza!
21st Century Caveman i ate the last slice yesterdat
Thanks a lot I just finished talking to my dad about this and he told me the same thing❤️ the most important thing is don’t be scared just relax and go with the flow😂🙏🏽
Hilarious
you might want to stay eating rice cakes. Fat no good
That happen to me on the beach in Santa Monica CA. I was walking along the shore and my daughter who was 8 years old at the time. I fell and told her to stand back away from the water. The waves took me out I really did not know what to do. I was trying to walk back to the shore and it was like a really strong man was pulling me out to sea. I was getting tired of trying to fight my way back. And my daughter was calling mom mom. I could feel my feet leaving the sand. but I was a 911 operator so I was taught to stay cam. When I looked down in the water something was near me I really thought I am done but luckily for me it was a dolphin. She started to swim as dolphins do and I copied her moves and it worked. I was grateful for that dolphin she saved my life. And trust me, I am No! Swimmer.
Sandra Gayle wow , look at God . The dolphin came to your rescue . God was truly watching over you . That’s such a scary situation to be in . Glad you made it out alive
@@golden.queennn you are so right. He is always on time when you need him. It also make me feel like all the times I would go to the beach to play my harp and pray and like king David praise the father with the harp. My prayer was answered.
Na just luck
Wait what?? I’m a bit confused you were walking on the shore like along a pier? Or a road? And you fell, found a dolphin, copied the dolphin moves even tho you can’t swim and do that until you reach the beach???
Can you explain in detail how the dolphin saved you?
Who missed the info that will save their life because they were too distracted reading comments
🤣🤣🤣🤣 this guy !!!!
Lmfao
Me lol
Me😭😭
josh the barber lmaoooo
I was caught in a rip current today. I did almost all the wrong things because I’m not a great swimmer and I knew nothing about this. I panicked. exhausted myself. My young son was watching me and got me help to save my life…. I’m still a bit spooked but dedicated even more to be a better swimmer. Thank you to my son Isiah and the beautiful man that saved me!🙏🏼💖
I've been caught many times. It's gotten much worse because lifeguards don't let people swim past the breakers. In my experience, staying in front of the breakers is the worst place to be. Once you swim past them, you can choose to swim, float, body surf, or catch a wave back. The main thing is to realize where you're drifting in the rip. As soon as I enter the ocean, I turn towards shore and fix on a large landmark. It doesn't matter even if I'm just going in up to my knees. As I swim, I'm always checking where I am. When I've been in a rip, I relax, check my land mark, and swim in its direction, not exactly parallel to the shore but relatively so. I NEVER fight the current. I float and tread to get back to the landmark, then watch the wave formations to time myself to get back into the shore. Sometimes it can take a while. I'm not a strong swimmer at all. I know the salt water will help me float. I breathe deeply and rest, always moving towards the landmark. If you feel tired just tread. Put your head back and rest a few seconds. If you're really scared you can attract a lifeguard. For me, that would have to mean I'm injured. Just find a landmark and stick to it.
In 1981 at age 7, I got caught in a powerful one at Emerald Ilse, NC. No one on the beach except my family. My Daddy came for me and we are both strong swimmers...we struggled over an hour, then two Marines in the house next door came to our rescue on a raft...they just kicked us in. We'd never heard of such a thing and had no idea how to survive... education is the best thing, and it's only by the grace of God (and two Marines!) that we survived. My Daddy, my hero kept me alive!
Nope. No imaginary friend. It was the Marines that did the saving.
Amanda muthalovin Manning she said her dad helped her stay alive, and that’s true the marines saved them in the end but if no one had gone after her she probably would have died.
I believe that God blessed you with a Wonderful Daddy and those Amazing Marines , Thankful ypu made it safe that day 🙏💕✝️🕊
Watching this because a friend just lost his life to a riptide, so heartbreaking I wish everyone knew about this before going in the water.
Sorry to hear that, ocean is dangerous..
MisterTCF yes very
DeadKing66 very sorry for your loss as well
I was 8 when a riptide threw me about 30 ft from the beach my dad threw himself into the riptide after me and ended up saving me from drowning
the same thing happened to me
I’m happy for both of you
I think u just want attention
@@ethanmorrison1867 2009 in Crete I was swimming when I got taken off my feet in 2 foot of water, pushed out maybe 50 m
King Cinnamon you’re an idiot
I very nearly drowned in a rip at Glen Beach in SA. I thought I knew the beach as I swam there every day of my life...never lose respect for the ocean no matter how well you think you know your spot. I am a strong swimmer and tried to swim sideways out of the rip but ended up being pulled back and forth with waves crashing on me and I was quickly exhausted. Next time I am swimming out towards the ocean and rather take my chances there than drown meters away for the beach. Thank you for this amazing video hopefully it will save lives!
same i was in one too but i was okay good thging ty for good AND and im an 8 YEAR OLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Oh wow ! Glad you are safe
But you never said how you got out of it. That's the most interesting part....
@@TheBelilu Lifeguards were luckily on duty and they had to come fetch me, if it were not for them I would not be alive today. I was exhausted and swallowed alot of water. My body just gave up and they came in with floatation devices to rescue me.
@@TheBelilu this is exactly the same spot I was caught in, the rocks create a structural rip pulling sideways in outwards. Very dangerous. ruclips.net/video/Io-U-ZOuYYc/видео.html
I got caught in rip on the south coast of Australia, surfing for my 3rd time only. Thank god my elder friend (who’s an experienced surfer) noticed me struggling and paddled out into the rip with me and guided us out thr back of it and we caught a wave back to shore. Biggest thing I learnt is not to bloody panic. The ocean is a scary place, and should be treated with ultimate respect. If your surfing or swimming on your own at a beach think twice about your actions
I'm a beach-head, love to bodyboard & surf. I live in Vegas, but during the summer I'm at the beach damn near every weekend somewhere in Southern California. I know that I've been caught in currents before. I'm strong, 6'2'', 245lbs, a good swimmer, but that means absolutely nothing against the awesome raw power of the ocean. Was swimming with all my might towards the beach one time, for about 15 seconds & was going nowhere, then remembered to swim parallel to the shore (which I've done several times in similar circumstances), & it works. God forbid something stronger sweeps me up, I'll use the info in this video to swim with the current until it gives, then use waves and/or the current coming in to make it to shore. God Bless everyone! #RIPShadGaspard
I got pulled under when I was 8 or 9 at Clearwater beach FL. It was horrifying, the waves pulled my feet out from under me and slammed me onto my face, it dragged me fast and being so scared, I just stayed completely still until the water got deep enough. Then swam sideways. It took me pretty far away from where my family was. I'm glad I didn't drown or try to fight it.
Keeps calm and stays afloat, goes with the flow and gets carried 500ft into ocean, rip current loses steam and no longer pulls. Time to swim back *gets eaten by shark*
Smoke Alucard
Unlikely.
Smoke Alucard you are probably safer than you think. We probably look retarded to sharks if we are swimming without a board.lol
Lol
Would be my luck legit🙄
SWIM ON YOUR BACK!!!! I can’t believe this isn’t mentioned, but swimming on your back conserves an incredible amount of energy and possibly saved me from drowning. If you are ever stuck swimming for your life, flip to your back, relax and breathe normally.
That's what saved me. It should be a point in this video
Got caught in one today. I was going against the shore and I was just getting farther and farther away and getting so tired. I thought I was about to die. So I had some memories and flashbacks and said in my mind that I’ll always love my family. I prayed to God that he will help me. Then a life guard came out of nowhere and I was like thanks God! I was being too dramatic😂🤣 but yea, vibes
Not dramatic if a lifeguard had to safe you
Your prayer was answered
Got caught in one before and had my goggles on, my dumbass thought it was smart to try to swim under the water but that just cost me alot of energy and I felt lost for a second. I'm a fairly good swimmer but I'd say the worst thing when getting swept like that is the waves that come smacking your face left and right. I had to gasp for breath really quickly in between waves so that I don't get smacked twice in a row because not only are the waves covering my entire body, I couldn't touch the ground which is already causing me to use more energy to just stay afloat, the sun literally blinds you for a second and you cant see where you're going, it's a very dangerous situation if the waves and rip are strong enough, and the constant salt water swallowing while in that situation was horrible, it made me feel like I was fainting from how much I swallowed. I was literally fighting for my life, it was both a mental game and a game of time(i just kept thinking to myself, this can end in really quickly if you think), I had to make sure that my head was above water at all times, that I had enough oxygen in my lungs to survive that horrendous, gigantic next wave, I had to be able to shoot my self back up right after the wave crashed in order to gasp and prepare myself for the next wave, all this while attempting to swim parallel to get out of this situation. It's a very, very very hard situation but the best thing is really to stay calm and figure your way out.
Yeah it’s the waves smacking in the face that kills you
Not a single actual RIP Current image...
Google it then
It's a current underwater you don't see it
@@smithson8806 You can see it from above
@@smithson8806 Trump, "WRONG"
@@smithson8806 Its not under water, the current can be very different. Its like a river. And somtimes in rivers you fail swimming parallel to the current.
I was stuck in a rip tide once, I had my toe hooking on a rock so that I dont get pulled back, I was getting extremely tired and asked my friend for help but he was just laughing, and its crazy because I couldn't understand why I'm getting pulled back and yet he wasnt, he was like 3 meters next to me he wasn't getting pulled back, I started stressing because I slipped off the rock and was now swimming against the rip, literally thought I was going to drown I had absolutely no more energy to keep myself up, all of a sudden some random father came and grabbed me out and told me I was stuck in a RIP tide, told me everything about them and to swim sideways until I'm out the current
Your friends are crazy
tf is wrong with your friend? hopefully you found better friends now
I had something similar happen to me except in my gut I felt like something was off about where I was so I only put one leg deeper into the water and kept my other leg in the shallow shore. That leg I decided to put felt like it was going to break it was yanking my leg so hard. I almost didn't get out but when the water came back to shore I pulled as hard as I could even though my leg felt like it was going to break and I got out.
I was once got pulled by rip but thank god I always wear lifejacket when playing in the sea it may look stupid but at least I'm not drowning
your friend is a piece of shit
Rest In Peace Naya Rivera🕊. She and her son were swimming when rip tides occurred in the lake. It’s said she used her last energy to push her son into the boat and when asked her son said he looked back and his mom disappeared. She brought me here because I’m terrified of dying in a body of water
Dont worry honey...if I ever see u in the water struggling I'll save u.....
Rip currents can not form in lakes, would love to know what happened there
@@zacharystapleton932 Maybe in one of the Great Lakes - they behave like oceans not lakes
@@selaxlife7621 ew what the fuck
@@zacharystapleton932 lake michigan.... look it up
Growing up in Newport Beach, we were warned about riptides. It happened to me several times. Usually the water was shallow enough to escape. One time, I had to do what was recommended: I let it take me out until it stopped, then swam parallel to the beach for 100 feet, then swam in the 200 feet. If you can’t swim 500 feet with no fins, stay out of the ocean.
Interesting video and agree that staying calm and conserving energy is vital. I grew up on Oahu from the 40's and 50's in the Koko Head area. My friends and I spent this time body surfing at Sandy Beach, Makapuu. and the Koko Head Point, now called "China Walls". The most dangerous beach is Sandy Beach in which waves come out of very deep water into rapidly shallowing water. Rip currents are very common when the surf is above 4 feet. I remember when I was 6 or 7, seeing a person trying to fight the rip current and drown. I was with my father who was not a good enough and experienced swimmer to do anything. Living close to "Sand", my friends and I were likely the first to regularly surf Sandy and Makapu'u. Initially we were very cautious of the rip currents and stayed away. Eventually, we found the the rip currents were our friend, as a quick ride out through the waves to catch another. If the rip current was close by, we would enter it until we were the desired distance from the beach and swim sideways out of the current. In the case of Sandy, there was NO circular current. Eventually the current dissipated quite away from shore and left you in the down-beach current which took you down the coast and rocky cliffs. So, as a body surfer of about 45 years, I vote for swimming across the rip current. By the way many of the beaches in the islands have this phenomenon so be careful and alert. For those who are good ocean swimmers, have a ball.
Grew up by the ocean - and even tho we had no waves where I lived - just by being "friends" with it, I just sort of knew what to do with rips and huge waves later in life, crashing over you, over and over. I have never been afraid - tho quite tired after multiple waves.
Surfers look for rip currents so it is easier to get back out.
Yeah, I used to do that when I lived in jersey, sometimes I even would swim into a rip current and swim with it so I feel like I am swimming really fast
They are super helpful! Love from so cal
experienced swimmers do too lol
It's nice to have a surf board along for the occasion, I suppose. Helps with anxiety.
On the southern tip of Lake Michigan when there's a North Wind they always post Beach closed Riptides which is not true it's rip currents I like the waves so I use these to get out deep and then bodysurf back in I'm 64 years old if you use common sense you'll survive anything except a gunshot to the Head LOL
Got caught in a rip current recently in Miami. I ignored the red flag and thought if I just got in thigh-deep I’d be okay... wrong. It swept me off my feet and carried me about 1/4 mile out; the waves were so big and constantly hitting me that I thought, I’m really about to die out here and nobody will ever even know. I started to swim parallel and I could feel myself being pulled further and further out. Thankfully a lifeguard way on the shore saw me, started blowing his whistle and was signaling for me to swim the other direction... I was apparently swimming right into the current. I am so grateful to him for my life and have so much more respect for the ocean.
I got caught in one when I was twelve. The lifeguards hadn't started yet as my friend and I got to the beach early. I remember walking into the water and being yanked. I panicked a bit and went under the water a couple of times. I somehow managed to calm down and then I didn't feel the great pressure in the water after a while. I was able to return to the shore.
Later that day I fell asleep on the sand in forty degree Celsius weather wearing a two piece swim suit. I ended up sunburned from head to foot. I blistered up so much. I had to have cold baths because the shower felt like acid.
So all in all it was not a fun day.
I just got caught in one today, I was swimming with my 11 year old daughter. I didn't know about this phenomenon until today. We slowly found our selves getting far from shore and started panicking. I yelled at my daughter to start swimming towards the shore but she said I can't 😫. I then got her and pushed her towards land as hard as I could, luckily there was my friend close by and yelled at him to grab her and take her to shore. I was already exhausted and very scared. My friend was like our guardian angel, he saved my daughter and I was able to save my self, barely... I then got very angry on my self for putting my daughter at such great danger...
It was an incredibly scary experience and now I respect the sea so much more... I immediately started to research this phenomenon and now I feel so much safer being aware of it.
It's crazy how humble you be now, when it comes to swimming in the sea.
This seems like a lie. Your friend would have been caught too. I suppose the riptide itself could have carried you all back to shore.
@@cmw12 he was able to touch the ground, we were not. 1st off he was a few meters closer to shore and 2nd off he is taller. Why would anyone make up such a story?
@@catalin1588 fair enough
I had the experience just 10 days ago. I was just swimming near the shore and in a matter of seconds I was already 50 meters away from the shore. I tried very hard to swim back but it just kept on pushing me away. I am a good swimmer but started to panic because the waves kept on crashing and I was alone in the vast beach. Started shouting for help but of course nobody could hear me. Raised my hand calling for help and 2 guys noticed me from the shore. I was lying afloat when four people came to rescue. Felt so exhausted and was literally shaking when we got back. Very traumatizing event.
Yes, panic is the real deal here. Be calm and conserve your energy.
I windsurf and spend a lot of time in the sea. Your greatest enemy is panic. Once your out in open sea don't give a shit about sharks or jelly fish. There's nothing you can do. Just relax, float and hopefully you'll get back on the back circle.
Right. Just accept u r risking ur life.
Ocean sports r for halfway suicidal
people anyway. All of it. Especially
scuba unless u do it w/guides ONLY.
@@qonitabadegestm9989 Wow, you’re pessimistic.
I’ve been caught in so many rips, and some of them even on purpose, and I find the best strategy is to swim diagonal that way you will be getting out of the rip and swimming back to shore at the same time. I’m not saying this will always work because I am quite an experienced swimmer although it hasn’t ever not worked for me.
That's what I was taught too early on- but like they say here, sometimes it doesnt work.
I got caught once and got my head slammed into the ground on like a 7 and a half foot wave but the water was so low I got out easy
I’ve been swimming at the beach for almost 40 years never been caught in a rip until last Wednesday. I was between the flags but more so to the left of the flags. Little did I realise there was a rip just outside the flags. A wave came in and I went under as you do. When I came up out of the wave I could no longer touch the bottom I hadn’t been out deep at all. I was suddenly take out with the rip so quickly. At first I tried to swim back, only lasted a few seconds as I knew it was the wrong thing to do. Waves kept coming and pulling me under the water. I kept telling myself not to panic but it was hard and I was getting so tired. A man who had been swinging near me saw me. He put up his hand to the lifeguard and then yelled that he was coming to get me. As much as I knew it was the wrong thing to do I was so glad he had seen me. Next thing I went under again and he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. He was so calm which in turn helped me be calm. We did swim sideways for a while and then a couple of big waves came and he just said I’m going to throw you into the wave to get you closer to shore. He did this twice and suddenly I could standup. By that time the lifeguard has reached us. She then told me that the other beaches had all closed due to the rips! I know I wouldn’t be here now if that man hasn’t saved me
Similiar thing happened to me last summer. My confidence in the ocean has not been the same since.
Got taken by one before I knew what they were in Cancun Mexico. I wasnt aware that there were beaches where swimming could be dangerous due to the waves. I decided to race my friend as I was very confident with my swimming but before I realized it, I was soooooo far away from shore I was shocked. I tried to swim back but with no success until I had too much lactic acid buildup on my legs. The waves kept smashing towards me while I was dragged further and further out. I decided to just submerge myself and resurface after a wave passes to grasp for air and keep doing that until my friends could get help. I remember thinking about how its checkout time and that this was it for me but not until I've given it 10000% of my everything. Some time passed and I see a dude on a jetski reaching out to me. I was dragged by the jetski and while we were going to shore, the jet of the vehicle was blowing my short off my legs. And then once again I thought to myself, do I want to go back to shore and live with disgrace or should I die in the ocean with my shorts on and my dignity intact? I let go of the lifeguard's hand and pulled up my shorts 😎 eventually we got back to shore after several attempts from the lifeguard to secure me as he had to angle the jetski in an optimal position in order for him not to capsize. I did give him money for the extra pain I was to preserve my dignity.
Bruh at that point i wouldve came back to shore but ass naked with shrivel dick in front of 100 dimes and just been happy to be alive
No clue how tf I got here, but thanks for the info
Ms31573 it’ll save u one day
I was caught in one in New Smyrna Beach FL along with my nephew. I kept him calm and we both swam in our backs to conserve energy. We swam parallel to the shore for a few minutes and then we were able to swim back to shore. It started when we were in neck deep water and a swell lifted is off our feet and we were swept out no longer able to touch bottom, and we were unable to swim toward shore. Stay near lifeguards. Saw a rescue at same beach this weekend.
I have been to New Smyrna it looks like a breathtaking beach I ran to get my bathing suit on... We drove there from Daytona to go eat at The Garlic I think, It was delicious!!! But!!! I do not have to tell you or do i that is the SHARK Florida Capitol of Beaches Not to Swim In.... I did not got in after I got my swimsuit on I was warned... That was enough for me, I couldn't go in after that, you all be safe by all means so awesome what a miracle you and your nephew are safe!!!
Remember this video it’s really important I went to the beach a week ago and got caught in the biggest one I’ve ever been in. I go to the beach a lot since I live in Florida so being in rip currents is common for me. Anyways I got caught in one the first thing I would do is try to catch a wave and use your body like a surf board and try to catch a wave back to the shore if this doesn’t work then go on your back and control your breathing don’t freak out once you don’t feel the current or it’s weak swim sideways typical rip currents are 50-100 feet wide so swimming sideways until your out and swimming back to shore is your best bet. Just remember never fight a rip current your goal should be conserving as much energy as possible, keeping calm, and swimming sideways do these things and you will live. And I know the video says it swimming parallel to the current is debatable but it gets weaker and easier for you to get back to the shore. And btw how I escaped the current is I rode a wave back to shore this won’t always work but it’s worth a try if your ever stuck in one
Edit: today I saved a 11 year old girls life who go stuck in a rip current, she fought the current until she had no strength left to keep her head above the water. Luckily I came in just in time and pulled her onto my body board just as she lost all of her strength and went under the water. Btw her dad didn’t thank me the first thing he did was yell at her for going out to far
Excellent advice!
Chelsea Po I wouldn’t advise going deep then I just witnessed a dad drown trying to save his kid this week
Growing up in Florida I can legitimately say I have been caught in a rip. No, you can't fight them head-on, and only sometimes can you swim parallel to the shore to exit them. My best advice is to wear a life vest, no matter your skill level at swimming. That vest will save your bacon when no one else can. Also, for goodness sake, watch your kids and don't swim where the water is dark and deceptively calm. Stay near shore on the sand bar.
When I last found myself caught in a rip tide, firstly I panicked, secondly I attempted to swim parallel to the shore to get out of it's hold over me, this proved ineffective. Finally it occurred to me: Dummy! Don't panic!! Just then I remembered what I believe to be the best advice I had ever received on the subject... Just lie with your back upon the water, breathe calmly and consistently, and begin a slow, leisurely back stroke in the direction of the shore... Focus only on remaining calm and perhaps the regularity of your own breathing, look back towards the shore only when you really have to for your bearings and or progress, but overall don't worry nor obsess over how long it seems to be taking you to advance back to shore... Try to create a positive tranquility as you're making your way back to safety. It really is a much better (and safer) means of getting you back to where you want to be, and also out of harm's way!
I once was carried by the ríptide, i let it carry me and then took me back to the beach about 1km north, i had to get out in a rocks in 2 mt high waves, almost drowned,i had to borrow a cellphone to call my family they thought ive drowned best holliday ever
What beach?
@@michellemuskeyn329 Totoralillo, northern Chile, never again, i still have nighmares of drowining
Good times 😂
@@danielsaavedra8520 Thank God you are alive!... Wishing you healing!
No you didn't
I’ve been caught in many rips- swimming parallel has always always brought me back safe.
However, once, before I was safe I got caught in enormous tidal waves for 10 minutes, far from the beach. Terrifying. I’m glad I was alone because I could only save myself, but I came looking for a video about drowning because I’m still reliving the traumatic experience
Been looking for waves as well. I just went with the waves - not struggle. Just got a good breath between each wave. Some of my friends got smashed pretty good on the bottom, but I think it was because they didn't go with the flow of the wave?
Glad you're ok Ruthie. Hope you get over this soon.
It's fucking crazy isn't it? Same thing happened to me on a family vacation. It was only by pure chance that I was able to survive it. I didn't even put myself in danger either - I was keeping myself in absolute safety by just wading around at less than waist deep within a "swimming only" flagged area when this FUCKING kid on body board fucking rams into me and knocks me over. I was fucked the moment my feet came out from under me - in the super short time it took me to get my head above water again I had been swept out to where I couldn't reach the bottom. When I think about it and how the waves kept pushing me under and tumbling me around while I was fighting my hardest to somehow just get a breath of air and how my life was flashing before my eyes, and thinking about how badly my parents were going to be hurt because I was certain that I was going to die there my heart just starts to pound and I get the same sense of dread. I was in an absolute last ditch fight for my life where my brain's primitive survival systems kicked in. If I think about it too much it even makes me start to tear up just because it brings back that fear and panic of being so close to death and not being able to get air. I will never swim in the ocean again ever in my life because of that. It's not even a fear I want to overcome - I just never EVER want to go into the ocean again period. Even to this day I don't really fully know how I survived that. It was so intense that my memory has gaps in it between when I was certain I was going to die and the point where I somehow had my head above water again and was back in the current headed back to the beach. A surfer managed to see me once I was no longer being ragdolled by the waves and helped to pull me back to shore. I'm so glad he did, because even though I was out of the waves it took every last bit of energy I had and I wouldn't have been able to stay above water on my own in order to make it back to the beach. I threw up so much ocean water I remember my stomach was like bulged out and bloated that I swallowed so much and I had to get my lungs pumped out too because I ended up inhaling quite a bit as well. Just typing this even is kind of bringing back the panic in a way. It just reminds me of being completely overpowered and certain that death was like 5 seconds away. I also have so much anger, to the point of rage towards that kid who almost cost me my life by knowingly doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. To this day I wish so badly that I could get my hands on him... I don't even know what I'd do, but him being able to just go on his merry way without ever answering for or even being aware of what he did by thinking the rules didn't apply to him just isn't right. I didn't die but he affected my whole life and honestly fucked me up in the head yet he doesn't even have a clue.
I had a similar experience last summer, but I wasn't alone. I was with an 8 year old boy I was babysitting. We were where we could touch when all of a sudden we started getting pulled out while HUGE waves started tumbling us around. I was able to hold onto him for the first few and try to keep him calm, but I lost grip of him and he had to go through a huge wave without me holding him. Luckily the lifeguard came quick and got him out, and I was able to get myself out shortly after. It was the most terrifying experience and I am still traumatized by it. I consider myself a strong swimmer and grew up swimming in the ocean, but you never know when it can just turn on you.
Wow Taylor! That sounds terrifying.....one thing that scares me most when I reply the day in my head is if I’d had someone with me- let alone a child. Well done and glad you’re both safe x
About 10 years ago I was in Aruba at a beach with no lifeguard but many people were swimming in the ocean. It gave me a false sense of security. I went out swimming where other people were, thinking this would protect me, and was swimming close to a group of 5 people swimming. When I decided to swim back to shore, I basically could not move towards the beach at all no matter how hard I tried and I felt I was slowly moving further away. Very scary! I called out for help, but no one in the group heard me. They were all talking together and I think they did not notice me. I started to feel very afraid and kept saying help until a young boy swam out to me. He said "I'll help you." and I was so concerned for his safety but I also needed his help. I asked him if he would help pull me to shore so he swam towards the shore pulling me by the hand. Because he did this I believe he saved me from drowning. I will be forever grateful to him for helping me that day. I made sure I thanked him but I regret not asking him his name and where he was from.
Since then I have made sure I do NOT go swimming unless there is lifeguard present at the beach. Also, I would consider bringing a life-vest if I decide to go snorkelling again.
Blessings to the boy, now young man who saved my life that day.
🌴🌊😍👍🏊🏖🙏✝️
luv2travel2000 why weren’t you able to swim back if a lil boy could swim himself to you and then you out and himself out?!
He looked about 10 years +/- 2 years of age. I have no idea why I could not swim back. All I know is I was swimming in the direction of the beach and was not getting any closer to the shore. It was a very scary feeling. Again, I am grateful to the boy who saved my life that day.
If a 10 yr old kid can swim back easily, thats not a riptide. Youre a bad swimmer mate lol
@@fr33k1o lol
A life vest will actually make you float in the current and making it harder to swim back, unless you wear it and wait to be rescued
i was about 8 years old when i went on vacation to clear water FL. it was a super hot day so my brother & i walked down the beach while my parents stayed at the pool where we were staying. i remember we started hopping with the waves because it was fun & they weren't super big. little did we know about rip currents back then.... within around 10 minutes of getting into the water, i found myself jumping with a wave & it ended up being a lottt bigger than i thought it was, and it went over my head & i got caught under water & pulled out pretty far. i remember trying not to freak out & trying to swim only with the waves, but i guess i just wasn't strong enough because i just kept going out farther & farther. thankfully my brother saw it & grabbed help from a couple that was near. they saved me. i wouldn't be here today if it weren't for my brother & that wonderful couple. 💚 it was one of the most terrifying experiences. i kept getting trapped under waves that would push me down over & over.
How terrifying - so glad you made it out.
My father taught me at a very young age if ever get caught in a rip current let it take me out and stay calm. Never fight it. As kids we use to let them take us out on purpose for fun using boogie boards. You get very use it especially at beaches with big waves.
Great dad! my dad also taught me when I was little, before I even learnt to swim, how to float on my back and keep calm even if water splashes in my face - saved my life many times when I was sure I was gonna drown
Extremly good video. Wish I saw this 20 years ago.
I think many drown in rips because they are afraid of the breaking waves. But it's the breaking waves that usually bring you back. It's feels counterintuitive to swim into big braking waves, but thats the only way of getting back without swimming.
Last week at Mount Maunganui beach my 7 year old boy was chest deep while I was waste deep, he started drifting out so I went over to get him, within seconds we were out of our depths and far beyond the breaking waves, we had drifted 30 m out, I tried to stay calm but by lad was using all his energy up so that made me use mine to help him, he kept climbing on me as he was tired which made me start to panic, luckily a paddle boarder was near bye and heard me shout for help, luckily he came over instantly, the life guard girls on the beach didn’t even notice, this has made me take extra caution and I’ve bought a inflatable wrist band for the kids, a very close call, as the beach we normally go to doesn’t have anyone nearby!!
What a miracle !!! After reading all these stories i feel so nervous. I have for years went swimming at the beach and I never experienced a rip and I never want to.... Bless all you super brave super strong people!!!
Ikr!
As a scuba diver....we loooove rip currrents!! however the best strategy if ur caught in one is exactly as described in the clip...and as with all ocean related emergencies....DO NOT PANIC
Shadow Deluxe awesome, I found out that surfers also love rips, because their exhausted from all the surfing, all they have to do is swim around the rip
As a scuba diver:)
I love rip currents
Why do scuba divers love rips?
@@958342 hi!!. As a scuba diver air consumption and the ability to be relaxed is crucial. You tend to use up a lot of energy when doing a shore dive getting out and coming back in to shore. Rip currents take divers out without any energy being wasted and air is ultimately conserved.
@@kameelrahman4106 kind of like a free ride a bit like how you would feel on a walking conveyer belt at an airport but in water
I was caught in a fast moving rip tide 20 years ago. I had two previous life threatening experiences in a closed pool so what helped me escape this sudden dangerous situation was that I did NOT panic. I found the outer edge by floating away from the shore. I went further out. When i realized I could go parallel that's what I did. I was 30 blocks away from where my family was on the beach and it took me 30 minutes to walk back. No one even missed me. It's important to understand the differences between rip currents and a whirlpool. While next time I may consider going with the flow, that's not what you want to do if you are being sucked into a whirlpool. Good video but would have loved to see the professor's actual footage. 👍
When I was 13 years old I was sucked into a very powerful rip current at sailsbury beach in MA usa. It was like being sucked away by an underwater tornado I got sucked almost 1400 ft deep offshore prior to that I had been swimming my whole life had no fear of water and understood that they work in a circular motion it sucked me out then I swim parallel to the shore and got brought back by the rip current I had to grab on to a foundation of the building which was built with a concrete dock on the bottom I grabbed the dock and it tried to suck me out again I broke my nose and got two black eyes but yes I survived my mother was sleeping on the beach whatever you do don't panic conserve the air in your lungs energy there was no lifeguard I am lucky to be alive today thank you for this video I wanted to explain to a friend that's why I do not go to the beach anymore
Got pulled back, all of a sudden, by one in Costa Rica. Tried walking and swimming, but kept going further back and further back. Not a good swimmer, btw. Legs were getting tired, so I was getting scared. Started walking 'diagonally' (facing the beach, started to swim/walk at 45-degree angle), and actually started making progress and eventually made it to shore. I'm guessing it would be considered a mild rip current, too...It was a terrifying few minutes.
Thanks for the info!!
Lavender Cat happened to me today so i just stopped swimming and did this octopus thing to keep me afloat until the lifeguard came
Was it in Jaco??
I was at beaches in Maui and even without the rip current, the water can still pull you damn well and then if the waves are big your right were they break and they knock you over and your tumbling under the water which is scary
Water comes to the beach, usually in the form of waves, same amount goes back out, bigger waves create stronger currents, its simple. Its like a conveyor, use it to your advantage. Don't enter the ocean if you don't have strong swimming skills, be smart and don't panic. Changing tides can also cause rip currents, its possible to escape one current, only to find yourself in another one sweeping the coastline, many variables.
This is absolutely true today I was stucked in a really strong rip current and I searched on RUclips and see this video this is really what is happened to me you can't really come to the beach it pulls you back and the best way is to get over this stay come please don't panic I could tell you from my experience don't panic stay calm and wait or stay float to save your life and raise a signal to the lifeguard I was almost date then my uncle comes and save me... Please don't go far stay as close as much possible to the beach even a best swimmer can't really come back if they get panicked... stay calm stay close
I got caught in a rip current in Costa Rica. I was totally unaware of the danger and had no idea how rip currents worked. The current pulled me out away from the shore and then started running parallel to the beach (which by that time I could barely see). The current was so strong it felt like I was in the middle of a fast moving river dragging me parallel to the beach, there was no breaking away from it. Luckily the current let me free but I was a very long way from where I had started. It was one of those times in my life that I was certain I was going to die, I was sure of it.
So how’d you escape
@@J93AD The current eventually released me far away from the beach where I had started, then I swam to shore.
@@chrisplunkett159 lol whoops you already mentioned it in your comment, I missed it for whatever reason 🤷🏽♂️
@@J93AD It's all good.
Also happened to me in Costa Rica (in Nosaro) honestly thought I might not make it!
got caught twice in life. Once when I was 12, life guards saved me. Second time just a month ago, I swam parrallel and made it out with some effort as I have not heard about the floating method yet. Next time I will try that one :)
When I was about 12 me and my sisters along with a couple of friends liked to get out past the waves and just float around on our backs and talk. I asked one of them a question and when I didn’t get an answer, I looked up and they were really far away. I was in a riptide (this was in California.) I was really scared and started swimming towards shore but I wasn’t getting anywhere so I started swimming as hard as could. IT had to have been a mild riptide though it had taken me out really far. I didn’t stop or look at anything. When I finally reached shore there was a life guard waiting. He said to me:
“I can’t believe you were able to swim out of that riptide straight to shore. I was getting ready to come out to get you but you were doing so well I just decided to stay ready but not interfere.”
Then he explained to me the action of a rip tide and told me if I ever got caught in one again I should swim parallel to the shore until I got out of it and then swim to shore. I hadn’t ever heard about riptides. I sure got lucky to get out of it. I guess I was a strong enough swimmer at that time. In the summer we went to the beach every day.
I don't understand why people swim in the ocean. Y'all crazy af
@@Caleb_Mangan hmmm not true... people who know what they're doing know how to get out of danger more easily. still 100% present - that's part of being someone who enjoys those sports is realizing that you're always in danger.
Cuz we LOVE IT 🤙🤙🤙🏄
Water nasty af to 🤢
Badass profile pic. Spawn rules.
I don't understand why people don't swim in the ocean.
Raise your hand if the sad news of Shad Gaspard brought you here to educate yourself about rip current and possibly save your life.
Yeah
So could shad not swim or was it just that strong?
D if you want to know go in the ocean and find out for yourself, come back and let me know how your experience went, lol if you even come back
Tr3vahn Jam3s I’ve been caught in one years ago smartass. So if you really wanna know about the experience I’ll be more than happy to share. That’s why I was Forreal asking for knowledge because the one I was in must of not been super strong.
D well you asked a pretty dumb question, “was it just that strong” YES! It was “that strong” lmfao
I did 6 years in the US Navy and they taught us more about swimming than most people ever learn. Even so, I got caught in a rip due to an approaching hurricane having the water churning and damn near didn't make it. Now, when I say churning, I mean forevermore rolling. The fact that I was dog drunk didn't help much either. Lol. I went into water that no one had any business going into and before I knew it I was out in the raging waves and couldn't touch the bottom. I fought like a caged tiger because the further out you went the worse it got. For no reason whatsoever, I had spent months developing my skills of swimming under water. I got to where I could swim 2 laps under water at the swimming pool at my apartment. As it turns out, I think that is what saved my life as I could hold my breath for between 3 and 4 minutes. Thank God I never smoked. I held my breath and dove under and basically used the bottom to drag and kick myself back to the beach. When I got into water that I could stand up in and touch the bottom, I would push off as hard as I could and finally I was in waist deep water and that's when things got hard. The waves were breaking much more violent. I clawed and pushed and finally dragged myself onto dry sand. It was quite an experience. My friends were all asking me wtf I had been and I told them what happened and they thought it was funny.
that’s hot
Been caught by rips hundreds of times. Mostly unpatrolled beaches. Have two strategies and am always watching for them. Firstly I try swimming flat out, to get in, by catching EVERY tiny wave/whitewater coming thru, and keeping my body on the SURFACE. Usually can get a toehold in the sand within a few minutes.
If that doesnt work, swim over to the break and catch a wave in. You do need to be a strong enough swimmer, happy underwater, and able to read the waves and rips. The circular approach sounds interesting. Young and learner surfers need to learn to not be too embarrassed to put their hand up for help. In patrolled beaches. (Otherwise yell for help. Sometimes there are people around unexpectedly) I would never have done either, as a kid.
Got stuck in one in Huntington Beach. I was unaware of what was happening until the lifeguards started yelling and trying to get to me. Luckily someone else was able to grab me and pull me to shore!
A week ago I was swimming next to my child, playing with the waves at the left side of a shore for surfers. It was the spot that many younger and children were using to stand and have a short fight game with the waves there, smaller waves than everywhere else in the beach. There was a current but we did not realize the far extend it would blow us to. The current took my child to the deeper and I followed him. The left side of the shore was near the rocks and I would feel better if I didn't see that they were "approaching". Or better I did. I set my child to stand on my back of arms and I tried to swim opposite. No success. My best chance was to stay at the same spot if not go deeper slowly, approaching to the rocks. I would have thought that was just a challenge for my swimming abilities If I did not hold a child with me. the child was really calm with no panic at all, making a few jokes. It seemed I could make an effort. But you know, I trust myself but I never know what the child would feel one moment after. A quick idea run into my mind to swim parallel but I didn't know the waters, could have been a rock around there. and it was the first time I entered a current, so I had not experienced or learnt a saving tip before. I stayed calm, took a few breaths and raised my hand. Just raised my hand, since I knew there were many surfers on the beach. The whole show took around 5 minutes I believe, just after a while I saw two of them entering the water towards us. One along rock side to prevent us from being there (I believe) and the other straight on us. It was around 100 meters long, it took 2-3 minutes to reach us. He onboarded the child and I was left alone. the other guy instructed me to swim like the video demonstrates, which I started to do. The surf with the child was very slow coming out. A wave turned them upside down. I was next to them and helped the child to climb on again. We were brought safe on the beach after a while.
We had a short rest on the beach and left with the car heading east. After 10 min drive we noticed a helicopter making circles over a coast nearby. Later we learnt than a 17 year old child was lost in the other coast. Probably by the same way. 5 days after they found him drowned almost 500 meters from that shore. He was a local guy. He went to the beach with his friend. His friend was in danger after a few waves and he entered to help him. His friend is in the hospital but this child has been lost...
I came here searching to learn more about currents. I feel responsible to learn and share the knowledge. If only there were instructions on every dangerous beach and one guy to help. I am also seeking for a map with local currents. Seems that I will not find. Perhaps one day I will build one...
Ikaria island, Greece, Mediterranean, end of July 2022.
Living in a country with a relatively large shoreline and not big in size it appears odd to me (here or elsewhere) so little people know about this. These rip currents, they change i.e. monthly or hourly, or by the minute. Since it appears so odd to me, maybe dependable information on how to handle rip currents is better. And I doubt creating exact maps is a good idea. Because you said you wanted to help, and I'm under the impression this would become very difficult and time consuming to want. Though not really leading anywhere.
If standing on a higher ground nearby the coastline I learned it should be possible to recognize them to allegedly a well trained eye, however precarious as it was explained.
@Jarrett thanks, you are right.
@@jarrett1387go away. When you learn to be human, come back
Surprisingly, most people are unaware that board riders and waveskiiers deliberately enter the surf, by going into the rip. It takes you straight out, and the break is flattened in that area. Once out the back (of the break), and depending on the current out there, you can paddle or swim to where a set's coming in. And if you're a swimmer, or lost your board, then surf, kamakazi, or let the wash cycle take you to shore.
I’ve been in a rip current, scariest moment in my life, im scared of beaches and the ocean now. Be careful.
The first ever rip current I got stuck in was when I was 9. I didn't know what to do so I ditched my surfboard and went under water. By then I nodest that it was still there. Then I came back up an was hecka far from the beach. So I had to swim back. That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in the ocean. And who ever is reading this far try to find my surfboard, it is at long beach. It was a blue and white fish tail surfboard.
People surf in long beach I heard the waves are ass there 😂
No attention was given to sweeps or reading foam movement before entering the water. This analysis is the first thing you do.
Rips are very useful but need to be respected. The people who die from rips in Australia are nearly always tourists or immigrants. A rip to surfers is a travelator. Waves travelling toward a rip make a circular fun park. Rip means rip it up
Foam movement?
@@miceskin In big swell (big waves) water moves very fast. When the wave breaks it moves a lot of water and it has to go somewhere, this means it usually sweeps (moves) to the closest rip. You dont usually have to worry about it in small waves but it's a big deal in bigger waves because you can NOT swim against it. The problem with sweep though is unlike a rip, it's really hard to see, so looking at the foam after a wave breaks will tell you which way the water is sweeping. Hope that helps :)
I recently took up surfing, I’m always going to surf with others in designated spots, I hope I never have to deal with these situations. As I have a “safety first” mindset, however it seems based on some of these stories I’m reading that sometimes things happen and you need to be prepared.
Who’s here for Shad Gaspard
RIP..
Legendary Vibes Rip
Me sadly
Rip. Prayers to his family and loved ones.
Who is this person you speak of?
Punta Borinquen, Puerto Rico. 30 years ago, still remember it. I'm a panicker, could not for the life of me get back to the shore. Maybe the undertow wasn't as strong as I believed, but I could not get out. Thankfully a male friend, who was nearby and tall, grabbed me by the arm and said "the next wave coming, I'm going to hoist you up and push you forward, and go with the wave!" I made it. My legs were like jelly when I got out. Thank God he was there. I would have drowned from panic. Btw that beach was dangerous af, one day our group witnessed a drowning in the far off distance. The lifeguards couldn't make it in time.
Got caught in a rip. Went out just over my head almost touching then in an instant was beyond the pier. I had extreme panic and my friend and another guy about 10 yards farther out started yelling help. My friend went after the guy then they both couldn't get back. A lifeguard got to them eventually but I swam straight to shore. I collapsed at the shore and was never so tired in my life. Now i get it due to this video
Got caught in a weaker rip current in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I went to the beach reluctantly and stayed in waist high waters. I am 6ft tall btw. I know my limits very well and knowing that i can't swim made me extremely cautious and very alert to even the tiniest detail while in the water. I noticed that my feet were being swept off the ground ever so slightly at regular intervals. Waist high waters was almost now at chest height and i thought i've seen enough to know that this is not right. I started walking towards shore but my feet were being slighlty raised off the ground and the resistance i felt was too much. So i knew i was going against the water current. I adjusted and started going to my right parallel to the shore and i was getting slighlty deeper in the water but the resistance was not as powerful. I continued walking until i saw a wave coming and i knew that i can probably get to the shore. When i finally reached the shore i swore to never again go into the water. That was the most terrifying experience i've had in my 23 years of life. I wake up at nights from with my body is drenched in cold sweat due to nightmares of me drowning.
I've swam all my life and been on swim teams when i was younger so i'm not to worried about currents but there have definitely been some riptides on the beach that even I couldn't escape. In one of them, I somehow ended up maybe 60 ft away from my group of friends and rode a huge wave back to shore. It knocked my ass to the ocean floor but that's better than drowning.
I came here because of what happened to Shad Gaspard (RIP). This tragedy scared me so bad that I’ll possibly never go to the beach again. But we all need to be educated on how to survive these sort of stuff.
Thank you so much for the valuable explanation. You're correct 100%. I'm a good swimmer, and I had been caught today in a very strong rip current "with high waves", I tried desperately to go to the shore against the mighty rip, and failed miserably as I was going deeper and deeper, I started to panic, then I calmed myself by praying, and said: Lord, what should I do now? I'm starting to drown? I got immediately inspired from above to just sleep on my back. I said: OK, I'll just sleep on my back, get some rest, and swim to the shore again. What happened after 15 minutes from sleeping on my back was amazing, and I understood it only from this video. The same rip obviously made a complete circle, and I found myself on the beach again without any effort, and very close to the point where I entered the water. NB: The rip current I was caught in took me 2 kilometers deep far deeper than just 1300 feet.
Story vvvvv
I was at my family's beach house on the Oregon Coast a few years back (Manzanita, Oregon for those of you who are curious), at the time I really didn't have prior knowledge to rip tides despite having been to plenty of beaches, and all my experience swimming in the ocean. But that day I had for some reason decided it was best not to swim (thank god), so I was just taking a walk on the beach like the cheese ball I am. I had come across this lady with a cute little leashed dog, she must have been up there in age, if you asked me, probably about 75-80ish; and as I was walking away I had turned around to look back, and her little dog had broken free of her grasp and ran straight into the water. Of course, she went chasing after the pup, and she had to go in about waist deep in order to grab the doggo and when she did her and her pup ended up in a riptide. It was awful, and scary. She immediately lost her footing, and it didn't seem like she knew how to swim, let alone had the energy for swimming at her age. Panic ensued, her daughter came back from wherever she was, just in time to see the situation unfold. Eventually with a lot of time and energy, we managed to get her, and her dog out before they were drifted out. I helped her collect the belongings that had fallen in the shallow water and said our goodbyes. I was very happy that she was safe and sound.
I'm not gonna' lie though, after we rescued the elderly woman, the daughter didn't even bat an eye, she didn't say thank you, or show an appreciation for me helping her mother before she had made it to the water. In fact, the daughter was extremely cold. She screamed at me like in a really cold and hellish tone when we were trying to help her mother out, and no, not in the "I'm a panicked daughter, and I'm desperate for your help" type of way. I mean, she seemed genuinely unappreciative and disgusted with my presence. I recall her shouting calling me a "retard", for not grabbing her mother out of the water in the "right way". Like, I know you're stressed, but I'm sorry lady-- If I witness someone being nearly swept away or drowning, I don't care where I grab them, as long as I get them out of the water. Period. Her mother, however, did thank me for picking up her belongings, though she was pretty out of it, and shaken up (for obvious reasons). Afterwards the daughter stormed off as quickly as possible without saying another word to me, she also left her soaking wet, and cold mother behind to walk the rest of the way up the shore, to the streets.
My brother got caught in one when we were 8 I thought I lost him...I remember the look of panic on his face. Luckily my grandpa saved him. It was moving fast
I can feel how scared Shad Gaspard was at that moment.
I was caught in a rip current as a young teen on vacation in Newport Beach and was saved by a guy a on a surf board.. I stayed out of the ocean for a long time but learned about rip currents and a couple years back I saved two little girls who were sucked out here in RI with a boogie board after a storm..now I try and warn kids whenever I’m at the beach at night some listen some don’t … I have been caught in some smaller ones and always went underwater and swam sideways.. never realized the rip would just take you back to shore ..
4 members of my girlfriends family got pulled out a couple of weeks ago in Panama City. Do not fight the current. My girlfriend and her sister are certified life guards and still couldn’t swim parallel to the beach to escape. Luckily they caught my eye from the beach between the breaking waves and I was able to grab a float and get them. Whenever I got within 10 feet I could finally hear them screaming bloody murder. Hearing your loved ones screams is the most bone chilling experience and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I got them all out safe, but the experience has caused me to have nightmares since. Everyone please be safe and do not underestimate the power of the sea.
You want to check out EFT (Meridian tapping) for the trauma (I am not joking, it IS trauma, as your nightmares prove). EFT Universe Dawson Church. he has instructions on the site and an archive with many examples how people used it. Search for "trauma" on his site.
Dawson and his wife barely made it out of a California wildfire but had to leave their kittens behind, so I guess he has very recent instructions for trauma tapping in place. (happened in 2018 or 2019 if I remember correctly).