What to do if a wave pulls you in?

If you are caught in a rip current, relax, float, and remember that it would not pull you under the water. Instead, you can raise your arm to signal for help, stay afloat, and slowly swim toward the breaking waves on either side of the current to help you get back to shore.

What do you do when waves pull you into the ocean?

If you do get caught in a rip current, the best thing you can do is stay calm. It's not going to pull you underwater, it's just going to pull you away from shore. Call and wave for help. You want to float, and you don't want to swim back to shore against the rip current because it will just tire you out.

What do you do if you get caught in an undertow?

Does a riptide pull you under?

A rip current won't pull you underwater. It'll just pull you away from shore. If you feel that you're able to swim, do so parallel to the shore until you're out of the current and then swim back to shore at an angle. If you feel that you can't swim, tread or back float, try to wave and yell for help while floating.

How far can an undertow take you?

Most undertows are not very strong, and the risk of one is most severe for inexperienced swimmers who are standing or swimming near breaking waves. An undertow can pull someone underwater for a few seconds, but if the swimmer remains calm and swims towards the surface, he or she should be OK.

How To Survive the Wave Impact Zone! (Hawaiian Shorebreak)

How far can a riptide take you?

Generally speaking, a riptide is less than 100 ft. wide, so swimming beyond it should not be too difficult. If you cannot swim out of the riptide, float on your back and allow the riptide to take you away from shore until you are beyond the pull of the current. Rip currents generally subside 50 to 100 yards from shore.

How do you spot a beach Riptide?

How do you avoid being smashed by waves?

In the shallows as a general rule stand sideways on to a wave with your feet wide apart. Once you're above waist-height in the water, swim over waves, or if they're breaking, dive under them with your arms out in front to protect your neck.

Is it possible to escape an undertow?

Due to the undertow misnomer, it's often believed that rip currents drag swimmers down below the surface, but this is untrue. Rips actually pull swimmers out away from the shore and beyond the surf zone.

Can you drown in an undertow?

Drowning deaths occur when people pulled offshore are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to shore. This may be due to any combination of fear, panic, exhaustion, or lack of swimming skills. In some regions, rip currents are referred to by other, incorrect terms such as "rip tides" and "undertow".

How do you survive a sneaker wave?

If you are dragged by a wave, plant your walking stick, cane or umbrella as deeply into the sand as you can. Hang on until the wave passes. If you are carried out by a sneaker wave, don't panic. Swim parallel to the shore until you can swim in safely.

Can a rip current bring you back to shore?

Myth: If you get caught in a powerful rip, you can be swept out to sea forever. Even under the worst conditions, you won't be swept to the middle of the ocean, though it could be a long swim back to shore.

How long do waves hold you under?

They will make you lose orientation for a few seconds, but you'll eventually pop up safe and unharmed. The average wave hold downs range between five and eight seconds in small waves, and 12 seconds in head-high plus waves.

Can waves break your neck?

Over the past three summers, more than 1,100 ocean-wave-related injuries that required emergency room treatment were reported among Delaware beachgoers. The injuries ranged from sprains and strains to broken bones, blunt organ trauma and neck fractures.

How do you know if there is an undertow?

Beachgoers feel like they are being sucked underwater when the wave breaks over their head - this is an undertow. Bathers will be tumbled around roughly, but this return flow only goes a short distance to the next breaking wave. It will not pull you offshore into deep water.

What is a riptide warning?

A rip current statement is a warning statement issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when there is a high threat of rip currents due to weather and ocean conditions. The statement usually contains some detail about when and roughly where the rip currents are most likely to be forming.

Do lakes have undertow?

You may have heard about the rip tide or undertow before. These are terms that people commonly use to describe dangerous currents. However, since there are no tides in the Great Lakes (needed to form a rip tide) and currents don't pull a person down under the water (undertow), they are a bit inaccurate.

Are riptide and undertow the same?

Don't confuse a rip current with an undertow. Rip currents are much more dangerous, because they flow on the surface of the water, can be very strong, and can extend some distance from the shore. An undertow can occur when water sinks back downhill into the sea after a wave has carried it uphill onto the beach.

How do you swim out of current?

Trying to swim against a rip current will only use up your energy; energy you need to survive and escape the rip current. Do NOT try to swim directly into to shore. Swim along the shoreline until you escape the current's pull. When free from the pull of the current, swim at an angle away from the current toward shore.

How do you survive an undercurrent?

If you know how to swim, try to escape along the edge of the current (generally parallel to the beach) or go with it until you feel like it's no longer pulling. Once calm, start heading back toward the beach in a safe zone or raise your arms and scream for help until someone can come and save you.