You decide to swim, and completely imperceptible small waves carry you into the sea from the shore - do not panic, you have been captured by the reverse current, which is called the rip current, and in no case should you (!) Swim directly to the shore against the current, you need try to move parallel to the shore, or at least diagonally.
The reverse flow is never wide - from a few meters to 100 meters and disperses along the length, the farther from the coast, the weaker. We must move along the coast, across the current. Preferably in the direction in which the wind blows, as it is easier to sail with the wind. After some time, you will definitely feel that the current has weakened and you can safely swim to the shore.
You need not to panic and try to rest as much as possible, lying on your back, this saves strength until you find a solution how to safely swim to shore. The reverse current is only superficial, it will not drag you under water, it will only take you to the sea, so the main thing is not to lose strength and calmness.
The high crests of the waves indicate that there is no reverse flow, the draft, and the foam, on the contrary, is a sign of the reverse flow. As on the road, we look under our feet, so on the sea we must know where to sail.
The average swimmer can stay in the water without assistance for up to five hours. If suddenly there are more victims next to you, try to line up with your feet in a chain to support the head of your neighbor in misfortune, then your hands can be used instead of oars.
Photograph of the Coast Guard - traction in action
If a wave covers you and sea water gets into your mouth, you need to swim with a float, for this you need to take in more air and wrap your arms around your knees, try to shrink as much as possible and you turn into a kind of ball. Head under water, back up, maximum air in your lungs, as long as you have air in your lungs, it is impossible to drown. Then stick out your head, take in air and turn into a rugby ball again. Thus, it is possible to get out of a strong current with waves with a minimum expenditure of energy.
If the bottom current pulls from below into the sea, and a wave beats from above, then you can turn over and you will choke on water. In this case, the main thing is to stand on your feet. To keep from the undercurrent, you need to try to bury your fingers in the sand, and keep your feet upright like a ballerina. If the bottom is rocky, then you need to spread your legs wide and become parallel to the flow, you will spend less energy on resistance. You can’t take your legs off the bottom - it will take you away.
When getting shells from the bottom or basking on a mattress, try not to turn your back to the shore, diving can swim far enough or get into a strong current.
In Tuapse, tyagun is expected - always listen to the messages of the local coast guard
Remember, swimming in the sea is not recommended either after a hearty meal or on an empty stomach and is strictly prohibited after drinking alcohol, it is better to choose swimming facilities from several independent parts, do not use air mattresses in the sea if you cannot swim, do not swim in unfamiliar places - unpleasant surprises will not, that's almost the whole alphabet of security. If you're not very good at swimming, stay out of the water past mid-thigh, and a pair of tennis balls in your bathing suit will add some buoyancy.
The sea is deceptive and treacherous, it is not our friend and does not like the frivolous. Gentle unobtrusive waves, caressing warmth can be dangerous. Therefore, those who enter the sea must know and follow the rules of behavior on the water, as well as follow the rules of the road.
Many people who feel great in the water do not understand how it is possible to drown near the sea or ocean shore. Most believe that in such cases alcohol intoxication is to blame, but sometimes we are talking about a completely different phenomenon - a rip current.
Here's what it looks like schematically. The picture shows the reverse current towards the sea, it runs perpendicular to the shore:
Rip current, or, as it is also called by foreigners, rip current (rip), is one of the most dangerous phenomena. It is in these currents that both ordinary people and first-class swimmers drown, because they simply do not know how to behave.
You try to resist the current in order to swim out, but nothing happens. A couple of moments, and panic begins ...
The most dangerous for people are the rip currents of shallow seas with a gentle, low-lying coast, which is framed by sand spits, shoals and islets (Gulf of Mexico, Sea of Azov, etc.). In this case, at low tide, the masses of water cannot gradually return to the open sea due to the sand bar holding them back. The water pressure on the narrow strait connecting the estuary with the sea increases sharply. In this place, a rapid is formed, along which water rushes back into the sea at high speed (up to 2.5-3.0 m / s), forming, as it were, a river in the middle of the sea
It looks like a river
Such corridors appear anywhere on the beach, near the shore, during high tides. Waves, one after another, roll in and bring more and more water, then at different speeds they go back to the sea or ocean, forming a reverse current.
In this photo, the streams of seething water are not so pronounced, but the current itself and, unfortunately, the people who fell into it are clearly visible:
How to determine this current, so as not to fall into it? Pay attention to the following markings:
Visible channel of seething water, perpendicular to the shore.
A coastal zone with a changed color of the water (say, everything around is blue or green, and some area is white).
A section of foam, some kind of marine vegetation, bubbles, which is steadily moving from the coast to the open sea.
A gap in the general structure of tidal waves (a continuous strip of waves, and in the middle there is a 5-10-meter gap).
If you see any of the above, consider yourself lucky and just don't go swimming in this place. What if you don't see any of the 4 signs? So, you are out of luck, because 80% of dangerous spontaneously occurring rips do not visually manifest themselves in any way.
Rip currents occur near the shore. That is, even if you are standing in water up to your waist, and even more so up to your chest, you can be picked up by a rip and carried into the sea. But just those who do not know how to swim do just that - they just stand in the water and enjoy.
Therefore, do not swim alone and, of course, do not ignore the red flags and signs on the beach.
Rules of conduct in the rip current:
1 Don't panic!
When we panic, we are guided by the instinct of self-preservation, and do not rely on common sense. Knowing about the rules of behavior in rip, you will get out in 100 cases out of 100.
2 Save energy!
Don't fight the current and don't paddle back to shore. Unfortunately, it's useless. You need to row not to the shore, but to the side (that is, parallel to the shore). If the rip is narrow (up to 5 meters), you will quickly get out of it.
3 If the rip is wide (from 20 meters or more), what should I do?
It will not be possible to get out of it so easily, even if you row according to the rules - to the side. Once you realize that you can’t get out, you can relax, but don’t panic! The fact is that the reverse current is short-lived, and after 5 minutes it will stop and leave you alone. After that, swim 50-100 meters, first to the side, and only then to the shore. If you immediately swim to the shore, there is a chance that the current will resume in the same place and you will fall into it again
It is important to consider the following points:
1 Rip will never drag you down.
It's not a whirlpool or a funnel. All the rip currents in the world drag from the shore along the surface, but not to the depth!
2 The rip is not too wide.
Usually its width does not exceed 50 meters. And most often limited to only 10-20 meters. That is, having swum along the coast literally 20-30 meters, you will feel that you have swum out of the rip.
3 Rip length is limited.
The current will weaken rather quickly, the channel ends its "work" where the waves reach their peak and begin to break. In surfer language, this place is called “line up” (line up). In this place, all surfers usually hang out and try to ride the incoming waves. Usually it is no further than 100 meters from the coast.
4 Please tell your friends about this phenomenon. Let as many people as possible learn about the rip currents. Thus, you will save not only your life, but also other people.
What is this? The streams of water brought to the shore by the waves accumulate there and, breaking the oncoming waves in a certain place, go back to the sea, dragging everything in their path. This is usually a narrow stream of water directed perpendicular to the coastline. But its strength, size and direction can vary depending on external conditions.
Knowing what it is, everyone will want to know where it happens most often.
Where is it? Having scanned the Internet forums, blogs of tourists and comments on articles, I picked up a hundred cases with RIPs described by tourists. Here is an example of one of the cases:
Alina(India, 2015):
I fell into such a current in Kerala. Alas, then she had no information about him and did everything wrong: she tried to swim to the shore, panicked and wasted her strength. Then I took a sip of water a couple of times and suddenly saw a life buoy in front of me - the lifeguard from the shore realized what was happening to me and swam after me. The memories are terrible, then I couldn’t talk for about 30 minutes, I stuttered wildly when I tried to pronounce any phrase, and I was also shaking wildly. I have been a good swimmer since childhood and could never imagine that I would sink for real ...
Having compiled a list of a hundred cases, I distributed them according to the geography of rest. As a result of such an "unscientific" analysis, it turned out that largest number RIP cases occurred in Thailand(22 out of a hundred), with 18 in Phuket. In eight cases, tourists swam out of the RIPs themselves, in two cases rescuers helped, seven victims were helped by those who were nearby (relatives or strangers), in five cases the tourists drowned.
Some conclusions after studying all the cases should be drawn:
1. You can swim out of the rip current, but for this you need to be able to swim well and swim in the right direction. Below is an illustration of how to swim out of the RIP.
2. For greater safety, you should swim on beaches where there are lifeguards, be in their visibility zone and follow the requirements of signal flags. In practice, our tourists do not pay attention to warning posters and red flags. You need to be especially careful on wild beaches.
3. Often completely strangers come to the rescue - try to swim next to other vacationers and immediately call for help if you feel that you are being carried away by the current. If you are carried far away, then because of the noise of the surf you will not be heard.
4. Unfortunately, prescriptions and advice do not always help, and tourists often drown. Here are a few accidents taken from the Vinsky Forum (abridged):
Futuramik(07/01/2016):
In Thailand, on the island of Phuket, a 28-year-old Russian drowned while swimming.
Sergey22(08/15/2016):
A tourist from Russia drowned in the sea on the island of Phuket, ignoring the warning red flags.
fidel castro(09/26/2016):
A Russian tourist drowned in the sea near the island of Phuket.
Sergey22(08.11.2016):
The Russian drowned on the beach of Bang Tao (Phuket).
From these reports it is clear that only on one island of Phuket our tourists drown almost every month. (For reference: 260 people drowned in Phuket in 2016.)
For other places of rest, cases with RIPs showed the following numbers (in descending order):
There are 16 cases in the Black Sea (14 in Russia, 2 in Abkhazia).
Indonesia - 13 cases (10 - Bali, 2 - Java, 1 - Sulawesi),
India - 9 cases (including GOA - 6).
Sri Lanka - 4 cases.
Three cases each: Cyprus (Paphos), Greece (2 Crete + 1 Corfu), Israel (2 Haifa + 1 Bat Yam).
Two cases each: the Sea of Azov, the Baltic Sea (Kaliningrad, Klaipeda), the Caspian Sea, the Canary Islands (Tenerife), Australia (Sydney), the USA (Florida, California).
Isolated cases can be ignored. In Turkey and Egypt, there were no cases with RIPs on the list, but this does not mean that they are not there at all.
Anticipating criticism regarding the reliability of the data, their representativeness and compliance with the theory of correlation and regression analysis, I agree with all the comments in advance: the reliability of the described cases was not checked, the total attendance of countries was not taken into account, isolated cases cannot characterize the situation in countries as a whole.
For example, one case each in Sakhalin and the Kuriles does not reflect the real danger of local RIPs, enhanced by undercurrents.
Only two cases in Australia are associated with low tourist traffic in this direction. It should be added that RIPs are considered the main danger on Australian beaches. The Australian Coastal Rescue Service counted 17,000 RIPs along the entire coast of the mainland.
Similar situation in the USA (2 cases) and South America(isolated cases).
Safety rules at sea can be printed on the website in the form of leaflets:
No. 1 How to swim out of the rip current (pdf, A5 format).
№ 2 What is a backwater flow (pdf, A4 format).
If you print these leaflets on both sides of the sheet, you can get two leaflets half the size.
This article was produced by our experienced team of editors and researchers who reviewed it for accuracy and completeness.
Number of sources used in this article: . You will find a list of them at the bottom of the page.
If you are not a good swimmer, ask for help. Reverse currents are especially dangerous for people who cannot swim. If you are not sure that you can get to the shore on your own, call the lifeguards, wave your arms and call for help.
Try to swim parallel to the shore so as not to fall into the ebb current. Most ebb currents are about 9m wide, but they can be up to 30-60m. Instead of trying to swim against a current that is much stronger than you, swim parallel to the shore to try to swim out of the ebb current. The current will carry you further away from the shore, but don't panic. This is not a reliable method, but for a good swimmer this option should help. If possible, look for signs of a backflow before diving into the water:
Save energy if necessary. If you are swimming, but not moving forward, if you are very tired, save your strength. Float on your back or simply float, rather than trying to resist the current. As soon as you swim through the breaking waves, the current will slow down and branch into several streams, becoming weaker and weaker. If you do not have the strength to return to shore, stay afloat and relax until you gain strength. Keep calling for help if there are other people on the shore.
Swim diagonally towards the shore. As soon as you manage to swim out of the ebb current (either you manage to swim out yourself, or you are washed ashore by the current), immediately go ashore. Swimming diagonally away from the ebb current will minimize the risk of you getting caught in it again. You can stay some distance from the shore, periodically stopping or turning over on your back if you need to rest.
- Despite the common name "underwater" ebb current drags people deep into the sea, but it does not suck people under water. In fact, there is no such current that would suck people under water from the coastal zone. A series of waves that “overwhelm” you near the shore can create the illusion that you are sinking deeper and deeper into the water. But, in fact, there is no need to try to “float” to the surface. Focus on staying afloat and conserving your energy.
- Never swim alone.
- Feel free to call for help. If you do not know how to behave, if you feel that you are caught in a low tide, and there is a lifeguard post nearby on the beach, start calling for help. Coastal lifeguards have the experience and necessary knowledge of tidal currents.
- The low tide is dangerous, but it's not a death sentence. Lifeguards sometimes get into low tides on purpose to quickly reach someone drowning outside the surf, and surfers find low tides useful because they make it easier to catch a wave. Lifeguards and surfers are, of course, very skilled swimmers and have a lot of experience swimming in different conditions, but you shouldn't try to get into a low tide on purpose. If this does happen, stay calm.
- In fact, the term "low tide" characterizes a similar narrow strip in the sea with a fast current, which appears at low tide. It is much more powerful than just an ebb current, but it is only in narrow water channels. These zones are prohibited for visiting and swimming due to mortal danger.
Many people who are good swimmers or float well do not understand how one can drown near the shore. When they hear news reports during the holiday season about tourists "who died near the shore", they think that the victims either did not know how to swim or were intoxicated. But they are wrong. What then is the reason?
We are talking about a very dangerous, but little-known phenomenon - rip currents, which are often also called "pulls" and "rips" (English - rip current). There are rip currents in all corners of the planet, in the Gulf of Mexico, the Black Sea, and the island of Bali. These insidious rips can not only be handled by ordinary people, but also by first-class swimmers who do not know how to behave in this situation.
Everything happens unexpectedly: you sailed away from the shore, and then turned back, but nothing happens ... You swim with all your might, but remain in one place or even move further away. All attempts are unsuccessful, your strength is running out and you are close to panic...
To begin with, it is important to understand the principle of operation of the rip. This is a type of sea and ocean currents directed at right angles to the coast and formed in the process of discharge of the flow of surging water towards the sea.
The most dangerous are rip currents in shallow seas with a gently sloping coast, which is framed by sandbars, spits and islands (the Sea of Azov, etc.). In these places, at low tide, sand bars prevent the return of a mass of water into the sea. The water pressure on the narrow strait connecting the sea with the estuary increases many times over. As a result, a fast stream is formed, along which water moves at a speed of 2.5-3.0 m / s.
These "corridors" appear in different places near the coast during high tides. Waves roll and bring water mass, and then at different speeds go into the sea or ocean, forming a reverse current. This is observed in areas where high and low tides often occur.
In the attached picture with a red arrow, the streams of seething water are not so noticeable, but the current itself and the people who have fallen into it are clearly visible.
Most often, the width of the rip is 2-3 m, and the speed of the current is 4-5 km / h, which is not dangerous.
But from time to time there are "draughts" up to 50 m wide, up to 200-400 m long and up to 15 km/h! This happens much less frequently. But it happens!
How to learn to distinguish places where there are rips, so as not to get into them? First of all pay attention to the following characteristic signs:
The visible channel of seething water is perpendicular to the shore;
- In the coastal zone, there are areas with a different shade of water: for example, everything around is light blue or greenish, and some area is white. Areas with foam moving seaweed and bubbles that move from the shore to the open sea;
- In a continuous strip of tidal waves there is a 5-10-meter gap;
If you notice any of the above, never swim in this place. But the danger is that 80% of sudden rips do not manifest themselves outwardly. It is in their "tenacious paws" that most tourists fall. Only professional rescuers can identify such zones.
It is important to remember that rip currents often occur near the shore, so they are able to drag even people standing in the water up to their waist or chest. And if swimmers have great chances to escape, then people who cannot swim have critically few of them. Therefore, do not swim alone and do not enter places that seem suspicious to you.
Give preference to busy beaches where lifeguards are on duty.
- And always pay attention to the red flags and signs on the beach in places where it is strictly forbidden to swim. This is not a joke!
And the most important point! How to behave for those who fell into such a current?
Rules of conduct in the rip current
1. Get over the panic! Pull yourself together, because people who know the rules of behavior in rip are saved in 99% of cases.
2. Save your strength! No need to row with all your might against the current, losing energy reserves. You need to swim not to the shore, but to the side, parallel to the beach. If the rip is narrow (up to 5 m), you will get out of it very quickly.
3. Analyze! If you row according to the rules - to the side, but you can’t get out, then the rip is wide (from 20 m and more). Then immediately stop wasting energy and panicking! The reverse flow is usually short-lived and after 3-4 minutes it will stop. After that, sail 50-100 m to the side, and only then return to the shore with respite.
The following facts will help you avoid panic:
Rip won't drag you down. Most often, the rip currents are short and the upper layer of water moves at high speed, which supports floating objects.
The rip is not very wide. Its width does not exceed 50 m. And in most cases it is only 10-20 m. As a result, having swum along the coast for literally 20-30 m, you will notice that you have swum out of the rip.
The length of the rip is limited. The current weakens rather quickly, the "pull" loses its strength where the waves reach a peak and begin to break. In surfer slang, this place is called "line up" (line up). Just in it all the surfers gather, preparing to conquer the incoming waves. Usually the "line up" is located no further than 100 m from the coast.
