Beach 

 Dangers 



Waves/Surf 



Before entering the surf, watch the 

 waves. Waves usually break in sets, 

 with a lull between. If the waves seem 

 too large and powerful, do not go into 

 the water. 



Waves pack a punch. They can 

 easily drag you across the sand, skin- 

 ning your body and perhaps even 

 breaking bones. 



When swimming through the 

 breakers, swim over rounded waves 

 and dive under cresting waves. Always 

 watch and ready yourself for the next 

 one. 



If you get caught in a wave, don't 

 struggle. Relax, curl up and wait until 

 the wave passes or pushes you on the 

 beach. 



Currents 



BACKWASH— This is the return 

 flow of water from a wave that is often 

 mistakenly called the undertow. "There 

 is no such thing as undertow," says 

 Nags Head lifeguard Tobie Dodge, who 

 explains that backwash can only be felt 

 along the bottom and may knock you 

 off your feet. It may pull you seaward, 

 but it doesn't suck you under, he says. 



The speed and strength of this cur- 

 rent depend on the speed and strength 

 of the waves and upon the steepness of 

 the beach. The backwash will last only 

 until the next wave breaks. 



If caught in a backwash, don't 

 panic. Simply brace your feet on the 

 bottom, maintain your balance and wait 

 until the pull slackens. If the backwash 

 knocks you off your feet, float on the 

 surface and swim shoreward with the 

 next wave. 



LONGSHORE CURRENT— 

 This current runs parallel to the beach 

 and is formed by waves striking the 

 beach at an angle. Mark your towel or a 

 landmark on the beach, and watch for 

 drifting, especially if you have children 

 in the water. 



In the water, be aware of your 

 movement in the current. Do not try to 

 swim against a strong longshore cur- 

 rent. Simply swim or float to shore and 

 walk back to your towel. 



RIP CURRENTS — Under cer- 

 tain conditions, rip currents can be the 

 most dangerous natural hazard on the 

 beach. They are associated with many 

 of the rescues that occur each summer 

 and with more than a few drowning 

 deaths. 



These currents are formed when 

 waves break on the nearshore sandbar, 

 says Spencer Rogers, Sea Grant's 

 coastal engineer. Water falls into the 

 trough between the beach and the bar 

 and becomes trapped. As the water 

 piles up, it begins seeking a path sea- 



ward, which it usually finds in a hole or 

 break in the bar. The water flows 

 quickly through the break in the bar, 

 creating a fast-moving current that flows 

 offshore 50 to 150 feet in Tar Heel wa- 

 ters before dissipating. 



Rip currents are common and usu- 



ally sluggish. But they are killers when 

 they become large and fast, too fast for 

 the best swimmers. If caught in a rip 

 current, do not swim against it. In North 

 Carolina, the rips are usually narrow, 10 

 to 20 feet. Swim across the rip current, 

 parallel to the beach, until you're free of 

 the current. Then swim shoreward. Or 

 ride the rip out until it dissipates before 

 swimming to the beach. 



Learn to identify rip currents. Signs 

 that indicate their presence are: 1) water 

 or sea foam moving through the break- 

 ers and offshore, 2) differences in water 

 color caused by the turbulence from the 

 breaking waves, 3) waves breaking 

 either closer to shore due to deeper 

 waters in the sandbar break or farther 

 offshore due to the currents, and 4) 

 rougher or choppy water on both sides 

 of the sandbar. 



Rip currents are usually worse at 

 specific tide elevations, Rogers says. If 

 rips were prevalent at low tide yester- 

 day, it is likely the same conditions will 



20 JULY/AUGUST 1993 



