Is rip the same as undertow? I’ve been in the undertow (also in HI), it grabbed me by the feet and pulled me under. The rip currents on the east coast are different, they are a channel of water at all levels that can send swimmers 100’s of feet out to sea in a minute but not underwater. Fighting the rip is impossible, need to swim parallel to the beach.
Sounds like both - I was instantly carried at least 100 feet (maybe more like yards) down the beach, all while underwater and banging around.
And the weird thing is, the lifeguard (there was one there) saw me go under, did nothing, and when I tremblingly tottered back to the beach he yelled at me for not coming out of the water when he shouted at me to come in. I never heard or saw him, as I was controlled by the water and plus my head was underwater the whole time. He was a real ***hole. Never even asked how I was or anything. I was extremely shaken.