Posted on 07/22/2018 6:05:37 PM PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
WILMINGTON, N.C. — The deadly season along North Carolina's coast continues as three people died after pulled from waters along the southeastern coast.
Media outlets report the drownings occurred Saturday off Wrightsville Beach, Holden Beach and Sunset Beach.
Coastline Rescue Chief David Robinson says a surfer pulled a 20-year-old man from the waters off Holden Beach. Robinson says officials believe the man got caught in a rip current.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
Lots of good info about how to get out of rip currents in that thread. Obviously, rip currents are a real problem along the NC coast this summer. STAY SAFE everyone who is going to be at the NC Beaches!
Oops.
Why the oops?
I'm also a very strong swimmer. I've been caught in rip tides a few times. Just don't panic. Just let the current take you and eventually you will find yourself able to swim to the side of it (parallel to the shore), then you can let the waves carry you back to the shore. You will almost definitely be in water well over your head at this point.
If you are not comfortable being in water over your head, you have no business getting in the ocean in water over your kneecaps.
It is worth one’s time to learn to recognize what a rip current looks like from shore. There presence can be detected visually by looking at the waters surface in reference to surrounding surf.
They also cut channels in any sandbars that surround them.
There is generally a rip about every 100 yards or so.
It is also good to know the procedure from swimming out of one, how to float on one’s back and how to swim on one’s back so that one may breath the entire time, because swimming in a current is incredibly exhausting.
Swimming in open water is nothing like swimming in a pool.
Well, they got themselves in a situation that resulted in death. Oops.
Good to know.
thanks for the info
Well with all due respect I didn’t see this as an “oops” topic but that’s just me.
I went to college near Sebastian Inlet in Florida. I was a beach bum, only doing school at nights. Several times I found myself two miles off the coastline. I am a very strong swimmer and comfortable in the ocean.
I was thinking the rip currents must be pretty strong as our weather here is dead out of the south if not quartered slightly SSE. The storm moving through had strong following winds. Perfect for rip tides.
We go to beach at Camp Lejeune. I was standing in water up to my calfs and a strong wave came in and knocked me on my a** on the back drop. Scared me senseless and my grandchildren swim in this water. They are good swimmers but I still worry.
Oops.
As I’ve taught my daughter since she was a baby: 1) The Ocean doesn’t know you’re there and doesn’t care if you die. 2) Never turn your back on the Ocean. 3) Never let your surfboard get between you and an oncoming wave. (It’ll knock your teeth out!)
Good advice. It’s easy to be fooled, and pretty shocking when you’ve spent many days deliriously floating in long, gentle swell - and then it suddenly nearly kills you.
I have been at the OBX beaches this year and their are plenty of lifeguards and warnings about when rip currents are close in. I don’t know the story on these new drownings but some I know of earlier are swimmers going to areas where no lifeguards are posted and swimmers who disregard warnings.
However one sad case involved a mother and young child walking along along the beach where the waves were just running up knee deep or less, the child fell and the water swept her out into the deep quickly and she drowned.
I swim in this water every year. don’t go above your calves. if it is too rough, don’t go out. 3 in one day! will probably buy a PFD for my swims from now on
Check www.funlake.com
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