Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I have no idea if I have told you, I love swimming... Specially if I can go deep into the sea...
I know, is dangerous... Even more in Australia with all those sharks, deadly jellyfishes, stonefishes, etc. But I just can’t help it. Something in the sea calls me, telling me, kind of whispering ‘come... enjoy it... feel relaxed’. Today I just learned there is yet something else to be careful with... Rip currents.
As you might have read before, I posted once or more that I have went to some beaches here in Sydney, which I must admit, I thought beaches in Venezuela were awesome, but this beaches... The Australian beaches are something out of this world. But today I bumped into this news article.
I haven’t been near that beach, and to be honest I didn’t know the meaning of ‘rip current’ which I had to Google it (here is the definition on Wikipedia).
You might be thinking ‘Oh Rod... Why are you posting such awful news?’ Well, browsing a bit more I just found out useful tips just in case a rip takes you away.
how rips works.
How do I know I am in a rip?
If you start feeling struggling against waves and water, you might be in the middle or really close to a rip (No matter if you are in Australia, Venezuela or the States). Whatever current that takes you into deeper waters is a rip. There are strong and weak ones but in any case, if is pulling you to the sea you must understand something irregular is happening.
What to do in a rip?
First, be calmed. A rip won’t suck you to the bottom of the sea; it will take you far from the shore. In that case you need to start swimming in a parallel direction of the shore (trying to not get exhausted) till you stop feeling the waters getting you deeper. At that moment you can start swimming back to the shore.
How do you prevent rips?
Stay close to lifeguards. They will warn you if they see one close to you.
Stop swimming???? Nah... All you need to do is being careful.
How to identify a rip and to avoid it.
Till a next post.
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2 Comments:
you didn't know what was a rip Rod? really? here in El Salvador this is one of the things that we really need to know before going to swim in the beach, it is extremely dangerous in some places...however, it is one of the best experiences to be swimming, surfing or just enjoying the beach in this country....but you have to be careful with a rip!!! you can find them everywhere...but i'm agree with you. Swimming is..simply...awesome!!
Hey Nora,
I didn't know anything about it, since Venezuela doesn't have it or at least its a weird phenomenon.
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