Brick Lifeguards: How To Stay Safe In Scary Riptides

BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Most of us this summer will probably visit the beach at least once. A day of fun in the sun can be a nice break, but there is also a risk that while swimming in the ocean, you may get caught in a riptide. While scary, these local lifeguards suggest these tips to stay safe while swimming.

Beach Captain for Brick Beach 3 Robert Brown says riptides are mostly dangerous because people panic while they are in one. The reality of the situation is that the current will most likely take you out tens of feet, then you can simply swim back to shore.

Tommy Costanza, sergeant head lifeguard at Brick Beach, said when you are stuck in a riptide, you should swim parallel to the shore until you are outside of it, then swim back to the beach.

“If you don’t feel like swimming, you can let the rip current take you out,” Costanza said. “What you want to do is not panic, just float and tread water until you’re further out. Then you can swim sideways or the lifeguards will help you out.”

During the interview at Brick beach, lifeguard Brian Michigan gave a real-life demonstration of getting stuck in a riptide and the two ways to get out of them. In the first example, he let the rip current take him out while he treaded water until he was out of it, then he swam parallel to the shore until he was away from the channel, then he swam back to the shore.

In the second example, he let the current take him out and then tried to swim against the current, showing that he was not able to swim back to shore. He then swam parallel to the shore and once he was out of the channel, he swam back to shore.

How they form

Rip currents form when waves crash onto the sand. That water will then take the deepest channels between the sand bars back out into the ocean, creating a riptide, Brown said. All that water becomes a sort of small river going back towards the deeper part of the ocean.

When people get caught in a riptide, panic sets in when they try to swim for shore and realize they are being pulled out.

Brown said the telltale signs of a rip current are foam discoloration or when you see a lot of foam going back out to sea.

“That foamy discoloration is a very strong indicator that there’s a rip there because where all the waves that crash in, that’s where they’re going back out to the ocean,” he said.

Another sign is areas where you don’t see a lot of waves breaking. This could also be an indicator a rip is there and it is preventing waves from coming in and breaking, he said.

After hours

Brown stressed the importance of not swimming in the ocean when a lifeguard is not on duty. However, he said that while people still do, they can sometimes get stuck in a rip current. While your first instinct may be to try and swim out to help, he said you shouldn’t go alone.

“You might be walking the beach and find someone else in trouble, caught in a rip current,” Brown said. “Make sure in that situation you always call for help. Never go out to swim towards someone without something that floats. A surfboard, a boogie board, even a cooler.”

Brown said that when you reach the distressed swimmer, giving them something that floats will make it easier to return to shore. When a person is panicking in the water, they may try to grab onto you and suddenly two people are in a serious situation.

For more information about riptides and current conditions, ask your nearest lifeguard at the beach.