Rip tides fact or overblown danger?

[knotical]

A little terminology from:
http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/glossary.shtml

“Rip current: A relatively small-scale surf-zone current moving away from the beach. Rip currents form as waves disperse along the beach causing water to become trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other underwater feature. The water converges into a narrow, river-like channel moving away from the shore at high speed. A rip current consists of three parts: the feeder current flowing parallel to the shore inside the breakers; the neck, where the feeder currents converge and flow through the breakers in a narrow band or "rip"; and the head, where the current widens and slackens outside the breaker line.

Rip Tide: Rip currents are not rip tides. A distinctly separate type of current includes both ebb and flood tidal currents that are caused by egress and ingress of the tide through inlets and the mouths of estuaries, embayments and harbors. These currents may cause drowning deaths, but these tidal currents or jets are a separate and distinct phenomenon from rip currents. Recommended terms for this phenomenon
include ebb jet or tidal jet.”

And the related:
“Undertow: There is spirited discussion and disagreement among coastal scientists on the existence of a nearshore process called "undertow," and hence there is not an agreed on definition for this word. Undertow is a term often and incorrectly used for rip currents. The best explanation for what many people attribute to "undertow" is as follows: After a wave breaks and runs up the beach, most of the water flows seaward; this "backwash" of water can trip waders, move them seaward, and make them susceptible to immersion from the next incoming wave; however, there is no surf zone force that pulls people under the water.”

 

[OceanObsessed]

They are very real. Several people die each year in SE Florida of drowning in rip currents. They are more common in certain areas than others. It depends on the environmental conditions. Sometimes you can see them from the beach. They look like a plume of sandy water moving seaward.

 

[slackercruster]

Rip tides are very real, and something you need to always pay attention too. My brother was surfing in San Diego, which he did all the time, and spent an hour trying to get back to the beach after taking a ride out to sea. Up here on the North Coast I have seen them so strong we could not swim against the current.

Remember if caught in a rip, do not swim against it, but swim sideways for a hundred yards, then try coming back in.

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes, I have experienced strong current under water while diving as you mentioned and could hardly budge a foot.

But as yet have not been ripped. My concern is that I will be going to the Outer Banks (more for beach fun than diving) and wonder about the difference between it and the West Coast's currents.

 

[Prostar]

I saw a news report a year or so ago where the reporter put on a wetsuit and entered the water at the rip. The safety divers had placed buoys at 50 and 100 yards. They told him the current would take him to about the 100 yard marker and let him go.

As part of the exercise, the reporter tried to swim against the current. No good. Then he let it carry him on out. The current dropped him just beyond the 100 yd. marker. At that point, the reporter swam perpendicular to the rip for about 20 yards and swam back to the beach in a couple of minutes, no problem.

 

[DavidPT40]

Peter Benchley in "Shark Trouble" told about being caught in a rip current that carried him for around 15 miles. He said it was running parallel to the shore, from which he was about a half a mile from the beach. He knew not to fight it, and it eventually dissipated enough that he could swim to the beach.

 

[Bratface]

There are some very strong currents off the coast of North Carolina, particularly around the Outer Banks. There are usually reports of drownings. Probably panic sets in and they wear themselves out.

I have been diving where it was perfect when we went down, but then the weather changed and it was really tough getting back on the boat. Diving the coastal waters of NC is remarkable because of all the wrecks, however, it is advanced diving.

 

[erparamedic]

Was this a longshore current, or a current going seaward from every point along the coast? If it was going seaward all the time, where was the water coming from?

I think there is a lot of confusion between the normal undertow of a wave swept beach; the rip currents which are water from wave action over a wide area returning seaward funneled or concentrated in a narrow zone; tidal currents; and longshore currents.

edit: just did a google on "undertow" and found that it isn't always defined the way I do. I consider undertow to the that strong seaward movement of water near the bottom caused by water flowing back out from breakers moving up the beach. Using this definition, undertow is found all along a beach with waves. Rip tides are where the undertow is concentrated by the contours of the bottom, and the surface of the water is also going seaward.

By "longshore currents" I mean those currents that run more or less parallel to the beach. Causes include swells coming in at an angle to the beach, wind, or tides. Longshore currents can be a problem if you are trying to return to a specific exit point after a dive.

It was not an undertow... what we experienced was very strong currents moving mostly parallel to the beach.... what you call "longshore currents". The captain told us that there was a very strong rip, so we were prepared. We were collecting shells with the kids and looking for sand dollars, and were walking in the water (never deeper than chest high) parallel to the beach... we had actually let the current carry us a bit and then we worked our way back to the beach where we had our belongings layed out. It took FOREVER and alot of work to get back to where we needed to be... actually we still wound up walking the beach a bit to get to our stuff. If we were smart we would have worked in the opposite direction. LOL There's nothin' like leaning forward as far as you can and digging feet into the sand to move a whole 4 inches at a time, thanks to the current. The kids learned a valuable lesson about the ocean that day!

 

[nolatom]

They're common on the Gulf coast, where the sand makes broad ridges which a wave breaks over, then all that water has to exit seaward. it'll cut a gap thru the ridge, that's the 'rip'.

 

[pengwe]

You can often spot them from the shore. Get a life guard to show you what to look for.

 

[wcoyete36]

Hailing from NC here..Never seen a rip, BUT two years ago...life guards rescued over 100 people from the surf in a 3 hour period along the Crystal Coast..Atlantic Beach-Emerald Isle area. Its there..you do not want to recognize it too late or you'll be in bad shape. Swim perpendicular to the current.