As residents of the Sunshine State, our beach days don’t end when students go back to school, nor do the challenges that beachgoers can face.
A cooling breeze and gentle waves greet visitors on a rare green-flag day in St. Lucie County. But it’s not always that way. St. Lucie County lifeguard Grayson Money says just a week before, rip currents posed quite a danger.
"You get strong winds, especially out of the Southeast," he says. "That’s really good for producing rip currents and that’s also our No. 1 rescue, really, is the rip current rescue.”
Rip currents tend to menace our shores when tropical storms or hurricanes move off of our coast.
Florida Public Radio Emergency Network Meteorologist Jeff Huffman says that’s because of the wind.
“They can happen on a sunny, nice, beautiful day," he warns. "The wind may not even be that strong, but the longer that wind is over the water coming on shore the greater the risk of the rip current. Obviously the rip current risks do increase when there’s adverse weather, but the weather can be perfect for beachgoers, at least it can look that way but sometimes those rip currents can be occurring.”
A rip current is a strong localized narrow current of water near the surface that moves away from shore. Swimmers can exhaust themselves swimming toward the beach as the rip current works against them.
Area resident George Martin says it’s an experience he’s had, “It’s a frightening experience and it was a struggle. I went forward and stayed with it and crossed out and then worked my way back but it can be dangerous.”
Martin says he was several hundred feet down the beach before he was able to reach shore.
Lifeguard Grayson Money says Martin did the right thing by swimming parallel to the beach line until he worked his way out of the rip current before trying to leave the water.
“The main thing is just not to panic if you are caught in one," says Money. "You’re better to just ride it out and float. That’s why we like people swimming at life-guarded beaches, too, because the lifeguards are going to see you and come get you.”
Even people who consider themselves strong swimmers can get caught in rip currents. If you sit above the water, like a lifeguard, Money says you can sometimes see them.
"If you see the water is all brown around you it might be a good idea to maybe check out your surroundings and move down the beach a little bit and pick another spot to swim,” he says.
Be sure to check the flags flying at the beach before you enter the water. They’ll warn you of rip currents and other dangers to swimmers like jelly fish. Swimming on a beach with a lifeguard is always a good idea and remember: If you do get caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until you no longer feel that tug taking you out to sea.
Jill Roberts is a reporter at NPR affiliate WQCS in Fort Pierce, Fla.
