rip currents are no different than a people mover conveyor belt. If you are calm and know what is going on, ANYONE can just step off, wherever they want. Where I surf, Rip Currents and Longshore Currents go hand in hand and can lead to more panic due to the feeling of "I don't like getting swept away from where I want to be". Very common to get swept a LONG ways down the beach when surfing for a bit. The longshores mostly happen the entire lenght of beach, rips are individual plumes.

Most times, it's easier to paddle out in a rip and are really nothing to be afraid of, just aware of.

You got a lot of info here, I will just tell you that if you are a good enough swimmer to do a triathlon, then you should not be dying in a rip tide or undertow as it is sometimes called by people.

Panic is what kills most people that know how to swim in these situations, they feel the pull, fight against the current, see no progress, panic and swim harder, then run out of gas and just go under. A rip tide does not pull you down so all one really has to do is float and it will take you to the head and eventually out of it. Perception is everything in a rip, just like flying on a plane. How much fear do most of the passengers have getting off the ground, all of it unfounded. If you just know the stats of flying safety and have it embedded in your hard drive, then flying is a breeze. Same with rip tides, know what they are, how they work, use your abilities to extricate yourself from it, then just swim to shore. If it takes 30 minutes so what, we can all swim easy for 30 minutes. It is the I have to get out of this thing in two minutes that kills people..

Thanks for the feedback, Chicken Little.

Next time you have the urge to contribute to a conversation, perhaps think twice.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

And therein lies a thoughtful response to my OP. See what he did there, windywave?


Good stuff. Thank for the feedback, Monty.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

Monty nailed it.

When I surf (particularly in big surf at beach breaks) I look for rips and use them to get out to the lineup. That's right, I specifically choose an area where a rip current will assist in pullling me out to sea.

Go with the flow, brother (in the sea and in life).

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

There's a difference too, between rip currents and undertow. Undertow is the returning flow/current of water underneath any and all wave action. That's different from a rip current which is typically strong at the surface.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

"Undertow" is just water being sucked into an on coming wave (and extreme example being water draining out of a bay or harbor preceding a tsunami).

It's seriously no big deal.

Again, go with the flow. When you're in the water you are in the water. Your position relative to land is somewhat meaningless. Nobody steers their car using the moon's position for aim. People will see a point on land and want to go there in a straight, direct line. Often that cannot be done and they stubbornly insist on doing it, get tired and then panic.

Panic is what kills people.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

Seriously I don't know anyone who doesn't think they're dangerous. Maybe because Lake Michigan is notorious for them, but you're opening post was inane IMO

I thought of you this evening when my random play CD changer offered up Neil's "I and the Ocean." I've criticized the latter half of his catalog (while saying the first half is one of best ever). Anyway, that is an awesome song:

I'm the ocean.
I'm the giant undertow.
I'm the ocean.
I'm the ocean.

Peace, and stay safe in the ocean.

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It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

That is not entirely true.
Death of Triathletes in rip-currents can mostly be attributed to lack of a flotation device called "wetsuit", as many Triathletes can't swim easy for any time without it.

I was in Cabo a few years ago for a wedding. All I heard about the beach was that it was an absolute no swim zone. Like entering the water would equal certain death, the undertow was so strong. I was pretty upset as I just can't stay out of the ocean on a warm vacation. On day one I surveyed the beach. It was really steep, the waves were often big, and I was amazed at how strong a few inches of water could be when they are rushing down the beach and back into the ocean. But I also noticed that almost every day there were Mexican kids playing in the water. Sure enough, 4 feet in to the water, past the frothy stuff on the beach, you don't feel anything. I was in the water for hours every day after that.

I could easily see how drunk people would drown there though. I saw a lot of close calls with people way too drunk falling too close to the waves, or struggling to walk back up the steep beach, and getting pulled back to the water.

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Long Chile was a silly place.

9 years as an ocean lifeguard.

Yes. Very dangerous, even to strong swimmers. Not so dangerous to experienced ocean people who know what to do. With rips, really is more about knowledge and ocean awareness rather than strength or swim ability

Seen some crazy shit with Riptides. EG: really strong swimmer swimming as hard as he could against a rip for 15-20 minutes, starting to get tired, starting to panic, until the Lifeguard on duty swam out to him and told him to stand up. It was literally 4 ft deep where the guy was, yeah he was in full-on panic mode and didn't even think of trying to see if he could touch bottom. Lifeguard then walked to the guy out to the side of the rip, and they both swam in just fine.

So essentially it was ignorance that presented the real danger...

Where I live we generally have a longshore current. During big winter swells it can be dramatic and at certain locations this current can even develope rapids. I've seen many inexperienced people get themselves in trouble because they are drifting down the beach at several knots and just can't accept the fact that they're going for a ride.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

My dad used to tell a story or his childhood about a buddy who was a fishermans son in Holland who he saw being carried out by the tide. Six hours later he was back he just rode it out and then rode it back in.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Tide goes out.
Tide comes in.

You just can't explain that.

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Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb

I remember doing Oceanside Oly late '90s early '00s. Pretty good swells that day. The pro women went first and got pounded swimming out, several just quit the race. Then when the pro men went out, they exited the chute onto the beach made a left turn ran a little ways and then rode a rip current right out. All of the age groupers followed the pro men. Easiest swim start from a beach I've ever done. Unfortunately I didn't know how to body surf, so I got pounded on the way in.

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LLLEEEEEEEEEEEERRRROOOYYY JEEENNNNNKKKIIINNNNNS!!!