In a summer that has been filled with shark sightings and ray stings, it is important to remember that the biggest killer of Australians in the ocean each year is the ocean itself.
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On average one person will drown every two to three days on Australian beaches over summer. Most of these drownings and most of the thousands of rescues by surf life savers everyday are due to rip currents.
But while rip currents certainly are dangerous, Merimbula Surf Shop owner and avid surfer Simon Emms said they are also a “surfer’s best friend”, with most surfers opting to deliberately “get caught” in a rip.
“No one knows the ocean as well as surfers and fishermen, and when you know the water and are comfortable in the ocean you can start to use rips to your advantage,” Mr Emms said.
While Mr Emms emphasised the importance of swimming between the flags, he said everyday surfers and even life savers are using rips to their own benefit.
“Rips are there to be utilised,” he said.
“A rip is the quickest and easiest way to get out past the wave break, surfers use it to conserve their energy rather than trying to fight the waves and life savers may use it as the quickest way to get to a person in danger.”
Mr Emms, who has been surfing since he was five-years-old, said surfers are also regularly the first point of contact for people in trouble, especially at beaches that are not patrolled.
“For a time at Bar Beach the surfers used to argue about who’s turn it was to help the swimmers who had been caught in the rip because it happened so often.”
Mr Emms said the main thing people need to know about rips is that you can’t fight them.
“Never paddle against a rip, surfers utilise them by swimming or paddling with them, where they are then able to easily paddle over to where the waves are breaking,” he said.
Mr Emms also said that if you are in trouble or struggling and there is a surfer nearby to shout out to them or raise your arm.
Surf Life Saving Australia recommends that people caught in a rip swim parallel to the shore or towards breaking waves and use them to help get to shore.
That 69 per cent of Australians are unable to identify a rip is a staggering statistic, but it doesn’t surprise Surf Life Saving Illawarra president Val Zanotto.
“If you're not a regular beachgoer, you can tend to be a little bit confused as to identifying a rip correctly,” he said. “Rips definitely are a problem, but if they swim between the flags they’ll have no issues.”
