Allan Mundy from Life Saving New Zealand explains how to spot rips and how to escape them if you get caught.
Rips are powerful, channelled currents of water flowing away from shore and can occur at any beach with breaking waves. They most typically form at low spots or breaks in sandbars, and also near structures such as groynes, storm water pipe outlets and around rocky headlands. Rip currents can be very narrow or hundreds of metres wide. Sometimes the rip ends just beyond the line of breaking waves, but it can also continue to push hundreds of metres offshore. The steeper the beach, the closer to shore the rip current will stop pulling. How to spot a rip- Calm patches on surf with waves breaking each side
- Rippled or criss-crossed water
- Discoloured water due to stirred-up sand
- Foamy water with debris
- A patch of deep water close to the shore line