First hand account of getting caught in a riptide.

[Taltarzac725]

Ted Sutton: What I Learned From Getting Caught In A Riptide (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ted-sutton/10-things-i-learned-from-_b_1842732.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmyaol%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D203481)

Reading this could save a life at some point.

[asianthree]

when caught in a riptide you swim not to shore but parallel to shore to leave the riptide. have been in several...you can not panic just swim as strong as you can until out of area of rip then into shore

[ajbrown]

I was fortunate as a boy/teenager to spend many a summer on MV. The south side of that island can have some great surf if you enjoy body surfing and eating sand. As kids, the nastier the surf the more fun we had. Now I like a pool :D

One of my memories is related to this story. I am guessing I was around 12 or 13 when it happened. I was very comfortable in the water. I was trying to do a back stroke along the beach and I could hear faint yelling. I stopped to look and it was my Mom. I had gone from 12 feet off shore to 'way out' in one of these currents. I did not have the panic of the poor fellow in the article as I knew to move along the shore and then use the surf to help you back in. Back then it was not us kids you needed to wory about, it was the visiting uncles and aunts that had never swam in rough waters with undertoe.

I can imagine how someone unfamiliar could panic and get into real trouble. Pretty scary I bet.

[CaptJohn]

I was fortunate as a boy/teenager to spend many a summer on MV. The south side of that island can have some great surf if you enjoy body surfing and eating sand. As kids, the nastier the surf the more fun we had. Now I like a pool :D

One of my memories is related to this story. I am guessing I was around 12 or 13 when it happened. I was very comfortable in the water. I was trying to do a back stroke along the beach and I could hear faint yelling. I stopped to look and it was my Mom. I had gone from 12 feet off shore to 'way out' in one of these currents. I did not have the panic of the poor fellow in the article as I knew to move along the shore and then use the surf to help you back in. Back then it was not us kids you needed to wory about, it was the visiting uncles and aunts that had never swam in rough waters with undertoe.

I can imagine how someone unfamiliar could panic and get into real trouble. Pretty scary I bet.

I have similar stories to this occurring along the northern Gulf Coast.
You're right, us local kids didn't have a problem with the currents.
Just 'go with the flow'. Then walk a mile back up the beach!

[Shimpy]

We always referred to "rip tides" as "under currents". Whatever you call them the best and hardest thing to do is don't panic, and don't try to fight them. As always advised, swim parallel to the shore until you can swim in.