Beach Safety Precaution: Strong Rip Currents In addition to assisting officers with calls for service, the crew of HB1 also conducts frequent patrols of our beaches. Annually, the pilots conduct training with lifeguards on ocean rescue techniques. HB1 crew have life vests in the helicopter that can be deployed to distressed swimmers in need of flotation. Upon contact with water, these life vests inflate and can aid the swimmer until lifeguards arrive. As seen in these photos, rip currents (brownish water) are highly visible from the air. Look carefully for telltale signs of rips before entering the ocean: » Change in water color from the surrounding water (either murkier from sediments and seaweed, or darker because of the depth of the underwater channel where the rip flows). » Gap in the breaking waves where the rip is forcing its way seaward through the surf zone. » Agitated (choppy) surface that extends beyond the breaker zone. » Floating objects moving steadily out to sea. » Water in the rip may be colder than the surrounding water. What to do if caught in a rip current: » Don’t panic! This wastes your energy and keeps you from thinking clearly. » Don’t attempt to swim against the current directly back to shore. » Swim parallel to shore until you are out of the current as the offshore flow is restricted to the narrow rip neck. » Float calmly out with the rip if you cannot break out by swimming perpendicular to the current. When it subsides, just beyond the surf zone, swim diagonally back to shore.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:05:01 +0000
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