Safety Tip Guide:1. Swim Near A Lifeguard: USLA statistics over a ten yearperiod show that the chance of drowning at a beach withoutlifeguard protection is almost five times as great as drowningat a beach with lifeguards. USLA has calculated the chance thata person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLAaffiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million (.0000055%).2. Learn To Swim: Learning to swim is the best defenseagainst drowning. Teach children to swim at an early age.Children who are not taught when they are very young tend toavoid swim instruction as they age, probably due toembarrassment. Swimming instruction is a crucial step toprotecting children from injury or death.3. Never Swim Alone: Many drownings involve singleswimmers. When you swim with a buddy, if one of you has aproblem, the other may be able to help, including signaling forassistance from others. At least have someone onshore watchingyou.4. Don't Fight the Current: USLA has found that some 80%of rescues by USLA affiliated lifeguards at ocean beaches arecaused by rip currents. These currents are formed by surf andgravity, because once surf pushes water up the slope of thebeach, gravity pulls it back. This can create concentratedrivers of water moving offshore. Some people mistakenly callthis an undertow, but there is no undercurrent, just an offshorecurrent. If you are caught in a rip current, don't fight it bytrying to swim directly to shore. Instead, swim parallel toshore until you feel the current relax, then swim to shore. Mostrip currents are narrow and a short swim parallel to shore willbring you to safety.5. Swim Sober: Alcohol is a major factor in drowning. Alcoholcan reduce body temperature and impair swimming ability. Perhapsmore importantly, both alcohol and drugs impair good judgment,which may cause people to take risks they would not otherwisetake.6. Leash Your Board: Surfboards and bodyboards should beused only with a leash. Leashes are usually attached to theboard and the ankle or wrist. They are available in most shopswhere surfboards and bodyboards are sold or rented. With aleash, the user will not become separated from the floatationdevice. One additional consideration is a breakaway leash. A fewdrownings have been attributed to leashes becoming entangled inunderwater obstructions. A breakaway leash avoids this problem.7. Don't Float Where You Can't Swim: Non-swimmers oftenuse floatation devices, like inflatable rafts, to go offshore.If they fall off, they can quickly drown. No one should use afloatation device unless they are able to swim. Use of a leashis not enough because a non-swimmer may panic and be unable toswim back to the floatation device, even with a leash. The onlyexception is a person wearing a Coast Guard approved lifejacket.8. Life Jackets = Boating Safety: Some 80% of fatalitiesassociated with boating accidents are from drowning. Mostinvolve people who never expected to end up in the water, butfell overboard or ended up in the water when the boat sank.Children are particularly susceptible to this problem and inmany states, children are required to be in lifejackets wheneverthey are aboard boats.9. Don't Dive Headfirst, Protect Your Neck: Serious, lifelonginjuries, including paraplegia, occur every year due to divingheadfirst into unknown water and striking the bottom.Bodysurfing can result in a serious neck injury when theswimmer's neck strikes the bottom. Check for depth andobstructions before diving, then go in feet first the firsttime; and use caution while bodysurfing, always extending a handahead of you.10. At Home, You're the Lifeguard: Drowning is theleading cause of accidental death in many states for childrenage one and two. A major reason for this is home pools, whichcan be death traps for toddlers. Many of these deaths occur inthe few moments it takes a parent to answer a telephone ordoorbell. NEVER leave a child alone anywhere near a pool. Makesure it is completely fenced, that the fence is locked, and thatthere is no access from the home to the pool. Don't let yourchild or a neighbor's child get into the pool when you're notthere.
Swimming Against the Tide: A Biography of Freda Brown
Rip Currents & Rip Current Formation:Most waves are formed by wind on the water. Sea waves usuallyresult from storms, often hundreds of miles from shore. Wavesare not all equal in size. Sometimes a group of larger wavescomes ashore one after another. This is known as a "set" ofwaves. When waves break, water is pushed up the slope of theshore. Gravity pulls this water back toward the sea. If itconverges in a narrow, river-like current moving away fromshore, it forms what is known as a rip current. Rip currents canbe 50 feet to 50 yards or more wide. They can flow to a pointjust past the breaking surf (the surfline) or hundreds of yardsoffshore. Some 80% of rescues by lifeguards at America's surfbeaches are due to persons being caught in rip currents. Ripcurrents may pull continuously, but they can suddenly appear orintensify after a set of waves, or when there is a breach in anoffshore sandbar. Longshore currents, inshore holes, and otherbottom conditions contribute to the formation of rip currents.Inshore holes and sandbars can also greatly increase the dangerof spinal injury.Rip Current Survival: Photo courtesy of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility at Duck, NC.The sea is a wonderful playground, but you must respect itspower. Learn to swim and consider participating in a juniorlifeguard program. When swimming, choose an area protected bylifeguards. If you are not a strong swimmer, go no further thanknee deep. If you decide to swim, check the conditions first toidentify any dangerous currents. Ask a lifeguard for assistance.You can sometimes identify a rip current by its foamy and choppysurface. The water in a rip current may be dirty (from the sandbeing turned up by the current). The water may be colder thanthe surrounding water. Waves usually do not break as readily ina rip current as in adjacent water. If caught in a rip current,try to relax. A rip current is not an "undertow" -- it will notpull you under. Do not try to swim against the current as thisis very difficult, even for an experienced swimmer. If you cando so, tread water and float. Call or wave for assistance. Youcan also try to swim parallel to shore until you are out of thecurrent, then swim directly toward shore. 2ff7e9595c
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