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Dangerous sea wave. Undercurrents of the oceans: how I almost returned from Sri Lanka as a widow? A current that can carry away even experienced swimmers

Danger when swimming at sea

Reverse current or Rip

Many Russian tourists and vacationers do not know what awaits them when swimming in the sea with waves. Everyone likes to enjoy bobbing on the waves, jumping or diving on an oncoming wave. Yes, this often gives pleasure and does not foreshadow anything bad, the bottom is nearby, and the shore is not far away. At the same time, if you vacation through a travel agency, they usually never warn you what you can expect when swimming and what dangers may arise at this vacation spot. And this is deadly reverse current or whatever they call it R.I.P.. It will be deadly if you don’t know how to get out of it.

Imagine ocean waves rolling onto the shore, bringing more and more water. And all this water mass does not remain on land, but returns back to the ocean. This reverse movement of water occurs through channels that arise as a result of the action of waves breaking on the shore.

The waves break on the shore shallows, and then, accumulating in one place, go back, forming a reverse current, as if a river flows in the ocean. And this place is the most dangerous on the entire beach. In this channel, the current speed can reach 2-3 meters per second, and if you suddenly fall into it, you will be abruptly carried away from the shore. At this moment, most people begin to panic, they frantically fight against the current and persistently row back towards the shore. But the waves continue to cover, and, having lost strength, a person seriously risks drowning.

A story from a real person who was in this situation:

“That’s exactly what happened to us. For many years now we have been vacationing in different places in our country and abroad, but we knew nothing about this, no one ever warned about it, that it was dangerous and even fatal. And so, ohWe were on holiday in Thailand on Coron Beach, there were not big waves (there are almost always waves there), we decided to jump on the waves with my wife, but we didn’t go deep, only waist-deep. But with each separation from the bottom, we were carried further and further. At first they didn’t notice this, they swam calmly enjoying the waves, but when their legs no longer reached the bottom and the speed of the current increased, panic began. We immediately decided to swim to the shore, but noticed that we were not approaching it, but were only moving away. At the same time, having swam towards the shore for about 10 minutes, my strength was already running out, panic had reached its maximum and after assessing the situation, we realized that it was no longer possible to swim to the shore.

In this situation, you can already say goodbye to life. They screamed and called for help, but it was too far to the shore, no one heard. And we were carried further and further. I pushed my wife towards the shore with all my strength, but we were still being carried further and further into the sea. They realized that it was useless to do this, they were only losing strength. Imagine how a person feels in this situation. We had already said goodbye to life and it was a shame that we came to rest, but here it was. There were no lifeguards on the shore, only Thais renting scooters, and there were very few people. By chance, someone noticed that we were waving our arms and realized that people were drowning.

A crowd of onlookers gathered and everyone just looked in our direction; no one dared to enter the sea. Of all the vacationers, only one person risked swimming to us, as we later learned from Bulgaria, who risked helping us from certain death. At the same time, he helped and pointed in which direction to swim. When we were already swimming to the shore, the Thai with a piece of foam plastic also swam in our direction. Slowly, with our last breath and exhausted, we reached the shore. Our savior’s wife, standing on the shore, was in tears, apparently also very worried about her husband, who swam to us. It’s a pity that they didn’t find out his name, they just thanked him for saving him, he had no strength at all, and for this you should be grateful for the rest of your life. If they knew about reverse currents and how to get out of the nick, this would not have happened. after such an incident, we do not go into the sea with waves at all, even at Russian resorts. By the way, now I began to notice a reverse flow on Black Sea resort and in Crimea, even with small waves.”

You can watch the video on rescuing people on the beach. https://youtu.be/W8-EmKkq1Is

There are several simple rules of behavior that you need to remember and always follow if you are carried out to sea:

1. Don't panic! Everyone knows that panic is the main enemy in an extreme situation. However, not everyone continues to remember this when something happens. When a person panics, instead of soberly assessing the situation and making the right decision, he relies on his instincts and most often does absolutely the wrong thing.

2. Save energy! There is no need to fight the current and swim back to the shore - it is useless. Most likely, you will not have enough strength to overcome the current. Relax and calmly swim not straight to the shore, but to the side, that is, parallel to the coast.

3. Do not swim in the ocean or sea alone in the presence of waves and in places indicated by red flags! Try to swim on busy beaches, preferably where there is a lifeguard service and there are still people present.

A reverse current forms on the surface, without the formation of funnels and whirlpools. The water in the canal will carry you away from the shore along the surface, but will not drag you into the depths. As a rule, its width does not exceed 50 meters, most often it is 10-20 meters. That is, after swimming along the shore quite a bit, you should feel like you have swam out of the canal. The current weakens quite quickly, the channel ends its action where the waves reach their peak and begin to break. The reverse current is even different in color from the rest of the ocean water. This color comes from sand lifted by waves from the shore shallows and carried into the ocean. That sand is visible from above is proven by the fact that rip currents only form on the surface.

If you see something like the one in the photo, you're in luck, just don't swim in the area. However, 80% of dangerous channels that arise spontaneously do not manifest themselves visually. Professional rescuers can sometimes identify these places, but tourists are unlikely to. On beaches, in most cases, flags are placed, which can change their position throughout the day. The color of the flags is accepted all over the world and is easy to remember, but as a rule little attention is paid to them:

A red and yellow flag means that there are lifeguards on the beach and it is safe to swim between these flags.

A red flag means that swimming in this area is strictly prohibited.

If in any doubt, throw a bunch of seaweed or a piece of driftwood from the beach onto the surface. If there is a rip current, it will quickly carry your projectile out to sea.

In Thailand, for example, every year there are 1-2 cases of drowning from rip currents. It is better to choose a safe holiday destination in Thailand based on reviews from tourists and choose beaches where there is no rip current or is rare, especially when vacationing with children. You can learn more about and its beaches on the pages of this site and your vacation will be safe.

Popular holiday destinations where reverse currents are often found: in Thailand - on Phuket, the beaches of Coron (even with small waves) and Kata (with rolling waves), in India - on the beaches of Goa.

At Russian resorts during a storm or significant sea conditions, a reverse current is also found: on the Black Sea coast in all resorts Krasnodar region, in Crimea, Abkhazia. But they are much smaller and weaker relative to the ocean coast. Even where there are breakwaters, it doesn’t matter when there are big waves, you shouldn’t even go into the water. There are many cases where the reverse current Black sea coast carried people out to the open sea during a storm or large waves. There is no point in indicating in which cities and resorts there were reverse currents; they occur almost everywhere, but we do not always see them.

According to the stories of numerous vacationers, they personally saw reverse currents during a minor storm in the cities: Crimea - Evpatoria, Feodosia, on the Black Sea coast - Lazarevskoye, Lermontovo, Divnomorskoye, and this does not mean that there are reverse currents there, they can be everywhere . On Russian equipped beaches (at hotels, boarding houses, sanatoriums) during a storm and large waves, the administration always closes them and you can see signs with the words “Beach closed, storm.” This can often be seen in Crimea.

There is almost never a reverse current on the beaches and other islands of Greece, as well as in Cyprus and resorts in Turkey, due to the almost always calm sea.

Reverse currents are most common at resorts, but mainly during a storm or large waves.

On the beaches, rip currents also occur in storms and with large waves, but the structure of the coastal bottom of the beaches does not allow swimming in waves, which may be why Vietnam is not famous for rip currents. But still be careful, rip currents can occur anywhere in the presence of waves.

Drawing a conclusion, we can say that the most dangerous beaches with a reverse current in the presence of waves are: in Thailand - Karon Beach, in India - Goa beaches. Some people can refute this, saying that we often vacationed there and never saw anything like this. Yes, it’s great that I didn’t have the chance to fall into this dangerous direction. And don’t go there, don’t, but be careful and watch for the red flags on the shore.

If you know what it is reverse current and how to get out of it, then you will protect yourself and your friends going on beach holiday. Warn them about this danger before the trip and everyone will return safe and sound.

Looking for where to spend your vacation and which hotel to choose, then you can go to other pages of this site:

Take the survey and view the results. Make the right choice for yourself.

Danger when swimming at sea

Reverse Current or Rip

Many Russian tourists and vacationers do not know what awaits them when swimming in the sea with waves. Everyone likes to enjoy bobbing on the waves, jumping or diving on an oncoming wave. Yes, this often gives pleasure and does not foreshadow anything bad, the bottom is nearby, and the shore is not far away. At the same time, if you vacation through a travel agency, they usually never warn you about what you can expect when swimming and what dangers may arise at this vacation spot. And this is deadly reverse current or whatever they call it R.I.P.. It will be deadly if you don’t know how to get out of it.

A story from a real person who was in this situation:

A crowd of onlookers gathered and everyone just looked in our direction; no one dared to enter the sea. Of all the vacationers, only one person risked swimming to us, as we later learned from Bulgaria, who risked helping us from certain death. At the same time, he helped and pointed in which direction to swim. When we were already swimming to the shore, the Thai with a piece of foam plastic also swam in our direction. Slowly, with our last breath and exhausted, we reached the shore. Our savior’s wife, standing on the shore, was in tears, apparently also very worried about her husband, who swam to us. It’s a pity that they didn’t find out his name, they just thanked him for saving him, he had no strength at all, and for this you should be grateful for the rest of your life. If they knew about reverse currents and how to get out of the nick, this would not have happened. After such an incident, we don’t go into the sea when there are waves at all, even at Russian resorts. By the way, now a reverse current has begun to be noticed at the Black Sea resort and in Crimea, even with not large waves.”

You can watch the video on rescuing people on the beach. https://youtu.be/W8-EmKkq1Is

There are several simple rules of behavior that you need to remember and always follow if you are carried out to sea:

A red and yellow flag means that there are lifeguards on the beach and it is safe to swim between these flags.

A red flag means that swimming in this area is strictly prohibited.

If in any doubt, throw a bunch of seaweed or a piece of driftwood from the beach onto the surface. If there is a rip current, it will quickly carry your projectile out to sea.

At Russian resorts during a storm or significant sea waves, a reverse current is also found: on the Black Sea coast in all resorts of the Krasnodar Territory, in Crimea, Abkhazia. But they are much smaller and weaker relative to the ocean coast. Even where there are breakwaters, it doesn’t matter when there are big waves, you shouldn’t even go into the water. There are many cases when the reverse current on the Black Sea coast carried people out to the open sea during a storm or large waves. There is no point in indicating in which cities and resorts there were reverse currents; they occur almost everywhere, but we do not always see them.

There is almost never a reverse current on the beaches and other islands of Greece, as well as in Cyprus and resorts in Turkey, due to the almost always calm sea.

Reverse currents are most common at resorts, but mainly during a storm or large waves.

Drawing a conclusion, we can say that the most dangerous beaches with a reverse current in the presence of waves are: in Thailand - Karon beach, in India - the beaches of Goa. Some people can refute this, saying that we often vacationed there and never saw anything like this. It’s great that I didn’t end up in this dangerous direction. And don’t go there, don’t, but be careful and watch for the red flags on the shore.

If you know what it is reverse current and how to get out of it, you will protect yourself and your friends going on a beach holiday. Warn them before the trip about this danger and everyone will return safe and sound.

Looking for where to spend your vacation and which hotel to choose, then you can go to other pages of this site:

Take the survey and view the results. Make the right choice for yourself.

In English, a rip current is called “RIP CURRENT,” not unreasonably alluding to the sad abbreviation R.I.P. (Reast in peace - rest in peace). Indeed, many tragic incidents are associated with rip currents.

A rip current is a strong and narrow stream of water that rushes from the shore into the sea. The speed of water movement in a rip current can reach 2.5 meters per second - not a single swimmer can cope with such a current.

A rip current is formed when waves and wind drive a lot of water to the shore - it flows along coastline until it finds a way out back into the sea (or lake - rip currents are found on lakes too).

The highest speed of water movement is on the surface of the rip current. Therefore, it extinguishes the waves going to the shore and from the outside it looks like a completely calm surface of water. Rip currents occur especially often when strong winds blow ashore or a hurricane rages far from the coast.

Rip currents are very dangerous - in the USA they claim 46 lives annually, 80% of all coastal search operations are associated with rip currents. Their main danger is that a person, caught in a rip current, sees that he is being carried far out to sea and tries to swim against the current - to the shore. Unable to cope with the current, the swimmer becomes exhausted and drowns. Therefore, the main rule of salvation for those caught in a rip current is as follows.

You need to swim not to the shore, but parallel to the shore. This current resembles a treadmill - to stop running, just take a step to the side. But getting out of it is not easy—sometimes you need to swim dozens of meters along the shore.

How to determine a rip current?

From the outside, a rip current may look like a break in the coastal waves with suspiciously calm water. Or like a wide channel of choppy water perpendicular to the shoreline. Or like a stripe of water that stands out in color, on the surface of which foam, algae and bubbles quickly float.

Last time I wrote about the Taj Mahal, which is located in Agra (see), but now it is a very serious topic and if you are going to relax on the sea coast, be sure to read it to the end. We will talk about such a phenomenon as rip. What is it?

Surely many have heard about how one of the tourists drowned in the sea or ocean, and some were even eyewitnesses of such tragedies. During the six months that I lived in Varkala (India), six people drowned in this way, and everything happened not somewhere in the open sea, but not far from the coast.

What all these cases have in common is that almost all of them were good swimmers and managed well in the water. The tragedy is that none of them knew about such a phenomenon as rip - rip current in English.

So, this is a rip or rip current. To understand how to deal with it and what to do, you need to understand what it is and how it arises.

What is rip

Rip currents - rips - are currents that arise in shallow water, perpendicular and back to the shore. The waves rush towards the shore, but large masses do not have time to return back, and in different places in the sandy bottom, under the pressure of water, channels appear, along which the water flows back into the sea.

That is, rips are formed in cases where strong water pressure appears on the shore, a rapid appears and water rushes from the shore at high speed - 3.0 m/sec, a kind of temporary river on the seashore.

This can be seen schematically in the picture:

This is what the river looks like:

Rip currents are not constant, they can appear in different places, and after some time, disappear without a trace.

They vary in width and length. Sometimes these are narrow corridors 2-3 meters wide, but sometimes such a river reaches 100 meters. The length of rips is very rarely more than 300-400 meters.

People who have lived on the coast for a long time already know how to determine the occurrence of another rip by external signs. The water in them differs in color from other areas; if on both sides it is blue or green, in the area of the rip current it may be whitish and foaming.

It is also possible to see how the waves hit the shore everywhere, but in some one place it is calm, most often this is the place of the rip current.

Another thing is tourists, some have not even heard of such a dangerous natural phenomenon, and they, especially those who are poor swimmers, try to enter the water in such places that are “calm” at first glance. They also expose themselves to danger, since even if they go waist-deep into the water, they can get caught in a powerful stream that will pull them into the open sea.

What to do if you get into a rip?

But now the most important thing. Experienced people have fallen into a rip current and escaped safely because they knew how to get out of it correctly.

These rules are the most important when swimming, in my personal opinion, such reminders should be distributed by tour operators sending people to sea holiday.

I would also advise you not to swim in the sea-ocean alone, try to go ashore with one of your friends or fellow travelers. If you're going alone, don't choose deserted place, but one where at least someone is on the shore.

Where do rips often occur?

Judging by information from the Internet, rip currents most often appear in the Mediterranean Sea, especially off the coast of Israel and North Africa. There are small rips in the Azov and Black Seas.

But most often they write about rip currents in Indian Ocean, it seems to me that I observed exactly the rip in Varkala. They often visit Goa and every year one of the tourists drowns there.

Rips are also frequent in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, often mentioned, maybe because there more tourists, after all, if no one drowned, then they don’t even remember about the dangerous rip current, however, you definitely need to know about it.

If your friends are going on a sea holiday, be sure to share this information with them, perhaps you will save their life.

The video about rips is in English, but it seems to me that everything in it is clear without words.

According to beach lifeguards, in the most different cities In Thailand, Russian tourists, like no other, ignore the rules of behavior on open water, as a result of which incidents involving them are the most common. That is why we want to talk in detail about the danger that sometimes lurks in the azure coastal waters of the kingdom.

Underwater currents or, as they are designated on warning signs, Rip current, can pose a great danger to a person swimming even at close range from the shore (at a depth of waist-deep, and sometimes ankle-deep). In a matter of seconds, they are capable of carrying even the most experienced and strong swimmer far into the open sea. RIPs can be the result of ebbs and flows, or arise due to subsidence of underwater soil, or are formed from monsoon winds - there are many options and sometimes it is very difficult to predict them.

What is the danger?

There are several options for the development of events, depending on how far the person is from the shore.

The most common is when those who want to splash around in the depths swim far from the shore. After the swimmers have had their fill open sea, they try to return, but they realize that no matter how hard they try, not only are they not getting closer, but they are moving even further away from the shore.
Another option is when, at shallow depths (from ankle to waist), swimmers realize that they are simply unable to get out of the water, and the so-called “squeeze” current (which occurs when a wave rolls away from the shore) draws them to ever greater depths, and from there to the open sea.
And finally, the third option, when vacationers, also at shallow depths, frolic in the surf and do not monitor its interval. In this case, the first unnoticed wave knocks the swimmer off his feet, the second covers him, depriving him of oxygen and dragging him to greater depths. The man tries to get up, but the next wave covers him again and pulls him away. At some point, the drunk, exhausted and completely disoriented swimmer realizes that there is no bottom under his feet, and he is swept out to sea.

Why do we describe these situations in such detail?

The fact is that even though Russia is washed by 13 seas, the majority of residents of our country are simply not familiar with the nature and laws of the world ocean. It is very difficult for a person who has never lived by the sea to understand how one can drown while knee-deep in water?

In addition, many of our compatriots consider themselves very experienced and strong swimmers - they swim a kilometer in the pool every day in their homeland or even have a sports rank in swimming. And therefore they will definitely cope with some kind of current there.

Still others naively believe that such things can happen to anyone, but not to them. The Russian mentality is very often exacerbated by the influence of alcoholic drinks, without which many cannot imagine resting. The result of all this is a large proportion of Russian tourists among those who drowned off the coast of Thailand.

The case with the girl

For those who still doubt the cunning of the king of the sea, we will present an absolutely incredible story of one girl who decided to take a photo on the shore, standing ankle-deep in water, at a time when the beach was closed for swimming.

In a series of five photographs taken over a period of 30 seconds, one can clearly see how the first wave begins to pull the posing girl into the sea, while the second one is already coming from behind, knocking her off her feet and pulling her even further. In the next frame we see a girl who is completely in the swirling water, already a few meters from the place where she was photographed.

The girl was saved. But there was a lot of commotion on the beach.

How do you know it's okay to swim?

With our article we do not want to say that you cannot swim in Thailand, this is not true. You can and should swim, but first check with local residents and beach workers about the presence of danger and closely monitoring the behavior of the ocean.

Many beaches today have special signs indicating the presence of Rip current. If red flags are posted, this means that swimming is strictly prohibited. Remember, you will not be forcibly held on shore, as they do, for example, in Vietnam. But know that by getting into the water, you risk not only your life, but also the lives of rescuers or other people who, if something happens, will rush to your aid.

It is most likely to fall into the clutches of an undercurrent during the monsoons, which arrive at a certain time. In Phuket, for example, it is May-October. Also, due to different underwater landscapes, beaches have different likelihood of such phenomena occurring. Again, in Phuket, Karon, Surin, Kata, Kata Noi and Nai Harn have a bad reputation in this regard.

Rules of conduct on the water

Before entering the water, make sure the beach is open for swimming (red flags indicate that swimming is prohibited);
Don't swim behind the buoys;
Children should never swim alone at a beach where there may be countercurrent currents;
Follow the wave cycle. Always keep them in sight;
When leaving the sea, make sure that the waves coming from behind do not knock you off your feet;
Have a safety pin in your swim trunks in case your arm or leg cramps.

If you get caught in a Rip current and are carried away from the shore

Don't try to fight the elements. The very first thing you must do is control yourself and deal with panic.
Notice the landmarks on the shore so you can figure out where to return later.
You can choose any of the ways to deal with RIP:

1. Next, slowly, saving energy, begin to swim along the shore, i.e. perpendicular to the flow.
2. Start rowing towards the shore only when you feel that you have swam out of the current or have found yourself in a countercurrent carrying you towards the shore. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to swim quite a lot (300-400 meters, and possibly a kilometer).

Swimming in the coastal waves:

Ocean waves are longer and more powerful than sea waves. For those who are used to swimming in the sea, this sometimes becomes an unpleasant surprise.
If you do not know the features of the bottom (you can familiarize yourself with it at low tide), do not go into the sea in the waves. This can result in serious injury.
Always notice the cycle of waves and keep them in sight.
If a wave knocks you down and spins you underwater, hold your breath and relax. This way you will save oxygen, and your cerebellum will quickly understand where is down and where is up. When surfacing, remember the wave interval.

Have a safe holiday!

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