Every year I see a story in the newspaper that a child is caught in a rip and a parent jumps in the water (usually without a floatation device) to help them. Most children are fitter than their parents and they’re certainly lighter, meaning a child can float for longer and have a better chance of survival. Unfortunately, in some of these situations, when a parent goes into the water to help, the child ends up floating long enough to get back to the beach, but the parent doesn’t.

One thing to consider is that rips often have larger plunging waves which, when breaking, create white water. White water is water and air mixed together at roughly 50% air and 50% water. The human body can float in water, but not in air, so just being able to maintain one’s head above the water (float) becomes a struggle, and the heavier you are, the harder it is.

A bystander should firstly call for help and should only go into the water if they are a sufficiently strong-enough swimmer to navigate a rip. They should phone Emergency Services who can access life savers and lifeguards. If a bystander decides to enter the water to rescue someone, they should always take in a flotation device –surfboards, body boards or kick boards are ideal.

Whilst many people know the basic safety message for rips – concentrate on floating, swim parallel to the beach (if possible) or go with the rip out to sea – if feels unnatural not to swim towards apparent safety. Staying afloat in white water can be very difficult, and so people start to panic. This is often the stage when instinct kicks in to escape, rather than concentrate on floating and letting the rip carry them to calmer water.

If caught in a rip, remaining calm is a key and you always wave an arm for help. A weak or moderate swimmer should concentrate on floating as the rip will generally take you out to blue, calmer water, and you will then be able to swim back into the beach. A strong swimmer may be able to swim parallel to the beach before swimming back to the beach, but this swim is hard and it’s not unusual for this to be a 200m (or more) swim at fast speed.