Lesson 4 – 30 minutes
Learning outcomes
- Identify the four different types of rip currents.
- Identify how to manage rips in a beach environment.
- Identify how to use rip currents to assist in surf swimming and rescues.
Preparation
- Picture/poster of a rip.
- Whiteboard and markers (optional).
- Water safety personnel (1:5).
- Life jackets.
Discuss
Discuss what a rip is by starting with how they are formed:
- Water that has come to the beach in waves needs a way back out to sea, as the water moves out to sea it creates a trench that channels the water.
Explain each of the below factors to help identify a rip:
- Darker colour due to the water being deeper.
- No waves breaking when there are waves breaking on either side.
Discuss inshore drifts:
- Holes and feeder currents and how they add to the dangers of rip currents (they are found near rips and will feed water into the rip, they can also have a strong current that pulls you into the rip).
- Discuss the four different types of rips that can be found on a beach.
Discuss
- Ask the participants how they can use their knowledge of rips in a positive way while at the beach or during a patrol (locate and monitor them, communicate the danger to beach users, put up signage near
them, educate friends/family while at beach)
Discuss
- Ask the group if they know when a rip can be used in a positive way:
- Can use it to swim out through the surf fast?
- Handy if needing to perform a fast rescue.
- Remind the participants that if using a rip to conduct a rescue then they shouldn’t try swimming the patient back to shore – instead they should signal for assistance.
Activity 1
Do you have the required amount of water safety personnel (1:5), a competent group, life jackets and a working rip on the beach? If so:
- Have each participant wear a lifejacket (if you only have a small amount of life jackets you can split the participants into smaller groups).
- Take your group to the edge of the rip.
- Explain you are going to enter the rip and float out to sea or to the ‘head’ of the rip.
- Once out the back you can try a short swim against the rip to see how hard it is.
- Then swim parallel to the beach and catch a wave to the shore.
- Finish by discussing the experience.
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