AIBU - to say rip currents can get you in shallow water and body boards are actually quite dangerous

[Tillylovestomatoes]

So whenever I’ve heard about people getting into trouble at the beach I’ve always assumed it was either unsupervised kids or people swimming / surfing in deep water. I never thought anything like that could happen to me and my family because we always stayed in shallow water close to shore. I thought body boarding in the shallows was safe, especially when the tide was coming in, so me and the kids would paddle out to about thigh height, get on our boards and let the waves bring us back to shore. Unfortunately we were doing just that when we got pulled into a rip current and carried out to sea.

Rip currents can travel up to 2m per second and can pull you out the length of a football pitch in the space of 1 minute. You don’t even realise it’s happening until you suddenly see the beach looking very far away.

By the time I realised something was wrong and leapt off my board to test the water depth - I was up to my neck in water. I grabbed the kids and tried to wade back holding them above the water but the current was too strong and just kept pushing us back even further until the water started coming over my head. I had to scream for the kids to swim. Luckily, they are both good swimmers because we’d lost our boards in the panic. The boards should have been attached to our arms but the Velcro straps were rubbish and always came undone.

I swam to get the boards back and managed to grab two of them but by that time my kids had drifted further away. They were swimming on their backs by this point but I found it hard to catch them up and get back to them. The sight of them in the deep open water will haunt me for the rest of my life. Even though it was only a few metres they have never seemed to far away and out of reach. I really didn’t think we were going to make it.

We were incredibly fortunate that day because we had positioned ourselves near a local surf school which had trained life guards working for them and they came to rescue us. If we’d been on a more isolated beach then I dread to think what could have happened. We didn’t see any flags or signs to indicate any danger and we hadn’t managed to spot anything untoward from the shore. The beach we were on only had a voluntary life guard presence at weekends so lots of scope for accidents to happen for people like me not fully understanding the risks.

Prior to this, I’d heard of rip currents but didn’t know how common they were. I also didn’t know that they could pull you out from shallow water or really understand how quickly they could pull you in. (Apparently a rip current on the same beach had previously pulled in a horse and rider cantering along the shoreline). I had also thought body boarding in shallow water with me present was relatively safe. I was very wrong and would hate any other families to make the same mistake. I for one will never get on a body board again but I see so many people using them on social media. So AIBU to highlight that rip currents very much can get you in the shallow water and that body boarding might not be as safe as you think it is?

Please take care x

Have name changed as I haven’t been able to talk about this to anyone in RL yet. Am still too upset but wanted to highlight dangers for others before the bank holiday.

Oh I totally appreciate that @Tillylovestomatoes.

My DH is a keen surfer, fisher and kayaker and often goes out alone to sea. He's there now, in fact!

It does freak me out a fair bit - it's certainly not something I would risk! I think sea swimming and other sea activities need a lot of knowledge of things like geography, weather and tides to be done safely - lots of people just see the sea as a big pool with a wave machine!

How did the lifeguard rescue you all? Were there 3 of them?

So scary op. I took the kids to a more remote lake in the western lakes a few weeks back. They had boards, straps etc stayed shallow, had a wonderful day.

But on our walk back I came across an elderly man and his grand daughters. They had been rescued. He had let them go in where a stream entered the lake. It was clearly marked as No Swimming. I don't get how he missed that. He told me it was like a horror film watching the girls go under water, like they were trapped under ice. Fortunately they were rescued.

I felt guilty for even letting the boys go out after that. So many have lost their lives over summer this year - in Scotland and the NW.

Thank you op for highlighting the dangers - it must have been an awful shock for you.

I live near where the cockling disaster occurred. Throughout that season, there were so many near misses with inaction by the authorities. I live by the sea and know it is treacherous no matter how well you think you know an area. Sinking sand as well, you will see bubbles and here you cannot outrun the tide. You will have a warning, like you have op, and you need to heed it.

Thanks for sharing. We kayak in the sea and hadn't realised this.

You and your children did a lot that was right. They can swim, you were supervising them, and they stayed calm enough to float on their backs. Well done.

So sorry, OP - it must have been absolutely terrifying the same happened to my sister and me on holiday in Europe as children. She managed to get out but I just kept getting taken further and further out. Luckily some locals outside the rip spotted me and encouraged me to swim over to them as they couldn't get to me. I'll never forget the sight of my dad standing in the shallows in his trousers frantically looking for me, and he often says he won't either.

You have mentioned not going in the sea again, which is fair enough, but see how your children feel. Now I mostly lurk in yh shallows but it's enough for having a dip on holiday.

Terrifying. I have nightmares about this kind of thing. My son isn’t a strong swimmer and wouldn’t have been able to be calm enough to float on his back. He will have more lessons next year in Y4.

Thanks also to the previous poster who linked to the RNLI - I just made a donation as they were at the beach where we bodyboarded last week.

I'm glad you and the little ones are OK, can't imagine how scary it was for you

You're right though, they're not always easy to spot. We live by the beach and regularly see the coastguards out looking for people. I don't actually go in the sea and don't allow the children to. We go to swimming pools. Some might say I'm OTT but I don't care quite frankly. I've heard of too many accidents.

I'm so sorry you went through that, it's terrifying. We live on the coast, no life guards at all
Even the strongest swimmers can get caught out, people just see blue skies, a blue sea and jump straight in

So glad you’re all ok, we only swim on lifeguarded beaches (which the kids moan about as they’re then busier than unguarded ones) but your post reinforces my decision.

Lynsey Losses, yes, definitely no floats and I don’t think I’d even paddle in the sea again. The force of the water current was so strong it just pushed us back further. Someone has since said a horse and rider got swept away cantering along the shoreline so if it could sweep a horse away then no wonder we struggled.

Window1 I’m glad I’ve drawn your attention to it because I honestly had no idea it could happen from shallow water and would never have done it if I had know. You just see so many body boards these days and assume they are a safe and easier option for kids - especially if you are only using them in shallow water.

Popcornriver we will be doing the same from now on x

@Aprilx

That sounds scary, but if you know what to do and can swim, it should be relatively straightforward to get out of it, float with the current, swim parallel to the shore etc. When I moved to Australia I was very close to the beach and was a bit concerned, so I looked into it, my Aussie friends were relatively relaxed about them as they all knew what to do.

It's this sort of attitude and response which leads people to underestimate the sea. There is nothing relatively straightforward about getting caught in a rip tide on your own let alone with children.

ssd pleas be careful. I’ve now learnt that on the same stretch of beach where we got caught - an RAF pilot who’d been windsurfing actually drowned. This guy would have had the best survival skills and still got caught out.

Stick to lifeguarded beaches and stay within the flags. Also please don't buy those cheap body boards. As you've experienced, the Velcro tabs on them are rubbish and they get easily broken /lost which fills the sea with millions of little bits of polystyrene which is disastrous for marine life

Glad you and your kids are ok OP

That sounds terrifying! I remember when I was little a boy was on an inflatable and ended up really far away from the shore all of a sudden, I wonder if that's what happened to him. It left me a bit wary of the sea tbh.

Egglette I’d so sorry you got caught out too. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. My husband was on the shore and was about to come in after us. I’m so glad our rescuers stopped him because he would have just got caught in the current too. You should always call the lifeguard and not try to go in but that is so hard when you see your loved ones struggling. I bet that will haunt your Dad forever.

I would also agree with everyone’s posts that everyone should look at the RNLI website for informed advice about this. When we’ve got over this we’re going to do some fundraising for the RNLI and will see if we can arrange some extra water safety sessions with the kids school.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I believe in fate and you sharing your story could save someone in the future xx

We live near a very popular coastline, plus have lots of quarries locally. Every bank holiday weekend when it's warm, somebody drowns because they fancied a paddle or a swim. Usually more than one person. They run education programmes, put up signs, write in the press, urge caution etc and it happens every time. Recently, a Mum died after her two sons got into trouble and she tried to rescue them. They were strong swimmers and used to being in the sea but were caught in a rip. It terrifies the life out of me.

Scary. For swimming I highly recommend marine lakes - ours is huge, 250m across and no scary currents! For surfing/bodyboarding stick to lifeguarded beaches and educate your kids on what to do. I also made mine wear buoyancy aids

So frightening OP. I live near the beach and have seen people drift out, lifeguards out, the odd death over the years, and people stranded on mudflats including one poor man who was up to his neck with the tide coming in, luckily he did have the lifeguard out and they put planks/flat things out and rescued him that way.

Happens every year and you are so right to warn us all of how even shallow water can be dangerous. There are lots of beaches round us which are safe, safe, safe, then there's a ridge and they are really dangerous. I always say to the teens to swim directly in front of the lifeguards (plus they are usually attractive nice men and women so it's hardly a hardship!)

Thanks so much for sharing this OP. I had no idea either. I always see the beach signs warning of rip currents and I knew how to spot them. But I had no idea you could get caught in one unless you were actually swimming.

I feel a bit sick. My eldest is a very strong swimmer (stage 10) and in the past has spent many summers on a body board. Whilst I've been keeping an eye on her, as a single parent my attention is normally on her younger sister. We have been so lucky .

I'm so so glad you are all ok

So glad you and your kids are ok. Absolutely terrifying story

Great that you are all ok and made good choices. Our seas are dangerous.

I love the sea and swim a lot and take my kids too but I have been a lifeguard and I am an experienced outdoor swimmer. I avoid the busy beeches because all I can see is worrying behaviour. I can’t relax. For an island nation we don’t prepare our children to know how to survive in rips, strong seas, make judgements about where/when to get in water, about water temp, cold water shock etc.

Floating on your back will get you out of almost anything. No one should be in the sea unless they can float at ease for a good time. It’s the single most useful skill to teach your child. This ten year old got everything right after watching a documentary but it makes me catch my breath when I think of his family waiting for an hour for news having seen him disappear. It’s a great story to share with children. He lived because he kept his confidence and didn’t try to swim.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-53687115.amp

Well you need breaking waves for a rip current to form at all, so playing in breakers is where the risk of getting caught is, not deeper water. I always feel a bit nervous on big beaches with a wide area of breakers because of that. There are signs of rip currents and it's ways worth looking from higher ground as you come onto the beach if you can. The other day I was at a beach and could see the rip very clearly as it was formed between some sea defences, it was a lifeguarded beach and that area had a red flag and no swimming signs, but it looked the nicest bit as waves weren't really breaking there, so loads of people were going in there, despite the signs. It was strange.