Rip Current's; how to survive them from the NY Times Every summer we read about drownings that occur as a result of a rip current. According to the NY Times, rip currents kill at least 100 people per year. If you are not familiar with the term, a rip current is a channel of water that runs a certain distance out to sea. The current is fast moving and is known to carry swimmers away. They are responsible for about 80 percent of the lifeguard emergency rescue situations each year. A recent NY Times article offers some great advice for those who are caught in a rip current. The most important advice they offer is to not fight and swim against the current, since it moves much faster than you can swim. They suggest that you swim parallel to the waves until you get past the current which is usually narrow in width. Check out the article here How to Survive a Rip Current: First, Don’t Fight It By MAGGIE ASTORJULY 31, 2017 Around 2 a.m. on Sunday, Zuzana Oravcova, 24, went swimming with a friend at Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey. About 17 hours later, Jevoney White, 19, did the same at Smith Point Beach on Long Island. Less than 80 miles apart, Ms. Oravcova and Mr. White met the same fate: They were caught in rip currents and drowned, joining a grim tally that also includes four victims in North Carolina in a 10-day period in June, and four in New Jersey in a single night. Rip currents — often referred to, incorrectly, as riptides — kill more than 100 people in the United States every year, the United States Lifesaving Association estimates, and lifeguards save tens of thousands more. But as search teams combed the waters off Fire Island on Sunday evening, looking for Mr. White, his friends said they didn’t know what a rip current was. Read more