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A comment on ‘That Girl Is Going to Get Herself Killed’. Parent comment

Re:‘That Girl Is Going to Get Herself Killed’ by danenania on Monday January 09, 2023 @10:13AM (#34311183)
The key in surf is to never fight against the rip. While it can feel scary to get pulled out, remember that 99% of the time, it will end after you are pulled past the break, at which point you can swim laterally a bit and then go back in with help from the waves. Breaking waves naturally create alternating channels in the sand that either push you towards the shore or pull you back out to the break.

The other 1% of the time is when you are close to the mouth of a bay or some other feature that creates a current independent of the dynamics in the surf zone. You'll know that's the case if the current stays strong after you're past the break. If it's too strong for you to swim against it, then you're in trouble and should start waving for help.

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Re:‘That Girl Is Going to Get Herself Killed’ by rozab on Monday January 09, 2023 @10:20AM (#34311243)
The good news is if you don't struggle against the current you should be able to stay afloat for a couple hours, long enough for help to arrive
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Re:‘That Girl Is Going to Get Herself Killed’ by ogre_battle on Monday January 09, 2023 @01:30PM (#34314035)
A couple hours in even moderately chilly water -- to include off the coast of California -- will give you hypothermia in an hour, often as little as 30 minutes. If you have to float for 2 hours without being able to get out you'll have a problem.

Rip tides pull out, so let them pull you past the break then swim side to side. You shouldn't need more than 15-20 min to get past the worst of it, and can work laterally to inbound waves.

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