[March_f6]

As someone who recently almost drowned a couple weeks ago this article is spookily accurate. I was surprised how indifferent everyone on the shore was when a wave finally coughed me up onto the sand. My only assumption, post stress headache, was that it just didn’t look like I was drowning.

[libria]

What was the cause of duress? Undertow? Fatigue? Inexperienced swimmer?

[March_f6]

I suspect it was a mix of a couple things. Here’s how it went: 1. I exhausted myself to a fair degree when I first swam out in order to get past the point at which the waves were breaking. Once I was in a calm area I began to rest and catch my breath. 2. I began to feel what I can only describe as a slight panic attack when I noticed that the current was behaving slightly like a rip (a current pushing away from the shore). 3. The cold temp of the water mixed with the newfound anxiety and my exhaustion began to make me feel shorter and shorter of breath. 4. At this point I was in full panic mode and started using all of my energy to get back to the shore or at least to the point at which the waves were breaking to carry me in.

So I think in general you could categorize it as an inexperienced swimmer because I couldn’t spot the rip from the shore but I don’t think its always so obvious since even a small one could carry you away.

[meepmorp]

Yeah, never fight the rip tide, you won't win. Move laterally - rip currents are usually narrow, and you can swim out of them sideways. The lack of control, though, is freaky and unsettling.