Rip Current Survival Principles: Towards Consistency

ABSTRACT Bradstreet, A.J.; Brander, R.W.; McCarroll, J.R.; Brighton, B.; Dominey, H.D.; Drozdzewski, D.; Sherker, S.; Turner, I.; Roberts, A., and MacMahan, J., 2014. Rip current survival principles: Towards consistency. Advances in applied rip current research over the past 10 years have dramatically increased our collective understanding of the hazard posed to communities by rip currents. Repeated drifter, dye, swimmer, in situ instrumentation, and model experimentation has demonstrated the highly variable nature of rip currents, which has significant implications for long standing survival strategies. Analysis of prevalent rip current survival advice revealed that under variable rip current conditions, the advice may not prove effective in-situ, resulting in individual adopting alternative behaviours, which may or may not have been endorsed or promoted by safety authorities. This paper discusses evidence supporting key principles prominent in the discourse between public safety practitioners and rip cu...