OCEAN SAFETY SURF All Waikiki beaches have lifeguards. All Waikiki beaches are considered safe, when the surf is low. When the surf is high ALWAYS consult with a lifeguard, before entering the water... even in Waikiki. Most beaches outside Waikiki HAVE NO LIFEGUARDS! This travel guide has that information throughout the island. If you're a weak swimmer (like myself), visit the beaches that do have lifeguards. If you decide to take a chance at a beach without a lifeguard, (when the ocean is apparently VERY CALM) look for danger signs like "strong current". You can also talk to the locals. We have this kind of information too in this guide, but we can't claim it's 100 % complete and/or 100 % up to date. Nature changes without notification. When going out, dive head on into the surf and let it roll over your head. Once you're on the other side, waves will just lift you up and down. Use a similar technique when coming out. Turn toward the ocean, wait till the surf is right ahead, turn around and dive. If it's close to shore, wait till you can touch the bottom, then stand up and run out between two waves. Do you think I'm overdoing this a bit? Consider the fact that more people drown in Hawaiian waters a year, than in the entire continental USA. If you consider yourself an excellent, strong swimmer, we still recommend that you go thru the following advisory. CURRENT What is a "RIP CURRENT"? It is a narrow, powerful current of water running perpendicular to the beach, out into the ocean. These currents may extend 200 to 2,500 feet lengthwise, but are typically less than 30 feet wide. Rip currents can move fast, often 5 miles per hour or faster. rip currents are caused by the shape of the shoreline and often occur suddenly. They are scary because they catch you off guard. One minute you're floating or splashing happily in the surf, the next you're being dragged out to sea at top speed. They occur in all sorts of weather and on many of Hawaii’s beaches. Unlike violent, crashing waves, you probably won't notice a rip current until you're being whisked away.
A rip current occurs when the receding flow of the ocean becomes concentrated in a particular area. The most common cause of this is a break in a sandbar where the water rushes through at a low point. Rip currents can last for several minutes or hours.
Is a "rip tide" the same thing? No. There really is no such thing as a rip tide. Tides are the rising and falling of water levels in the ocean caused mostly by the moon’s gravitational pull. Tides change gradually and predictably every day.
Is "undertow" the same as a rip current? Rip currents are also not undertow. Undertow is a current of water that pulls you down to the ocean bottom. Rip currents move along the surface of the water, pulling you straight out into the ocean, but not underneath the water's surface. If you are in shallow water, a rip current could knock you down, and if you thrash around and get disoriented, you may end up being pulled along the ocean bottom. The key is to relax your body and let the current keep you near the surface.
What do you do if you find yourself in a rip current? If you get caught up in a rip current don’t panic. Your first instinct may be to swim against the current back to shallow waters because it’s the shortest distance. Even a strong swimmer cannot do this will become exhausted. The current is too strong to fight head on.
Instead, SWIM SIDEWAYS, PARALLEL TO THE BEACH. This will get you out of the narrow outward current, so you can swim back to shore with the waves helping you. If it's too hard to swim sideways, while you're being dragged through the water, just wait until the current carries you past the sandbar. The water will become calmer and you can then swim clear of the rip current before heading back in. ROGUE WAVE, TSUNAMI Nobody really knows why, how and when, but a single monster wave does roll out of nowhere, once in a while. Never turn your back to the ocean... at least not for a long time. Scan the horizon frequently, If a wave seems to be way too big, it is and it will hit the beach. It may even be a tsunami. If you see a real big one coming, start runnning away from the beach. If you lie down on a beach (sunbathing), do it away from the water. Never let children out of sight in or close to the water. USE YOUR BROWSER'S "BACK" BUTTON TO GO BACK.