DROWNING NOT WAVING
Created | Updated May 5, 2005
DROWNING NOT WAVING
HOW TO SURVIVE AN AUSTRALIAN BEACH
The first cold winds of winter whistle outside the doors and windows of Northern Hemisphere homes and inhabitants' thoughts turn to warmer climes and perhaps that long planned trip Downunder. Everything is in readiness: plane tickets, accommodation, itinerary, visas, passports, luggage that includes swimsuits, board shorts, beach towels, suncreams and lotions. As the plane nears Australia the eager tourists picture the warm sands and crashing surf they will soon experience. Upon arrival at their beach of choice they find a large crowd there already. To avoid this they choose a less hectic section of the beach from which to enjoy their first taste of Aussie surf. A quick application of sun lotion and into the water they go…
For an increasing number of tourists and visitors from afar, as well as denizens of inland areas of Australia, this is all they remember of their holiday up until their awakening in a hospital bed. They are also the lucky ones as many simply never awaken or are never seen of again. They are a regular feature in Australian media for all the wrong reasons. In popular tourist Meccas like Sydney’s Bondi Beach and the sun soaked sands of the Queensland Gold Coast, unsuspecting beach goers from overseas regularly die from drowning due to their ignorance of Australian beach conditions. Picture-postcard beaches coupled with a visitors pent-up expectations and excitement can be the ingredients for potential tragedy. Australian beaches cover a wide spectrum of coastal conditions that can be found in other parts of the world, but the beaches that attract the international visitor are the surf beaches and these are the biggest killer of the unwary visitor.
To understand how a beach works, how the Moon and meteorological conditions influence tides and how they in turn affect the beach can be the study of a lifetime. Reading a beach is a difficult assignment for all but seasoned regulars who use the beach on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. The term "reading a beach" refers to a persons understanding of the concurrent conditions at the time that they are observing a beach. There are also professionals whose job it is to know these things. They are known as Surf Lifesavers, there are approximately twenty two thousand registered surf lifesavers that patrol Australian beaches at peak periods of the year.
RIPS
The greatest danger to any swimmer on a surf beach is the current that is known as a RIP. It is caused when a channel forms between the beach shore and a sandbar further out. It is often recognised by sand-coloured or rippled water running out to sea in a clearly defined channel. This channel can cut straight through sets of waves and cause a break in what were long clean lines of waves. The waves may be breaking further out to sea on both sides of the rip. As well as this, if there is any foam or flotsam and jetsam on the water, then this will be seen to be floating out to sea in one area and sometimes at a rapid rate. Remember that these are visual indicators; you wouldn’t speed up if you were driving around a bend and noticed water running across the road or the sun was directly in your eyes! Of course not. You would approach with caution and drive in a manner suitable to the prevailing conditions. Apply this cautionary thinking to when you are in the surf as well.
Types of Rips
Permanent
This type of rip can be caused by coastal fixtures that are permanent like wharves, piers, and outcrops of rocks or Bommies (groups of rocks or boulders that usually only show their heads at low tides) as well as the contours of the ocean floor.
Fixed
Fixed rips like the name suggests can last for a few hours or even several months. These are felt by the swimmer as a deepening of the water as you wade out and accompanied by a current that pulls and tugs at the swimmer. The floor of the beach is not a gradual slope in these situations but quite often a gutter or a series of holes that range in depth.
Flash
Flash rips appear suddenly, usually without warning. They are caused by a large build up of surf in a short period of time. This can happen when the weather conditions are changing for the worse or a result of storm periods that have passed and the beach is experiencing a tidal change from low to high or vice versa.
Travelling
Travelling rips can constantly move along a beach propelled by a strong current from the shore.
PATROLLED BEACHES.
These are easily recognised, as apart from signs indicating that it is a patrolled beach, the beachgoer will see two flags on long poles placed in the sand at a distance apart from each other and these are each coloured red and yellow On these beaches a tourists choice of swimming spots is as simple as this----SWIM BETWEEN THE FLAGS AT ALL TIMES---- that message will also be on signs placed along the foreshore by local councils. Between those flags the surf lifesavers have reckoned this area to be the safest and easiest to patrol. The positioning will also represent the area with the least amount of rip activity, although even the most popular and safest beaches are closed some days because of treacherous conditions and only the foolhardy enter at these times. The distances between the flags will often vary from day to day and sometimes even hour to hour. Reasons for this are the changing nature of surf conditions; lifesavers are trained at recognising these and will also regularly swim this area to check for changed conditions. If they deem it necessary they will reposition the flags accordingly or even close the beach. Some beaches will have areas outside the red and yellow flagged areas that are marked with blue flags; within these areas fibreglass board (Surfboards) use is prohibited although foamboards and plastic kickboards can be used. Again the swimmer would be well advised not to enter any beach area where board riders are active as a surfboard (even a riderless one) can be propelled at dangerous speeds, which will almost certainly result in injury if not death.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
There are a number of simple things that will assist you to stay out of trouble.
Don’t swim straight after a meal, don’t run and dive into the waves as this can and does lead to swimmers suffering various degrees of spinal injury if they crash into shallow sand banks. Waves along the beach shore (Known as the Shorebreak) can be dangerous if they rear up suddenly and then break. These waves are known as Dumpers and they can be frightening in their intensity and sheer strength. The prevailing local weather and tidal conditions should be taken into account when planning a day at the beach as it is these things, which will cause changes to a beach. If in doubt ask at the local Surf Lifesaving Club (SLC).The SLC is also the place to find out all you need to know about any facet of beach safety. It’s an old truism that you can never trust the sea and it is never more so than on a perfect sunny day at an Australian beach. If there is one piece of advice that will save your life while swimming at the beach it is…SWIM BETWEEN THE FLAGS! This simple instruction has meant that no life has ever been lost at a patrolled beach area in the State of Victoria.1
DON`T PANIC
The above term has been used before as a warning whilst undertaking many different and varied activities in life. It has been used in conjunction with surf safety campaigns for decades in Australia. An Australian child is brought up with the maxim Swim between the flags! Don’t Panic! Wave your arm if in trouble! Never ignore a lifeguard’s directive! Tourists would be well advised to do the same.
Being caught in a rip is the major cause of most beach drownings in Australia When a rip does grasp the unwary swimmer, as stated before DON’T PANIC, don’t fight it, just remain afloat and it will take you out to or beyond the breaking waves zone. Try not to think about things like sharks, stinging jellyfish or any other nasty of the Deep. If you are sucked out by a rip and manage to control the urge for sheer terror and panic, just raise an arm and wave. If you have strength aplenty then it is usually just a matter of swimming with the current and catching a wave (waves) back into shore.
The number one best thing that the visitor can do while in difficulty in the water is to raise one arm and wave it about. This is the most recognised sign of a swimmer or surfer in trouble in all Australian waters, remember this simple thing and you will have a much better chance of survival. All lifeguards are trained to recognise the swimmer in trouble, even one who is weakened and just able to raise their arm. At very many of the large popular beaches the lifesavers have inflatable boats with powerful outboard motors driving them and they can be at a distressed swimmers side in a very short time. They can then be brought back to shore where trained people with medical equipment are ready to resuscitate them and call for further aid if necessary.
.
Where the dangers for your average tourist begin is when they swim at unpatrolled beaches or outside of the flagged areas. Swimming at night is also a sure fire way to become a statistic. An easy trap for the tourist to fall into is to move away from the busy flagged area of a beach in search of a less crowded spot, this is yet another way to potentially become a statistic. The great majority of deaths occur outside the flagged areas at beaches. . The further away you are from the patrolled area, the smaller your chance of rescue or resuscitation
. New Years Eve celebrations and Christmas parties at popular coastal beaches usually account for some near drownings and the odd death. These quite often are the result of a common recipe for disaster at more than just beaches. Alcohol mixed with sheer youthful exuberance, add some testosterone and throw in a dash of why the hell not?, and you have your basic ingredients for a possible tragedy. Statistics show that males are four times more likely to drown than females and that the age group most effected is the 15 to 34 group2.
. Statistics from The Medical Journal of Australia highlight the risks for tourists and new migrants when they take to the water in Australia.
Overseas tourists
· 88 tourists from 12 countries drowned in Australia during 1992-1997 (age range, 3-78 years; 16 female)
- 73 drowned in non-boating incidents, 5 in boating incidents and 10 in unspecified circumstances.
- 38 tourists came from Europe (15 from the United Kingdom, 10 from Germany), 35 from Asia (17 from Japan), 7 from the United States and 8 from other countries.
- 89% of tourists drowned in the ocean and 11% drowned in fresh water. 61% drowned at surfing beaches or elsewhere in the "ocean" and a further 24% drowned while scuba diving or snorkelling.
· Tourist drownings comprised 4.7% of non-boating drownings, 18% of surf and ocean drownings, 25% of scuba and snorkelling drownings and 1.6% of boating drownings3
Recent news articles in the Australian press highlight the dangers faced by tourists while swimming or even just resting on the sands enjoying the sights. A 25-year-old male Indian tourist swimming at one of Sydney’s popular beaches drowned while the area was experiencing extreme coastal conditions, ie big seas and winds resulting in great surf for board riders but often suicidal conditions for swimmers with no experience of big surf beaches. Sixty other swimmers were swept out to sea as a result of a strong Rip along with the Indian tourist; all were rescued by lifesavers except this unfortunate young man. Even if you are not a swimmer but are just doing the tourist thing and visiting popular beaches, it still helps if you can recognise a swimmer in trouble. A very recent tragedy on the Far North Coast of New South Wales (home to some of the recognised greatest surf beaches in the world) occurred when a visiting English lady was looking out at the surf area where she was sitting on a towel in the sun and saw two people waving. She waved back and proceeded to watch these people wave for a few more times and then watched and slowly took in the fact that they were not waving to her but were in some kind of trouble. The poor woman had mistook what she thought were strangers waving to her or someone else for an actual elderly sister and brother in their eighties who had been sucked out by a rip and consequently drowned before help was able to be directed to them. Ambulance officers consoled the now distraught English tourist and one can only sympathise with her in her grief. Events like this may have been avoided if this tourist had been made aware of the dangers involved and the appropriate responses to them.
. Stevie Smith 1902 - 1971, Poet and Author, wrote an appropriate line;
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning;
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning
Airports the arrival point for the great majority of tourists and visitors to Australia, will sometimes have information from local authorities about beach protocol, but don’t rely on it! Remember that this is a foreign country with totally different beaches and seas and your average European resident is more than likely to have never encountered its likes before. Asian visitors feature prominently in statistics as well, so again they need to be made aware of the dangers.
For beach safety, some of the invaluable hints that lifesavers always emphasise are:
· Always swim or surf at places patrolled by lifesavers or lifeguards.
· Swim between the red and yellow flags. They mark the safer area for swimming.
· If you are unsure of surf conditions, ask a lifesaver.
· Don’t swim under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
· Never run or dive in the water, even if you have checked before because water conditions can change.
· If you get into trouble in the water, stay calm. Signal for help, float and wait for assistance.
· Learn how to spot a rip and keep clear of it
HOW TO SURVIVE AN AUSTRALIAN BEACH
The first cold winds of winter whistle outside the doors and windows of Northern Hemisphere homes and inhabitants' thoughts turn to warmer climes and perhaps that long planned trip Downunder. Everything is in readiness: plane tickets, accommodation, itinerary, visas, passports, luggage that includes swimsuits, board shorts, beach towels, suncreams and lotions. As the plane nears Australia the eager tourists picture the warm sands and crashing surf they will soon experience. Upon arrival at their beach of choice they find a large crowd there already. To avoid this they choose a less hectic section of the beach from which to enjoy their first taste of Aussie surf. A quick application of sun lotion and into the water they go…
For an increasing number of tourists and visitors from afar, as well as denizens of inland areas of Australia, this is all they remember of their holiday up until their awakening in a hospital bed. They are also the lucky ones as many simply never awaken or are never seen of again. They are a regular feature in Australian media for all the wrong reasons. In popular tourist Meccas like Sydney’s Bondi Beach and the sun soaked sands of the Queensland Gold Coast, unsuspecting beach goers from overseas regularly die from drowning due to their ignorance of Australian beach conditions. Picture-postcard beaches coupled with a visitors pent-up expectations and excitement can be the ingredients for potential tragedy. Australian beaches cover a wide spectrum of coastal conditions that can be found in other parts of the world, but the beaches that attract the international visitor are the surf beaches and these are the biggest killer of the unwary visitor.
To understand how a beach works, how the Moon and meteorological conditions influence tides and how they in turn affect the beach can be the study of a lifetime. Reading a beach is a difficult assignment for all but seasoned regulars who use the beach on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. The term "reading a beach" refers to a persons understanding of the concurrent conditions at the time that they are observing a beach. There are also professionals whose job it is to know these things. They are known as Surf Lifesavers, there are approximately twenty two thousand registered surf lifesavers that patrol Australian beaches at peak periods of the year.
RIPS
The greatest danger to any swimmer on a surf beach is the current that is known as a RIP. It is caused when a channel forms between the beach shore and a sandbar further out. It is often recognised by sand-coloured or rippled water running out to sea in a clearly defined channel. This channel can cut straight through sets of waves and cause a break in what were long clean lines of waves. The waves may be breaking further out to sea on both sides of the rip. As well as this, if there is any foam or flotsam and jetsam on the water, then this will be seen to be floating out to sea in one area and sometimes at a rapid rate. Remember that these are visual indicators; you wouldn’t speed up if you were driving around a bend and noticed water running across the road or the sun was directly in your eyes! Of course not. You would approach with caution and drive in a manner suitable to the prevailing conditions. Apply this cautionary thinking to when you are in the surf as well.
Types of Rips
Permanent
This type of rip can be caused by coastal fixtures that are permanent like wharves, piers, and outcrops of rocks or Bommies (groups of rocks or boulders that usually only show their heads at low tides) as well as the contours of the ocean floor.
Fixed
Fixed rips like the name suggests can last for a few hours or even several months. These are felt by the swimmer as a deepening of the water as you wade out and accompanied by a current that pulls and tugs at the swimmer. The floor of the beach is not a gradual slope in these situations but quite often a gutter or a series of holes that range in depth.
Flash
Flash rips appear suddenly, usually without warning. They are caused by a large build up of surf in a short period of time. This can happen when the weather conditions are changing for the worse or a result of storm periods that have passed and the beach is experiencing a tidal change from low to high or vice versa.
Travelling
Travelling rips can constantly move along a beach propelled by a strong current from the shore.
PATROLLED BEACHES.
These are easily recognised, as apart from signs indicating that it is a patrolled beach, the beachgoer will see two flags on long poles placed in the sand at a distance apart from each other and these are each coloured red and yellow On these beaches a tourists choice of swimming spots is as simple as this----SWIM BETWEEN THE FLAGS AT ALL TIMES---- that message will also be on signs placed along the foreshore by local councils. Between those flags the surf lifesavers have reckoned this area to be the safest and easiest to patrol. The positioning will also represent the area with the least amount of rip activity, although even the most popular and safest beaches are closed some days because of treacherous conditions and only the foolhardy enter at these times. The distances between the flags will often vary from day to day and sometimes even hour to hour. Reasons for this are the changing nature of surf conditions; lifesavers are trained at recognising these and will also regularly swim this area to check for changed conditions. If they deem it necessary they will reposition the flags accordingly or even close the beach. Some beaches will have areas outside the red and yellow flagged areas that are marked with blue flags; within these areas fibreglass board (Surfboards) use is prohibited although foamboards and plastic kickboards can be used. Again the swimmer would be well advised not to enter any beach area where board riders are active as a surfboard (even a riderless one) can be propelled at dangerous speeds, which will almost certainly result in injury if not death.
THINGS TO REMEMBER
There are a number of simple things that will assist you to stay out of trouble.
Don’t swim straight after a meal, don’t run and dive into the waves as this can and does lead to swimmers suffering various degrees of spinal injury if they crash into shallow sand banks. Waves along the beach shore (Known as the Shorebreak) can be dangerous if they rear up suddenly and then break. These waves are known as Dumpers and they can be frightening in their intensity and sheer strength. The prevailing local weather and tidal conditions should be taken into account when planning a day at the beach as it is these things, which will cause changes to a beach. If in doubt ask at the local Surf Lifesaving Club (SLC).The SLC is also the place to find out all you need to know about any facet of beach safety. It’s an old truism that you can never trust the sea and it is never more so than on a perfect sunny day at an Australian beach. If there is one piece of advice that will save your life while swimming at the beach it is…SWIM BETWEEN THE FLAGS! This simple instruction has meant that no life has ever been lost at a patrolled beach area in the State of Victoria.1
DON`T PANIC
The above term has been used before as a warning whilst undertaking many different and varied activities in life. It has been used in conjunction with surf safety campaigns for decades in Australia. An Australian child is brought up with the maxim Swim between the flags! Don’t Panic! Wave your arm if in trouble! Never ignore a lifeguard’s directive! Tourists would be well advised to do the same.
Being caught in a rip is the major cause of most beach drownings in Australia When a rip does grasp the unwary swimmer, as stated before DON’T PANIC, don’t fight it, just remain afloat and it will take you out to or beyond the breaking waves zone. Try not to think about things like sharks, stinging jellyfish or any other nasty of the Deep. If you are sucked out by a rip and manage to control the urge for sheer terror and panic, just raise an arm and wave. If you have strength aplenty then it is usually just a matter of swimming with the current and catching a wave (waves) back into shore.
The number one best thing that the visitor can do while in difficulty in the water is to raise one arm and wave it about. This is the most recognised sign of a swimmer or surfer in trouble in all Australian waters, remember this simple thing and you will have a much better chance of survival. All lifeguards are trained to recognise the swimmer in trouble, even one who is weakened and just able to raise their arm. At very many of the large popular beaches the lifesavers have inflatable boats with powerful outboard motors driving them and they can be at a distressed swimmers side in a very short time. They can then be brought back to shore where trained people with medical equipment are ready to resuscitate them and call for further aid if necessary.
.
Where the dangers for your average tourist begin is when they swim at unpatrolled beaches or outside of the flagged areas. Swimming at night is also a sure fire way to become a statistic. An easy trap for the tourist to fall into is to move away from the busy flagged area of a beach in search of a less crowded spot, this is yet another way to potentially become a statistic. The great majority of deaths occur outside the flagged areas at beaches. . The further away you are from the patrolled area, the smaller your chance of rescue or resuscitation
. New Years Eve celebrations and Christmas parties at popular coastal beaches usually account for some near drownings and the odd death. These quite often are the result of a common recipe for disaster at more than just beaches. Alcohol mixed with sheer youthful exuberance, add some testosterone and throw in a dash of why the hell not?, and you have your basic ingredients for a possible tragedy. Statistics show that males are four times more likely to drown than females and that the age group most effected is the 15 to 34 group2.
. Statistics from The Medical Journal of Australia highlight the risks for tourists and new migrants when they take to the water in Australia.
Overseas tourists
· 88 tourists from 12 countries drowned in Australia during 1992-1997 (age range, 3-78 years; 16 female)
- 73 drowned in non-boating incidents, 5 in boating incidents and 10 in unspecified circumstances.
- 38 tourists came from Europe (15 from the United Kingdom, 10 from Germany), 35 from Asia (17 from Japan), 7 from the United States and 8 from other countries.
- 89% of tourists drowned in the ocean and 11% drowned in fresh water. 61% drowned at surfing beaches or elsewhere in the "ocean" and a further 24% drowned while scuba diving or snorkelling.
· Tourist drownings comprised 4.7% of non-boating drownings, 18% of surf and ocean drownings, 25% of scuba and snorkelling drownings and 1.6% of boating drownings3
Recent news articles in the Australian press highlight the dangers faced by tourists while swimming or even just resting on the sands enjoying the sights. A 25-year-old male Indian tourist swimming at one of Sydney’s popular beaches drowned while the area was experiencing extreme coastal conditions, ie big seas and winds resulting in great surf for board riders but often suicidal conditions for swimmers with no experience of big surf beaches. Sixty other swimmers were swept out to sea as a result of a strong Rip along with the Indian tourist; all were rescued by lifesavers except this unfortunate young man. Even if you are not a swimmer but are just doing the tourist thing and visiting popular beaches, it still helps if you can recognise a swimmer in trouble. A very recent tragedy on the Far North Coast of New South Wales (home to some of the recognised greatest surf beaches in the world) occurred when a visiting English lady was looking out at the surf area where she was sitting on a towel in the sun and saw two people waving. She waved back and proceeded to watch these people wave for a few more times and then watched and slowly took in the fact that they were not waving to her but were in some kind of trouble. The poor woman had mistook what she thought were strangers waving to her or someone else for an actual elderly sister and brother in their eighties who had been sucked out by a rip and consequently drowned before help was able to be directed to them. Ambulance officers consoled the now distraught English tourist and one can only sympathise with her in her grief. Events like this may have been avoided if this tourist had been made aware of the dangers involved and the appropriate responses to them.
. Stevie Smith 1902 - 1971, Poet and Author, wrote an appropriate line;
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning;
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning
Airports the arrival point for the great majority of tourists and visitors to Australia, will sometimes have information from local authorities about beach protocol, but don’t rely on it! Remember that this is a foreign country with totally different beaches and seas and your average European resident is more than likely to have never encountered its likes before. Asian visitors feature prominently in statistics as well, so again they need to be made aware of the dangers.
For beach safety, some of the invaluable hints that lifesavers always emphasise are:
· Always swim or surf at places patrolled by lifesavers or lifeguards.
· Swim between the red and yellow flags. They mark the safer area for swimming.
· If you are unsure of surf conditions, ask a lifesaver.
· Don’t swim under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
· Never run or dive in the water, even if you have checked before because water conditions can change.
· If you get into trouble in the water, stay calm. Signal for help, float and wait for assistance.
· Learn how to spot a rip and keep clear of it
