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Swimmer swimming calmly parallel to the beach, lifeguard tower with red and yellow flags on shore

A current is pulling me out to sea

You swim and swim, but the beach comes no closer. The most important move now is no move: lie back, float, breathe.

First

  1. Do not swim against the current towards the shore – it costs the strength you need now.
  2. Lie back, float and calm your breathing.
  3. Then swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current, and back diagonally towards the shore.
  4. Raise one arm, wave and shout – lifeguards and people on the beach need to see you.

Call emergency services if

  • Someone is being pulled out and cannot get back
  • No lifeguard nearby
  • Someone has gone under or can no longer be seen
  • After the rescue: breathing difficulty, heavy coughing or confusion

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

Rip currents form on beaches with breaking waves: the water pushed onto the beach by the waves flows back out in narrow channels. In such channels the water can flow faster than a person can swim. From the shore they can sometimes be recognised by a calmer strip between breaking waves, discoloured water or foam drifting out – but often not at all.

A rip current does not pull you under; it pulls you out. It becomes dangerous because people panic and try to swim straight against it towards the beach. That exhausts them quickly, and someone exhausted and panicking swallows water.

Rescue organisations therefore advise: do not fight the current, float on your back until your breathing is calm, then swim parallel to the beach out of the current or wave and wait for help. Many rip currents lose strength beyond the surf zone.

For people on the beach: whoever swims out after someone often becomes a victim too. Alerting the lifeguards, calling the emergency number, throwing something that floats and keeping the person in sight are usually the better help.

Step by step

A current is pulling me out to sea – Phase 1 of 4At once: do not fight. Notice: the beach is not getting closer although you are swimming – it may be a rip current. Do not swim against the current towards the shore. Lie on your back, spread arms and legs, float. Calm your breathing. The current pulls you out, not under.
Phase 1 of 4

Phase 1 of 4

At once: do not fight

Notice: the beach is not getting closer although you are swimming – it may be a rip current. Do not swim against the current towards the shore. Lie on your back, spread arms and legs, float. Calm your breathing. The current pulls you out, not under.

The animation shows the key actions of each phase schematically; the text below is what counts.

  1. Phase 1

    At once: do not fight

    • Notice: the beach is not getting closer although you are swimming – it may be a rip current.
    • Do not swim against the current towards the shore.
    • Lie on your back, spread arms and legs, float.
    • Calm your breathing. The current pulls you out, not under.

  2. Phase 2

    Out of the current

    • Once you are calm: swim parallel to the beach until you are no longer being pulled out.
    • Then head back diagonally towards the shore, ideally where waves are breaking.
    • If you are not making progress: keep floating and save your strength. Many currents weaken beyond the surf.
    • Raise one arm, wave and shout so that lifeguards or people on the beach see you.

  3. Phase 3

    If you see someone from the beach

    • Do not swim out after them.
    • Alert the lifeguards or call 112 at once – on the coast also the sea rescue service – and describe the place precisely.
    • Throw something that floats if possible: lifebuoy, bodyboard, ball, cool box.
    • Call out to the person to float, and do not lose sight of them. Point to them when help arrives.

  4. Phase 4

    Afterwards

    • Rest on the beach, warm up and drink something.
    • Anyone who breathed in water and coughs, breathes heavily or is confused needs medical help – even if it gets better at first.
    • Tell the lifeguards where the current was so that they can warn others.
    • In future, swim only on lifeguarded beaches between the marked areas and heed warning flags.

★ Pro tips

What experienced people do differently: proven practice from mountain rescue, fire services, lifeguards and civil protection that beginners rarely know.

  1. Watch out near groynes, piers and rocks

    Beside fixed structures and rocks, rips often form in the same place again and again because the water is channelled out along them. Keep your distance from groynes, piers and breakwaters when swimming, even if the water looks calmer there.

  2. Low tide can make rips stronger

    On many beaches rips are stronger around low tide, as the water is funnelled through channels between sandbanks. Check the tide times and ask the lifeguards when their beach is at its most dangerous.

  3. Look from higher ground

    From a dune or a beach stairway, rips are far easier to spot than from the water's edge: a darker channel, a gap in the breaking waves, or foam drifting out to sea. Take a few minutes before you go in.

  4. Stay with your board

    If you have a bodyboard or surfboard, hang on to it. It keeps you afloat, lets you rest and makes you much easier for rescuers to see. Lie on it and wave.

What to watch out for

  • Calm water can deceive

    A smooth strip with few waves between breaking waves looks inviting – that is often exactly where the water flows out.

  • Helpers at risk

    People who swim out after someone without rescue equipment get caught in the current themselves. Help from the beach is almost always safer.

  • Children and inflatables

    Children on air mattresses and inflatable toys are quickly carried out by currents and offshore wind. Always supervise within arm's reach.

  • Warning flags

    The meaning of flags differs between countries. Look it up locally or ask the lifeguards, and always obey a bathing ban.

Common mistakes

  • Front-crawling straight against the current towards the beach.
  • Swimming out to rescue someone.
  • Swimming alone on unguarded surf beaches.
  • Ignoring warning flags because the water looks harmless.
  • Skipping medical help after breathing in water although coughing or breathlessness persist.

Prepare in advance

  • Swim on lifeguarded beaches between the marked areas.
  • Before swimming, watch the water for a few minutes and ask the lifeguards about currents.
  • Teach children playfully: lie back in the water and float.
  • Never swim alone in the surf; someone on the beach keeps an eye on you.
  • Know the local emergency number and the name of the beach section.

Special consideration

Children
Always supervise children in the surf within arm's reach and choose a bright swim cap or swimwear that is easy to see in the water.
Less confident swimmers
Anyone unsure in the water stays where they can stand securely and avoids surf and groynes.

Sources

  • Rip Current Safety · NOAA National Weather Service (USA)
  • Respect the Water – Float to Live · Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), UK
  • 112 – the European emergency number · European Commission

Your situation

Who is in the current?
Beach

Matching entries

0 rules apply

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (4)

  1. [not active] If Who is in the current? = Me

    Float instead of fighting: first calm your breathing, then swim across the current or wave and wait for help.

  2. [not active] If Who is in the current? = Someone else, I am on the beach

    Do not swim out after them. Alert the lifeguards or call 112, throw something that floats and keep the person in sight.

  3. [not active] If Beach = Not lifeguarded

    On unguarded beaches help arrives more slowly. Call 112 at once – on the coast also the sea rescue service – and give the exact location.

  4. [not active] If Beach = Lifeguarded

    Alert the lifeguards to yourself or the person at once: wave, shout, point to the spot.