Print this mini poster, pack it in your beach bag and use the tips to stay safe while swimming this summer.

To learn more about rip currents, go online to: http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov, for a rip current overview and links to real life rip current stories, media and educational tools including multimedia, beach safety tips, local weather and surf forecasts, cool photos, games and a glossary. Also available on the site are links to download full color brochures and signs in English and Spanish on rip current safety.

New for 2011, a kids page, medical concerns, and 28 widgets offering lifesaving messages and safety tips. Look for the Whistle For Life with the Break The Grip of The Rip® graphic. They’ll be distributed by local coastal weather forecast offices and by lifeguards.

Also, read “Changing the Tide on Rip Currents” from the Winter 2011 issue of Results magazine published by NCSU’s Office of Research and Innovation. The article features Dr. Jie Yu, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, who is trying to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the formation of rip currents so coastal communities can better forecast them and make beaches safer. Research cited in the story is funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as North Carolina Sea Grant who provided the initial funding.

Play it safe this summer and use these resources before your next beach outing.

This article was published in the Summer 2011 issue of Coastwatch.

For contact information and reprint requests, visit ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/coastwatch/contact/.