As a strong swell rolled into the West Coast Tropical Storm Lee made landfall in Louisiana and cranked up the swell for a short time along the Gulf Coast.
Both these conditions cost the lives of boogie boarders taking advantage of the increased wave conditions and rip currents appear to be the culprit in both situations.
For those of you who aren't familiar with rip currents they are when a flow of water rushes back from the beach and out to sea. There is a good description, easy to understand, of the science behind these at www.PowerfulStorms.com and NOAA has a section of their website devoted just to this issue.
Boogie boarders and swimmers appear to be more susceptible to these than surfers due to the fact that so much more of the body is in the water allowing the rip current to exert a greater force and causing more exertion when fighting it.
One of the deaths occurred at Galveston, Texas, and while the wave action here is generally regarded as much smaller and tamer than at many other locations, the rip currents are often fierce. A publication by NOAA entitled Break the Grip of the Rip explains why:
"Rip currents typically form at breaks in sandbars, and also near structures such as jetties and piers."
As anyone who has surfed Galveston knows, there are jetties every couple of blocks and so what looks to me small surf can actually result in dangerous conditions.
Most deaths attributable to rip currents are as a result of struggling against the current and tiring, then drowning. If you are caught in a rip current, don't fight against it, just swim parallel to it until the pull lessens, then return to the beach to rest. If there are lifeguards, yell and let them know you are in trouble.
Take a minute and check out both PowerfulStorms.com and the NOAA site and familiarize yourself with the science behind rip currents and what to do if you get caught in one.
