How to survive being caught in a riptide

HONOLULU (KHON2) — What is a riptide? And what happens if you get caught in one? Ocean Safety shared safety tips after first responders were sent to a Kauai beach for multiple rescues due to dangerous ocean conditions.

Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

Lihue resident Gary Gushiken, 50, was reported missing while snorkeling at Nukolii Beach near Wailua, Kauai on Aug. 24. Despite an extensive search, Kauai officials said he was never found.

Then on Sept. 8, a family of four–including two children–ran into trouble at the same beach. Luckily, first responders were able to rescue them.

Kauai Ocean Safety Capt. Kaleo Lopez urges caution, especially in areas like Nukolii Beach that do not have lifeguard towers.

“It’s beautiful, but it’s dangerous,” Lopez explained. “(Nukolii) is not recommended or a place for beginner, intermediate, recreational swimming or snorkeling because it has dangerous rip currents and strong, close interval trade wind swells that are generated and surfed almost all year round.”

According to Honolulu Ocean Safety Lt. Chelsea Kahalepauole-Bizik, almost every beach in Hawaii has rip currents, but their strength and how depends on the conditions on any given day.

“There’s always going to be a current on our Islands,” Kahalepauole-Bizik said. “It comes with the swells, it comes with the tides.”

She said it can be unpredictable. If you do get caught in a rip current, the best thing to do is stay calm. Don’t try to fight it.

“Float out with it,” she explained. “Allow it to take you out, because once the water gets back out and disperses, you’re no longer in the rip current. It’ll push you left to right and then you’ll be back in the surf.”

The second option: swim parallel to the current.

“If the current current is ripping you straight out, then swim left to right,” she added.

Kahalepauole-Bizik said knowing your limits is key. She said you should always ask a lifeguard before going out. And when in doubt, don’t go out.