What If You Were Caught in a Riptide?

Every year, beach lifeguards rescue tens of thousands of people. Four out of five times, it's from these rip currents, also called riptides. If you see the water do this, get out fast. If you don't, you might get caught in a riptide. What are the warning signs? Which direction should you swim if you want to survive? And what's pulmonary edema?

00:00 What If You Were Caught in a Riptide?
00:29 How do you spot one?
01:02 What are rip currents?
02:17 Getting caught
04:03 Pulmonary edema

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#whatif #riptide #ocean #water #swimming

[aharris]

OMG this is jogging my memory, but I got caught in SOMETHING with a friend several years back!
I remember a wave crashing over me and suddenly being dragged underwater. I kind of freaked out for a second when I couldn't get back up for air, but it took me a few seconds (that probably felt way longer then they actually were) of struggling before I realized that I was powerless and just had to give in to this emmence force that was tumbling me around . . . I honestly thought I was going to die . . . But when I finally did feel it let up and finally was able to get a breath of air and swim back to shore I remember both myself and the other guy who got caught in it with me being astounded at just how far it dragged us in such short a time! We couldn't have been underwater for more than 30 seconds TOPS, and yet we had to jog a good quarter of a mile (~400 meters) to get back to the group we were with!

[HonestlyhonestyToYou]

I lost my best friend of 5 years very recently, due to drowning from rip tides. She loved riding her bike, and going to the beach. I love you so much Bella and I hope your doing well I heaven.

[xavier]

As someone who grew up next to the beach in PR, best advice is: if there’s no locals inside the water, STAY OUT!!!

[Mels]

This helps me make sense of an experience that my bff and I had 30 yrs ago in the Gulf of Mexico. We were only 14. We kept being pulled out further and further by the water, against any effort we gave. Not knowing the exact danger we might be in- instead of fighting, we just laughed at ourselves and kept having fun. We knew something didn’t feel right bc we could not make headway into the direction we wanted, yet pretty soon we were inexplicably able to easily walk forward. Once on land, we ran back to her family, knowing that we’d been through something.

[georgea]

I remember when I was going to Zipolite. I got lost and asked a local for directions. The old man didnt want to tell me where it was, he looked sideways and said "People drawn there". I still went there the next day and got caught by a rip tide. First thing you feel is to panic. Dont panic. Take a moment. Then i swam with all my energies towards the beach but in a 45-degree angle, and stayed focused on that direction. Thank God I was able to make it. My heart was pounding like crazy. After that, I have nothing but respect to the sea. Respect the sea.

[LHSMeleeClub]

RIP Kazuki Takahashi (creator of yugioh) passed away trying to save somebody from a rip current :(

[AllanElMelon]

"The term rip tide is often incorrectly used to refer to rip currents, which are not tidal flows. A rip current is a strong, narrow jet of water that moves away from the beach and into the ocean as a result of local wave motion."

[realbeatsound]

Yeah, those rip currents man...I was like 10 when we were at one of Hilton Head Beaches having a blast. And I was next to my uncle who is like 6'4 and he was swimming further out at the time. My cousin and I were just playing near the shoreline. Wave jumping and having a great time and then I was off my feet and being swept under. I passed my uncle who managed to pick me up quickly and swam us out of the current. It happened so fast I just had no time to think. So not everyone is lucky to know what to look out for. I thank him every time we visit for the fourth because I would not be here if it wasn't for him seeing me and knowing it was a rip current I was in. I was very lucky to have been on the outskirts where everyone was swimming. Now we just play in the sand but apparently sand is very dangerous too.

[liberatedentrepreneur]

Got caught in a rip tide in Cancun once. I knew what it was when I kept getting drawn out into the sea and couldn't swim back. Had no clue what to do so I had to come up with a plan fast. I just bobbed in the water and when the big waves came in, I would thrust myself up so the waves would push me in again. Key is to swim slowly, not to gain distance, but to not keep going out after the wave pushes you back towards land. Stay calm.. it's your best bet.

[eldenringpvpenthusiast]

When I was 11 or 12(I'm 29 now) I got caught in what felt like an endless riptide. It was at Hollywood beach in florida on a weekend, and unfortunately no one heard my gargled screams. I got taken so far out that eventually I just gave up, I was so tired that I stopped fighting the waves and would just rest underwater everytime a wave would come by, instead of screaming at the top of them. I dont wanna say what gave me the inspiration to do it because I dont fully understand it myself. But I took one last good breath, and used the riptide to dive down to the bottom. As I crashed into the sand my body instinctively knew how to get back again. By crawling back. But as I hit the bottom of the ocean I felt the most excruciating pain in the center of my head and chest that caused me to wince and let go of some breath. Idk how I survived but I truly feel like I was down there for over 15 minutes, I couldn't even do it consistently. Each time the water pulled me back even while crawling, I had to slam my head down and dig with my arms to brace for the current(which sent me flipping back further the first crawl I did). I started in a disgusting slimy area with bugs and fish bumping into me as I crawled out the slime and up these sandy hillsides that were pretty steep but then big flat areas. I crawled up many three or four of these underwater hillside things befor I just knew the next one was where I originally got caught. At this point my air felt like toxic chemicals in my chest, so I released it and it felt really good. But then it felt really weird and just bad, half of my mind was experiencing death, the other screaming at what's left to keep crawling foward. It was like 2 worlds at once, but just as I felt like it was the end, the blinding light and oxygen of the shore burst through the darkness. I took one step and my legs buckled, I thought I could rest but a wave came and splashed my face lmfao so I just got up and started walking. People were looking at me like I was a monster untill I finally got back to my mom. My friend told me something was on my head, I was like it's probably seaweed. But he was like no... it's not. It was a foot long bright orange sea worm with and skinny body but lots of tentacle like things, and a skinny mouth with 3 or 4 pristine white hooked long teeth throbbing in and out of its mouth. And when I threw it off my head it just completely flattened on the ground. Its wierd but in a way I feel like that worm sacrifaced itself for me, in a place it wasn't supposed to see or be, because I almost met the same fate.

[Smartest_]

If you were caught in a riptide, it would be important to stay calm and not try to swim against the current. Riptides are powerful currents that can pull swimmers out to sea, and trying to swim against them can lead to exhaustion. Instead, you should try to swim parallel to the shore, in order to escape the current. Once you are out of the current, you can then swim back to the shore. It's also important to keep an eye on the buoy or other safety markers, or landmarks on the shore, to help you orient yourself and gauge your progress. If you are unable to escape the current or if you feel like you are getting tired, it's important to raise your hand and shout for help. Lifeguards or other beachgoers will be able to spot you and come to your aid.

[helpmereachksubswithoutan]

I Am insanely scared of riptides..I once saw a kid my age caught in one and he was getting pulled under, I couldn’t let him die, without thinking with my brain I jumped in and pulled him out, the adrenaline in my body helped me fight the current somehow, thank you what if for telling more people about this!

[dineshchoudhary]

Near death experience - I had learnt swimming in my first year of college and within 6 months of learning swimming I along with my 4 college friends went to the beach and we started to swim and play ball 🏈 game in water, we were standing in the radius of 15 meter, for me water was till my chest height. the guy standing deep in water started to swim out without saying anything, within a second the sand under my feet was moved and I started floating. I also started to swim towards the shore. Eventually we all 5 friends started to swim to shore and made it safely. There was one more group of guys playing on our left hand side, when we made it to shore we could see 2 of these guys drowning and unable to swim out, one of our friend in the group was confident swimmer he went in and managed to pull one of the guy out and one drowned unfortunately. When I was swimming out I was feeling that it was taking way longer to swim out as ocean kept dragging me back, however at no point I panicked I was confident that slowly I was coming closer to shore so it kept me going, also I have feeling that our side current was slightly less than the side of those guys who drowned. For next 2 years I never went back in ocean water, swam only in pool. I actually had decided after that I would never enter in ocean again however I changed my mind started to enjoy the sea again.

[mrkevin]

When I was a kid I wanted to swim so bad that I went alone. Told my family I was going to the toilet (camping site) and went to the sea to swim, however everyone was warning me the weather wasn’t too great. I got caught and couldn’t do anything, I was close to the shore but the waves were dragging me all the way. I almost got lost from my family. I was powerless. When it stopped I got too shore and left. Didn’t want to risk swimming so I walked a mile back. The fact no one was watching still has me shook.

[noirefit]

I always thought riptides were well away from the shore. I didn’t know you could encounter them so easily

[eganja]

Glad i was blessed enough to live throughout my childhood up until now. Had no idea about this and to think when i was a kid, i be goin to the beach, always go out neck deep into the water!! Can't thank faith enough on how far I've made it up to see 38🙏🙏🙏

[lfxktpx]

Concise, clear, easy to understand and very

[xow]

almost died from this crap yesterday. luckily I called for help and got a lifeguard as soon as I got scared and didn't wait or use up ally energy or I'd be dead

[krishnabdas]

Hey What if! Great upload like always 🙌🏻
Can you make a video on :
"What if Venus never lost its hospitable atmosphere?"

[Ottomojo]

RIP Tom and Michiel (both 21), victims of the turbulent sea at 15/09/2016. Will always remember you guys.