Don't underestimate P.E.I.'s rip currents, lifeguards warn

The P.E.I. Lifesaving Society and local swimmers are warning people not to underestimate the strength of rip currents this summer following a civilian rescue at Thunder Cove at the end of July. 

The lifeguard who performed the rescue declined to be interviewed out of respect for the person she saved, but said she felt there needed to be more awareness about rip currents — especially among tourists. 

Rip currents can be a challenge for even strong and experienced swimmers. 

Parker Jackson, who has been living in Wheatley River since April, said he recently got caught in one at Tracadie Beach. 

"I was being a little bit adventurous, going a little bit further than what I'd seen everyone else going," he said. "I felt good, I was in the water for like 15 minutes and then I went out a little bit deeper and did not feel confident. I was getting sucked out. I got nervous."

Jackson said the water was about chest-deep and he was between two sandbars at the time, about six metres from the shore. He quickly found himself further out than he expected — and unsure of how to get back to solid land. 

"I'll be a bit hesitant next time I go," he said.

Rip currents form between sandbars

There's a difference between rip tides and rip currents. Rip tides are gentler and connected to the incoming or outgoing tide, while rip currents are more aggressive and created by breaking waves and surf.

In P.E.I., rip currents may be deceiving. Matt Smith, CEO of the P.E.I. Lifesaving Society, said they can form between sandbars.

Smith said it's next to impossible to put signs at every beach on P.E.I. warning swimmers about the danger — it's an Island, after all. 

"We're surrounded by water and we have the ability to go down a dirt road and find the ocean," he said. "It's hard to get a sign at every swimming hole."

Spot a rip current

Smith has worked as a surf lifeguard and knows what rip currents look like and how to avoid them.

He said flat water is generally a good sign for swimmers. So is wind blowing offshore and out to sea.

Shoreward wind, surf and waves cause rip currents and deserve special attention, he said.

"Rip currents can be identified by waves that aren't crashing, by waves that are smaller, by a darker area of water. Or they might appear as a red trail moving out to sea," Smith said.

If you're swimming and do get caught in a rip current, Smith said you shouldn't panic. Start treading water, stay afloat and conserve your energy. 

Stay calm and let that current ease. Then try and get yourself back to shore.— Matt Smith

"Stay calm and let that current ease," he said. "Then try and get yourself back to shore."

Smith said the easiest thing for people to do is swim at a beach with a lifeguard. Lifeguards are present during the summer season at P.E.I. National Park beaches and six provincial parks:

• Basin Head.
• Cabot Beach.
• Jacques Cartier. 
• Northumberland.
• Panmure Island.
• Red Point.