Beach Safety Tips

  1. Swim Near A Lifeguard: Over a 10 year period, United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) statistics show that the chance of drowning at a beach without lifeguard protection is almost five times greater than drowning at a beach with lifeguards. USLA has calculated the chance that a person will drown while attending a beach protected by USLA affiliated lifeguards at 1 in 18 million (.0000055%).
  2. Learn To Swim: Learning to swim is the best defense against drowning. Teach children to swim at an early age. Children who are not taught to swim when they are very young tend to avoid swim instruction as they age, probably due to embarrassment. Swimming instruction is a crucial step to protecting children from injury or death.
  3. Never Swim Alone: Many drownings involve single swimmers. When you swim with a buddy, if one of you experiences difficulty, the other may be able to help, including signalling for assistance from others. Should swimming alone be unavoidable, try to have someone onshore watching you.
  4. Don't Fight the Current: USLA has found that some 80% of rescues by USLA affiliated lifeguards at ocean beaches are caused by rip currents. Rip currents are formed by surf and gravity. As surf pushes water up the slope of the beach, gravity pulls it back. This can create concentrated rivers of water moving offshore. Some people mistakenly call this an undertow, but there is no undercurrent, just an offshore current. If you are caught in a rip current, don't fight it by trying to swim directly to shore. Instead, swim parallel to shore until you feel the current relax, then swim to shore. Most rip currents are narrow and a short swim parallel to shore will bring you to safety.
  5. Swim Sober: Alcohol is a major factor in drowning. Alcohol can reduce body temperature and impair swimming ability. Perhaps more importantly, both alcohol and drugs impair good judgement, which may cause people to take risks they would not otherwise take.
  6. Leash Your Board: Surfboards and body boards should be used only with a leash. Leashes are usually attached to the board and the ankle or wrist. They are available in most shops where surfboards and bodyboards are sold or rented. With a leash, the user will not become separated from the flotation device. Drownings also occur when leashes become entangled in underwater obstructions. Use of a breakaway leash may help avoid this problem.
  7. Don't Float Where You Can't Swim: Non-swimmers often use flotation devices, like inflatable rafts, to go offshore. If they fall off, they can quickly drown. No one should use a flotation device unless they are able to swim. Use of a leash is not enough because a non-swimmer may panic and be unable to swim back to the flotation device, even with a leash. The only exception is a person wearing a Coast Guard approved life jacket.
  8. Life Jackets = Boating Safety: Some 80% of fatalities associated with boating accidents are from drowning. Most involve people who never expected to end up in the water, but fell overboard or ended up in the water when the boat sank. Children are particularly susceptible to this problem and in many states, children are required to be in life jackets whenever they are aboard boats.
  9. Don't Dive Headfirst, Protect Your Neck: Serious, lifelong injuries, including paraplegia, occur every year due to diving headfirst into unknown water and striking the bottom. Body surfing can result in a serious neck injury when the swimmer's neck strikes the bottom. Check for depth and obstructions before diving, then go in feet first the first time. Use caution while body surfing, always extending a hand ahead of you.
  10. At Home, You're the Lifeguard: Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in many states for children age one to two. A major reason for this is home pools, which can be death traps for toddlers. Many of these deaths occur in the few moments it takes a parent to answer the phone or doorbell. NEVER leave a child alone anywhere near a pool. Make sure it is completely fenced, that the fence is locked, and that there is no access from the home to the pool. Don't let a child get into the pool when you're not there.
  11. Shuffle Your Feet: To avoid stepping on stingrays or other marine environment animals, shuffle your feet whenever you are walking in the water. This will help prevent potentially painful stings to the beachgoer as well as unnecessary damage to the marine environment.