MARSHFIELD, Mass. — Labor Day weekend might mean the end of the summer for many people, but it's just the beginning of hurricane season.
More than 80 percent of the surf beach rescues performed by lifeguards each year involve rip currents.
"The weather was gorgeous. It was probably 80 degrees outside but the undertow was so strong, the rip current was so strong. It was literally a conveyor belt pulling you out,” remembers Marshfield resident Colin Bono.
Last summer in Marshfield, Bono was on the beach when someone was swept away by a rip current.
"They weren't ready for it. As soon as it happens you kind of freeze up a little bit and so they started going under. They start panicking and breathing in water. When it's a nice day out you don't expect to be fine one minute, floating in the ocean and be drowning the next minute,” he said.
He heard someone screaming for help, saying they were drowning. Bono looked out and saw the man bobbing up and down in the water.
"It's a scary situation, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared," Bono recalled.
Bono jumped into the water and helped save two people from the strong riptide that day.
Marshfield Beach Administrator Cindy Castro explains riptide rescues are not uncommon. Even the strongest swimmers are vulnerable.
"Anybody can get caught in a rip tide. You might have six to eight situations a year,” said Castro.
Last year, there were 172 rip current rescues at state managed beaches by lifeguards according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation and with summer season here, prevention and awareness is key to surviving one.
"Stay calm. It's the hardest thing in the world. When you are getting pulled and sucked under is to try to stay calm and focused and try to breathe as best you can...and wait for help,” recommended Castro.
How to identify and survive a riptide
A lifeguard told FOX25’s Sarah Wroblewski the important lifesaving tips and steps to know when you’re on the beach.
- During a riptide, you'll see two waves breaking and a river going out
- A rip current is a narrow channel of water that goes away from the beach.
What to remember if you get caught in a rip current:
- Stay calm
- Make yourself visible, yell if you have to
- Remember to breathe
- If you can swim, swim parallel to the beach to get out of the riptide
When a Lifeguard arrives they may ask you to help paddle if you can. Swimming against the rip will only tire you out and you'll likely continue to drift out to sea.
"That's what everyone does. They try to swim right back to shore and they get too tired and they're struggling they get swept out and start panicking and that's when it gets really bad,” the lifeguard told FOX25.
"We hope not to rescue, but we do train for that. We practice very thoroughly but we live in New England, the weather changes almost daily things in the water happen quickly and without notice," says Marshfield Harbormaster Michael DiMeo.
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