Key Takeaways
- Caught in a rip: swim parallel to shore, never straight in.
- Pick the beach section where waves break evenly. Skip any dark gap.
- Surf building and tide dropping: swim and surf only near a lifeguard tower.
- Float and wave if you can't swim out. Never swim after someone else.
- New to surf? Paddle out at a lifeguarded stretch, not the channel.
- Ask the lifeguard where the rip is before you get wet.
The Short Answer
A rip current is a channel of water flowing from the beach back out through the surf, and the National Weather Service says it can move as fast as 8 feet per second. That is faster than anyone can swim. If it grabs you, don't swim toward the sand. Swim parallel to the beach until the pull lets go, or float and wave for a lifeguard.
Before you go, check size and tide on the Newport Beach surf report or your own beach. Bigger surf and lower tide are when rips pull hardest on sandbar beaches.
The Short Answer
Check it live
This guide is the why. The live page has today's swell, wind and tide.
Newport Beach surf report today →How do you spot a rip current from the beach?
Stand on the sand or a bluff and watch for 10 minutes. You're looking for the one stretch that doesn't look like the rest.
- A darker gap in the whitewater, where waves aren't breaking the way they are on either side.
- Foamy, sandy or brown water streaming out past the break.
- A choppy, bumpy patch in an otherwise smooth-looking stretch.
- Seaweed, foam or a stray bottle drifting steadily out.
The calm-looking gap is the trap. It looks like the easy place to wade in, and it's the way out for all the water the waves just pushed up the beach.
Pick the beach section where waves break evenly. Skip any dark gap.
Why are rips worse with bigger surf and low tide?
Every wave shoves water up the beach, and that water has to go back out. On a sandbar beach it takes the lowest route, the gap between bars. More surf means more water, so the rip runs faster. At low tide the bars sit shallow, and the water is squeezed into fewer, narrower channels.
That's why a flat, easy morning can turn into a pulling afternoon when a new swell shows up and the tide drops. Huntington Beach and Newport are both sandbar beach breaks, and both get rips that move with the bars after every big swell. At Ocean Beach in San Francisco, the National Park Service posts rip current warnings along the beach, and the water is cold enough to wear you out fast.
What do you do if you get caught in a rip current?
Stay calm. The rip pulls you out, not under. It carries you away from the beach, and panic and exhaustion are what put people in trouble.
- Don't swim straight at the beach. You'll lose to the current and wear yourself out.
- Swim parallel to shore, the way the beach runs. Most rips are narrow. A few strokes sideways usually gets you out of it.
- If you can't swim out, float or tread water and let it carry you. The pull fades past the surf zone.
- Wave one arm and yell for the lifeguard. Once you're free, angle back in with the waves.
NOAA, the National Weather Service and the United States Lifesaving Association all teach this same escape. If you see someone else caught, call a lifeguard or 911 and throw them something that floats. Don't swim out after them.
Float and wave if you can't swim out. Never swim after someone else.
Why do surfers paddle out through rips?
A rip is a free escalator. The water is already moving out, and the waves are smaller or not breaking in the channel, so you skip the whitewater and duck-dive less. Locals know where the channel sits and head for it on any day with real surf.
You need a board under your chest for that. If you're swimming without one, or you're new to the ocean, don't try it. Watch where the surfers go from shore, then take the whitewater route or surf in front of a lifeguard tower. Our Huntington Beach beginner guide shows where the learner-friendly stretches are.
How do you stay safe at a beach you don't know?
If you're not sure, don't paddle out. Watch from shore for 10 minutes first, ask the lifeguard where the rips are running, and swim or surf between the flags or in front of the tower. Lifeguards read the bars every morning, and they would rather answer a question than make a rescue.
Ask the lifeguard where the rip is before you get wet.
