I forget sometimes, but not everybody grew up near the beach, so this isn't common knowledge for some people. So, just for the record, I'm no expert. I'm just sharing a few tips in case you find yourself in this situation.

Now, I believe that when you understand how something works, that helps you deal with it. So the first thing I'm going to tell you is this: don't be scared of a rip current. It's dangerous, sure. But it's best to focus on understanding it, rather than fearing it.

What helped me is thinking about it this way - it's not about how a rip works. It's about how a beach works. If you've ever seen Avatar the Last Airbender, you already know that the tides are caused by the moon. Beaches have tides. High tide, low tide. Water coming in, water going out. Super simple.

Now, water likes the path of least resistance. So when the waves come in, that water needs a way to flow back out to sea...

How I was taught to do it is this: look for where the waves are breaking consistently. Watch the waves coming in for a bit, and if they're crashing in the same spot pretty regularly, that's the surf zone! It'll vary with the beach, but shallow water with white foam is somewhat standard.

Now look to either side of that area. You'll see that maybe the waves don't break as consistently there. Maybe the water looks really calm.

That area is the rip current.

You see, a rip current is a perfectly natural thing. It's not some secret undertow that suddenly grabs your ankle and pulls you into deeper water. It's just the area of the beach where the water flowing in flows back out again. But because we are air-breathing monkeys, if we swim in this current, we will be taken out to sea with it. Which is not a good place for an air-breathing land animal to be.

Some other signs to look for are these:

• Deeper and/or darker water. Water moves sand with it, and a strong enough current will make a channel in the sand. And so the water there sometimes is a bit deeper, and a bit darker.
• Sandy coloured water going out beyond the surf zone. Most beaches are made of sand. A strong current carries sand with it. So if you see an area where the sand is being carried out deeper, that's not where you want to be swimming.
• Submarines and/or periscopes. Not actually. I just put this one in here to get your attention.
• Fewer breaking waves. Because the current is going out, and the waves are coming in, they cancel each other out a bit. So waves break there less, and sometimes a rip can actually look really smooth and flat.
• Debris or seaweed. Rip currents can move things like sand, seaweed, or debris back out through the waves. If you see a peice of driftwood floating sideways across the water, watch where it floats. If you see it drift back out to sea - don't swim there.

Now a bit of personal experience here: let's say you're swimming in the surf zone, having a great time, right where the waves are breaking. Great! But after a little while, you might start to notice you've drifted sideways from where you started. So you swim back. And then a little while later, you've drifted sideways again. So you swim back.

Keep an eye on that drift, because if you start getting dragged sideways faster than you can swim back, you are being carried away with the rip current.

You think you're in a safe area. Maybe you are. But 'safe' in the ocean doesn't mean the same thing as 'safe' on land. Being safe in the ocean just means you're not currently in a dangerous situation. Situations change.

One last thing when recognising a riptide. Sometimes you can't. All those signs I just mentioned? Sometimes a riptide has none of them. Always be careful on an unfamiliar beach, swim between the flags, and listen to the lifeguards if they tell you you're swimming in a dangerous area. They've had years of experience recognising dangerous currents. You just read a guide online once.

Here is a video on how to spot a rip current.

Some beaches have rip currents that exist year round, while others can develop in seconds. If you get caught in a rip current, you need to know your options:

A) Relax – stay calm and float to conserve your energy.

B) Raise – raise your arm and attract attention from lifeguards or lifesavers.

C) Rescue – the lifeguards or lifesavers will be on their way to help you.

However, there's something you must never, ever do. That is this: never try to swim against the current (towards the beach). You will just tire yourself out. Here's what you do instead: let yourself float out a little bit, focus on breathing, keep one arm in the air so that lifeguards can see you. And then, once you're a little further out, you swim - parallel to the shore.

You know how in movies, when there's a building falling down, or a car coming towards the hero, for some reason they always run away from it in a straight line? Rip currents are the same. The best solution is to get to one side, and then try to swim back to shore.

And remember, it's never wrong to;

D) Reassess - your situation. If floating on your back isn't working, try swimming. If swimming isn't working, try floating to conserve energy. Always, deep breaths and stay calm until you’re rescued or return to shore.

Here is another video if you need one.

Well done, you made it to the end! All of that was true except the bit about the periscopes. You endured a little discomfort, and now you are better informed. Here is some internet icecream as a reward.

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