Think your kids can't get caught in a rip in the shallows?
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Think again say Lifeguarding Australia CEO Stan Wall and Batemans Bay Surf Lifesaver Helen Smith.
Using biodegradable dye on Saturday, January 23, the pair showed just how quickly a rip can travel from the shallows into deeper water.
They chose Rosedale, on the NSW Far South Coast, for their demonstration because the unpatrolled beach has been the scene of several citizen rescues this summer.
Mr Wall warned if you had consumed too much alcohol to drive, you should also not swim.
As Ms Smith explains, a child on a body board could quickly be carried along the beach away from their parents, and then out into deeper water.
In their panic, they are likely to abandon their board and be in even more danger.
It has already been a tragic summer on the South Coast.
On Sunday, January, a mother died trying to rescue her young son from a rip at Congo, south of Rosedale and on Friday, January 22, three fishermen were swept to their deaths at Port Kembla.
