Good reminder

If you enjoy swimming in the ocean, please be careful, and be aware of what you need to do if you get caught in a rip current. We definitely have them around here (been in one myself at least once), and unfortunately lives are sometimes lost. Here's a Hyde County press release I received recently explaining the current high risk of rip currents here and on the rest of the Outer Banks.

Press Release #1: Rip Current Advisory

Please be advised of a high risk rip current alert for the beaches of Ocracoke and the Outer Banks. See information from the National Weather Service below:

COASTAL HAZARD MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEWPORT/MOREHEAD CITY NC
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
NCZ095-098-103-104-080845-
/O.EXT.KMHX.RP.S.0002.000000T0000Z-100809T0000Z/
CARTERET-ONSLOW-OUTER BANKS DARE-OUTER BANKS HYDE-
435 PM EDT SAT AUG 7 2010
...RIP CURRENT RISK NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
THE COMBINATION OF HIGH ASTRONOMICAL TIDES AND LONG PERIOD SWELL
FROM TROPICAL STORM COLIN WELL EAST OF THE REGION WILL PRODUCE A
HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.
THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR LIFE THREATENING RIP CURRENTS WILL BE A
COUPLE OF HOURS EITHER SIDE OF LOW TIDE. LOW TIDE SUNDAY WILL
OCCUR AROUND NOON.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
THERE IS A HIGH RISK OF RIP CURRENTS.
RIP CURRENTS ARE POWERFUL CHANNELS OF WATER FLOWING QUICKLY AWAY
FROM SHORE...WHICH OCCUR MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPOTS OR BREAKS IN THE
SANDBAR AND IN THE VICINITY OF STRUCTURES SUCH AS GROINS...
JETTIES AND PIERS. HEED THE ADVICE OF LIFEGUARDS AND THE BEACH
PATROL. PAY ATTENTION TO FLAGS AND POSTED SIGNS POSTED NEAR BEACH
ACCESS POINTS AND LIFEGUARD STATIONS.
IF YOU BECOME CAUGHT IN A RIP CURRENT...DO NOT PANIC. REMAIN CALM
AND BEGIN TO SWIM PARALLEL TO SHORE. ONCE YOU ARE AWAY FROM THE
FORCE OF THE RIP CURRENT...BEGIN TO SWIM BACK TO THE BEACH. DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO SWIM DIRECTLY AGAINST A RIP CURRENT...SINCE IT CAN
EXHAUST AND EVEN KILL THE STRONGEST SWIMMER.
###