Reader\'s Digest Australia - 07.2019

July• 2019 | 15

READER’S DIGEST

rip, swim to the side of it and you

will be free from its strong pull. I

took note of the sea around me and

surmised that if I swam to my right,

I would eventually swim out of the

rip, then I could swim back to shore.

But as I tried to move to the right,

I seemed to have swum directly into

an even stronger rip. It grabbed hold

of me and whisked me out to sea

so quickly I became

suddenly frightened and

a bit breathless. I kept

my head above water

with gentle strokes but

I clearly had no control

and the shoreline was

becoming more and

more distant. This is

when I realised I was

in trouble, so I tried

holding one arm up for

help – not that easy when you’re in

a strong rip and trying to keep your

head above the water.

I could see I was too far out for

anyone to see me. I could hardly see

the people on the beach, who were

becoming dots on the sand. I must

have been a couple of kilometres out

by now. I suddenly realised I could

die, and was now very scared. But

something kicked in and I started to

try to swim to the side. Then, just as

tingly bubbles that made me yelp
as I came to the top. I felt as if I
could spend my entire life bobbing
in the waves.
I started to swim out past the
medium-size waves to the calmer part
of the ocean. I was very confident in
the sea and always seemed to go past
everyone else in the water. I loved the
sounds of the ocean, the taste of the
salt and, most of all, the
weightlessness. When I
got far out enough to feel
myself gently bobbing
in the waves, I lay on
my back resembling
a starfish, closed my
eyes and enjoyed the
sun beaming down on
me while the crisp tang
of the water felt divine
against my skin.
I lay like this for some time, my
ears under the water drowning out
the outside world. I could feel myself
moving, floating through the waves,
but after a while I looked up to see
that I had drifted quite far out, about
100 metres. I decided I had better
move back in. At this point there was
no fear; I am a strong swimmer and I
felt like the sea was my second home.
I started to slowly breaststroke
towards the shore but soon found I
was moving backwards, despite my
strokes. This is when I realised I was
in a rip current. Still, I didn’t panic.
I’ve been in rips before – never this
far out, but I know you just ride the

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I realised I was in

trouble, so I tried

holding one arm

up for help–not

easy when you’re

in a strong rip