Opinion
3 October, 2025
Stick between the flags and stay alive
It’s practically summer. The red and yellow flags are about to go up and many local residents will be planning a trip to the coast for a dip in the ocean.
It’s practically summer. The red and yellow flags are about to go up and many local residents will be planning a trip to the coast for a dip in the ocean.
There’s nothing more relaxing. Unless it goes wrong.
You would understand that as a journalist I get to cover lots of ‘nice’ stories. Over the past 30 years I’ve banked a lot. But it’s the not-so-nice ones that always hit home. The ones that stick with me emotionally days, weeks, months – even years later.
A few years back I watched paramedics try to save the life of a man on Mollymook Beach. They were unsuccessful. He went to the rescue of his children caught in a rip. The kids got back to shore safely but he died doing what most parents would do in the same situation. I know there was a cross on Mollymook Beach when I left the area and I hope it’s still there.
I wrote a number of stories around the same time about coastal drownings. Most of the victims were people swimming outside the flags or at unpatrolled beaches. I had a particular issue with councils and tourism organisations directing people to ‘secret’ spots. Not necessarily ‘secret’ but less visited than the not-so-secret.
So here’s the thing. I went swimming at an unpatrolled beach one afternoon, got caught in a rip and almost drowned as my family watched on. I was saved by a surfer who was simply in the right place at the right time. Certainly for me anyway. I haven’t been back in the ocean since.
Most people who haven’t lived on the coast or who haven’t grown up with the beach as their backyard simply don’t understand how beaches work – or more specifically how rip currents work. Even people who have lived on the coast for a long time – as I did – don’t have the ability to spot a potentially fatal rip current before they enter the water. They go for a swim and get into trouble or go to the rescue of people who get into trouble and drown as a result.
I had the privilege of working with a Canadian rip expert Rob Brander (‘Dr Rip’) on a rip current awareness session in Mollymook. He put dye in the water to demonstrate how quickly rip currents can drag people out to sea. Frightening stuff. Most people drown because they fight the current – a natural response – and become exhausted. If they ‘ride’ the current and signal for help by raising an arm in the air, their chances of getting back to shore are significantly increased.
I’ve been banging on about this for years now – and will continue to do so – but raising your arm in the air is relatively pointless at an unpatrolled beach or at a patrolled beach if you’re swimming outside the flags. The flags have been positioned for a reason. Professionals have identified it as the safest place to swim and if you get into trouble (for whatever reason) there will be someone there to help.
If you choose to go to a ‘secret’ location or a swimming spot that is relatively quiet, you have to accept the inherent risks. You also have to accept that those risks are potentially fatal.
I have experienced first-hand the fear of being caught in a rip current and the sheer helplessness of someone caught in that situation. I was fighting to live as my children watched on. I hope they were too young to remember.
Complex problem, simple solution. Swim between the flags. Respect those people (many of them volunteers) who watch over our beaches. Ignore the urge to escape ‘packed’ beaches unless you are sunbathing or you are surf aware. And when I say ‘surf aware’ I mean the ability to spot a rip current, to know what to do if you are caught in one or to go to the assistance or someone who is.
I’m glad someone didn’t have to write my obituary. I don’t want to be the one who writes yours.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, Wollondilly