GLIN==> Sea Grant News Release: Swimming in the Great Lakes? Look Out for Rip Currents

[cid:image002.jpg at 01CB19EC.D3AB8280]NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

For More Information:
James Lubner, Water Safety Specialist, Wisconsin Sea Grant, (414) 750-4625, jflubner at aqua.wisc.edu<mailto:jflubner at aqua.wisc.edu>
Moira Harrington, Communications Manager, (608) 263-5371, moira at aqua.wisc.edu<mailto:moira at aqua.wisc.edu>

Editors Note:  More information is available at ripcurrents.noaa.gov

Swimming in the Great Lakes? Look Out for Rip Currents

MILWAUKEE (07/02/10) -- Whether wading off a beach or training for a triathlon, Great Lakes swimmers need to beware of hazardous rip currents as they plunge into the surf this 4th of July weekend and throughout the remaining summer days.
These narrow, fast-moving channels of water can be just as dangerous as those at ocean beaches.  In 2008, a Sheboygan teenager drowned while swimming in Lake Michigan when he was unable to return to shore.
"Rip currents are a significant concern for swimmers at Great Lakes beaches," said University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Water Safety Specialist James Lubner. "They can occur in many places, when waves push water up on beaches. That water then flows back toward the lake, sometimes forming a strong current."
Not even the strongest swimmers can successfully swim directly against the current, but escaping from the current is possible if one knows how, Lubner said.
"The key is to swim parallel to shore until you are out of the current, then swim at an angle away from the current and towards shore" he said. "The currents are relatively narrow streams of water moving straight away from shore. So swimming parallel to shore will get you out of the current quickly."
"The important thing is not to panic," Lubner emphasized. He also cautioned swimmers and boaters to remember that the cold waters of the Great Lakes can sap a person's energy quickly through hypothermia.
The University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute annually provides Great Lakes public beaches with free informational posters and brochures about rip currents in both English and Spanish.  The brochure in English is available online at http://aqua.wisc.edu/publications/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=458 or in Spanish at http://aqua.wisc.edu/publications/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=487


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Conceived in 1966, Sea Grant is a national network of 32 university-based programs of research, outreach, and education for enhancing the practical use and conservation of coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources to create a sustainable economy and environment. The National Sea Grant Network is a partnership of participating coastal states, private industry, and the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

seagrant.wisc.edu






Carolyn Rumery Betz
Science Writer
UW - Madison Aquatic Sciences Center
1975 Willow Dr., Room 231
Madison, WI  53706-1177
Phone: (608) 263-3149
Fax: (608) 262-0591
E-mail: betzc at aqua.wisc.edu

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