November 2011 (ROTM#35) Pololu Valley, Hawaii, Hawaii

Hawaii has a lot of fantastic beaches, but despite all the great surf, it's not particularly known for its rip currents. However, don't be fooled, there are some big rips around like this one in the middle of this beautiful  black sand beach.  The beach is situated at the base of the Pololu Valley on the north shore of the Big Island of Hawaii.

I took the picture a few years ago and there's a nice hike down to the beach, but the trail was closed at the time due to instability from a recent earthquake. While rip current drownings aren't considered a huge problem in Hawaii, they do tend to occur on beaches like this one, which are unpatrolled and where people have worked up a sweat to get to...and are keen for a swim. Hopefully you can spot the rip as the big dark gap in the middle of the beach.

Remote beach (and rip) on the Big Island