There are at least 20 rips running along the beach that I can count before everything starts to get a bit fuzzy! How do you spot them?

This month it's a very different type of rip current. Not all rips flow off sandy beaches in channels between bars.

We did a recon of the beaches last week to look for a suitable location for some experiments on rip currents we're hoping to do in early October and Whale Beach came up trumps with this fantastic channelised fixed rip carving through the middle of the beach.

These types of rips are often called ‘flash’ rips because they vary so much and are unpredictable.

I guess because I’m a scientist and therefore partially a geek, I love collecting pictures of beach signs relating to rip currents.

Bondi Beach seems to be getting a lot of attention here in Australia with almost every reality television show seemingly based around it. It’s also getting a lot of attention from rip current scientists.

How many rips can you see in this picture? The view from Tomaree Headland in Port Stephens, NSW is one of my favourite views on the planet.

Stewart Island is situated off the southern end of the South Island of New Zealand and is a hikers (trampers in Kiwi-speak) dream, particularly if you like lots of mud and nasty weather.

Palm Beach is Sydney's northern most beach and is a sort of home to the rich and famous, but it's not immune to rips.

I have a new favourite rip current photo and what a coincidence, it's of my favourite beach! Tamarama is a small pocket beach in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs situated between Bronte and Bondi Beach.

The Netherlands keeps churning out some amazing coastal scientists who have really influenced our understanding about how waves and beaches work.

This fantastic picture was taken by Patrick Rynne and shows a bunch of intrepid rip current scientists, students and volunteers venturing out into the jaws of a nasty rip during an experiment at Shelly Beach on the Central Coast of New South Wales last December.