November 2013 (ROTM#59) Plettenberg Bay, South Africa

This is simply an extraordinary photo. I have always been interested in rip currents in South Africa. I know the coastline is very similar to the Australian coastline and that there must be a lot of rips and a lot of drownings. In fact, just this May a terrible accident occurred with 6 members of the same rugby team drowning in a rip near Port Elizabeth. But I was never able to find out much about what was being done to educate people in South Africa about rip currents.

Then a few months ago I was contacted by Torsten Henschel and Andrew Ingram from the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in South Africa and they sent me this link to a fantastic rip current safety video . One of the best rip videos I've seen I think and I was amazed how similar the beaches looked to Australian beaches!  Andrew sent me this picture from Plettenberg Bay on the East Coast of South Africa. It's a popular holiday destination with plenty of rips...how many can you count?

It’s remarkable how beaches in South Africa look like those in Australia