January 2014 (ROTM#61) South Coast, New South Wales Australia

Pattern recognition. Spotting rip currents is all about seeing patterns in the surf along the beach.  What's different about this beach? Well, there's a pretty obvious green gap heading out from the shore, then a sandbar with whitewater, another green gap, another sandbar and so on. While not all rips (the green gaps) are as obvious as the ones on this beach, it's not hard to see patterns...you just have to look for them.

This beach is somewhere on the South Coast of New South Wales, I think it could be Tathra Beach. I found it while trolling the web, but the South Coast has spectacular beaches, most of them unpatrolled by lifeguards and most of them with tourist parks plonked on top of them. Learn how to spot those rips folks.

Rivers of the sea