June 2021 (ROTM#150) Duranbah Beach, NSW Australia

I think I have now seen the strongest, angriest rip current of my life. In late May I was visiting the border towns of Coolangatta, QLD and Tweed Heads, NSW, which are known for their beautiful beaches and fantastic surf breaks. And thanks to a big swell, the surf was indeed epic, but more impressive to me was the ferocious boundary rip current shown in this picture, which was flowing offshore along the southern training wall at Duranbah Beach. The training wall is basically a jetty keeping the Tweed River mouth open.

Boundary rips flow along both natural and anthropogenic structures such as headlands, groynes, jetties and piers and they are often permanent features. Surfers use them all the time to help them get out the back, but they can be deadly to swimmers.

This picture doesn't do the rip justice so click on the photo to watch a video. It's the fastest rip I've ever seen!

This was absolutely raging.