December 2022 (ROTM#168) Sorrento Ocean Beach, Victoria, Australia

It’s not often a Prime Minister (or a President for that matter) drowns, but it happened to Australian Prime Minster Harold Holt on December 17 in 1967 when he was caught in a rip current at Cheviot Beach in Victoria, Australia, which is located in Point Nepean, the southeastern side of the opening in Port Philip Bay. This picture of Sorrento Ocean Beach, just a few kilometres to the southeast of Cheviot captures the wildness of that part of the Victorian Coast. Lots of waves, lots of rocks and crenulated bays and lots of rips.

 The main rip in this picture has a trough/feeder running along the beach in the foreground and then turns offshore towards the prominent rock – all that dark green area is the rip. There’s a also a rip (the narrow green gap) further down the coast that goes quite a long way offshore. Dangerous for sure although there is still some who believe that Harold Holt was picked up by a submarine!

 Thanks to Jayne MacDougall for this picture who posted it on her Facebook page during a trip home. Jayne is a sustainability and safety consultant in Phuket, Thailand who has been instrumental in promoting lifeguards and beach safety in Phuket over the years. I’ve had the good fortune to do some beach safety work in Thailand over the years, all thanks to Jayne!

Not suitable for swimming