silent grapevine

Written by Thomsen Young and you can follow him @
For quite some people summer vacation doesn’t get any better than going for a nice swim in the ocean, lake or river. However, for quite some people, not everyone has a great grasp of what it means to think about safety when you get in the water. That’s why, we at TSG, think that this video [we know it’s a year old, but it does the trick], Water Safety on Rip Current, is important. This video is done in ASL and the goal of the video is to educate people in the United States to take extreme caution when you decide to go for a swim in the ocean, lake or river.

DID YOU KNOW? Rip currents can be killers. The United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation’s beaches exceeds 100. Rip currents account for over 80% of rescues performed by surf beach lifeguards.

Here are some tips that we liked!

• If you find yourself stuck in a rip current, it’s very important to stay calm and preserve your energy. If you exhaust yourself in a panic you could drown. 
• If you yourself happen to see someone else who is stuck in a rip current. It is very important that you don’t go in and try to rescue them. You want to call 911 or get a lifeguard to go and assist.  If you have a floatation device such as an empty cooler, a life jacket, or beach ball, you can throw that out to the individual to prevent them from drowning.
• If there are double red warning flags that means that swimming is not allowed.

We’re not saying don’t have fun, we’re just saying be careful when you decide to go out and have fun! Watch the video below!