10 Beach Safety Tips

Once you’ve scored a perfect spot on the sand, it would be a shame for Mother Nature to ruin your beach vacation. So take this list of beach safety tips and post it in your vacation rental.

#1. Use proper protection.

Try to limit your time in the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Apply and remember to reapply sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher. One of the most common beach safety tips, it's also one of the easiest to forget, especially when you’re caught up in creating a sandcastle masterpiece or tide pooling and the ocean breeze is keeping you cool.

In addition to sunscreen, insist every member of your family brings (and wears):

- a hat
- sunglasses -- rated to absorb 90% of the sun’s UV rays
- beach (or water) shoes -- to protect your feet from hot sand, dangerous sea life in the water and debris, including sharp shells and rocks washed in by the ocean.


#2. Drink plenty of water.

Bring a cooler to the beach and make it a point to drink even you’re not thirsty.

Remember that alcohol and caffeine dehydrate your body, which makes the effects of the heat worse.

Watch for these symptoms of heat stroke:

- hot,red and dry skin
- a rapid, weak pulse
- rapid, shallow breathing

Even when a lifeguard is on duty.

#4. Make castles, not holes.

People who climb -- or fall -- into deep sand holes and trenches can be buried if the sand collapses.

#5. Respect other residents of the beach.

Jellyfish, cone shells, stingrays, sea snakes, man-o-war, and even some insects can turn your day at the beach into a trip to the hospital emergency room.

- No touching. Teach your children not to touch something in the water or on the sand if it might be alive.
- No souvenir-collecting. Don't pick up collect organisms in tide pools and step carefully when you’re in their fragile habitat.


In the Water

#6. Check surf conditions before your go in the water.

Obey all posted warning signs and flags. When a red flag is flying, swimming is prohibited. A yellow flag indicates dangerous conditions.

It seems obvious that you should stay away from the water during storms. If you hear thunder or see a storm approaching:

- Go inside right away.

- Wait a half hour after the last thunder crack before going back to the beach.

On some beaches, the water quality suffers after a rain or storm.

Many private beaches don’t have lifeguards. Swimming in the ocean is much more challenging than swimming in a pool or lake.

If you don’t have a lot of experience swimming in the ocean:

- Don’t rely on a raft or life jacket.
- Don’t venture beyond waist-deep water.
- Stay out of the “surf zone” where breaking waves can lift you up and slam you into the sand.
- Stay away from piers, piles and rocks.


#8. Respect rip currents.

The United States Lifesaving Association has found that 80% of the rescues made by ocean lifeguards involve saving people caught in rip currents -- a national total of 2,045 in 2008.

This is one of those critical beach safety tips, because rip currents are invisible to all but the most expert observers. Under an apparently calm surface they are circulate water back to sea after it's been pushed ashore as waves.

If you get caught in one:

- Don't panic.
- Even though it seems counter-intuitive, swim parallel to the shore. Never try to swim against the current.
- Swim until you're clear of the current. Then swim into shore.


#9. Use your head.

Figuratively, not literally, of course. Don’t dive shallow breaking waves or places where you don’t know the water’s depth.


#10. Don't turn your back on the ocean.

Very large “sneaker” or “sleeper” waves can suddenly rise out of nowhere and sweep you off the rocks or shore. More people die each year as a result of sneaker waves than from shark attacks.

If you see a large wave, looming while you’re tide pooling hold tight to a big rock and let the wave wash over you.

Back to the top of Beach Safety Tips