working against rips

[bgdkmetzger2003]

Also if you are surfing, and the water seems to be kind of choppy around you while it is smooth further away, and you notice that even when you are trying to paddle into a wave you still get held back, you are probably in a rip. This has happened to me at Blacks several times, and I usually just try to paddle further inside, or paddle inside diagonally out of the rip. O yeah, and the water seems to be more sandy (brown) in a strip.

[RJD]

Rips form because the water coming in has to go out somewhere.

It usualy goes out in a deeper section , and waves dont break in deeper water (as much), so you dont realy want to be trying to catch waves in a rip anyhow, use it to get out back , then move across to where the wave is peaking.

[bgdkmetzger2003]

sometimes they have a funny almost gravitational pull, especially if there is some sideshore drift going on too.