They crackle a lot. Too many years playing weiguoren clown for kids. So could’ve been Morse code for all I know.
Are their any official signs like this one posted which stipulate no swimming and the penalties if ignored?
Here’s a thread that you should read.
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Sometimes this happens…
Maybe the Coast Guard just don’t want to have to see this all the time.
This is a very sad news report regarding beaches where you CAN swim.
It can still be very dangerous. Be careful out there people. Know the beach, know your abilities.
Waiao has no on-duty lifeguards.
I surf here all the time, however I would NEVER just go for a swim. Way too much rip.
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What is the difference? Why are surfers not at risk? Or you mean they are at risk, but they have a board with them and may know better how to handle the rip tide?
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The number one difference is experience. Just because you rent a surfboard and take a lesson or two, doesn’t make you a surfer. It takes time and experience to learn the ocean and specifically the area you intend to surf. Rip tides are a huge killer and if you don’t know how to get out of one, you can wind up dead really quickly. Again, experience is the number one key for recognizing a rip, staying out of it or knowing how to get out of it in order to avoid death.
The second difference is floatation device vs no flotation device. If you have a surfboard or a bodyboard, you stand a much higher chance of not dying than if you are just in the water by yourself.
The third difference is common sense. Just because you see a bunch of experienced surfers, bodyboarders and/or swimmers in the water does not make the water safe for you. I’ve seen this hundreds if not thousands of times at my home break at Baishawan. I’ve had to rescue plenty of dumb dumbs who thought that they could just rent a board and voila they are a surfer and can join us at the point break or the double outside which are two of the most hazardous areas in Baishawan.
Anyway, terrible, needless deaths at Waiao this past holiday. I hope it doesn’t turn into the standard Taiwanese knee-jerk reaction to close the beach as has happened so often in the past.
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It’s weird I always went swimming at Jinshan which is super safe and they never have a lifeguard there. So officially not a ’ swimming beach’ ? Just as an aside.
My understanding is that you swim parallel to the shore to get out of the pull of the rip tide, after which you swim back to shore. Is there anything else we should be knowing?
I would very much like to swim into a rip tide with a boat nearby for rescue if needed. I’m very curious what it’s like. I consider myself a decent swimmer so I wonder how I could handle it after some explanation of what to do. Or is this a stupid thing to be wishing?
I had a hard time getting back to shore at Huntington Beach in CA one time years ago. I don’t know if it was a rip tide or something else. I also swam in a triathlon here in Taiwan where one guy died in the ocean. Big waves that day but I was having the time of my life and did well that race. Besides those two instances, all my ocean swimming experience has been very calm and uneventful.
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Fair question - I’ve wondered the same!
I think one problem with being a stronger swimmer is that I could be dangerously overconfident in the water. It hasn’t got me in serious trouble (yet!), but I remember one time after sunset in Indonesia, swimming with another guy to a rocky shore where we had to clamber back through jungle to our guesthouse on the beach - currents prevented us from swimming back. One of those events that was mostly an annoying amusement / amusing annoyance at the time, but I look back and think “Shit, that could have gone really, really badly.”
I think I’ve been in a couple of small rip tides, just ones that pulled me out maybe 30-50 meters (I’m not sure how much these were undertows versus riptides). I remember it being disorienting because if you’re not paying attention you don’t “notice” you’re being pulled out - frame of reference and all that; you’re just moving with the water. And I swam “across” the bay and was fine. But those events were much more “Oh, that’s a fun thing the water does here!” rather than “Uh oh.”
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I’m a diver. Recently I was diving in the currents in South Lombok an island not far from Bali. I have long powerful fins, a BCD which will keep me afloat, a 6ft DSMB marker buoy and a satellite beacon if lost at sea.
I do did one planned dive to 50m depth to a cleaning station to see hammerheards. As we slowly ascend to the surface we end up being around 2km away from our boat in 3m - 4m swells. Total dive time from leaving boat around 40 minutes. Fortunately this is a known dive site and the boat captain knows where the currents lead. It is impossible to swim against currents and not tire out. Just go with the flow. When I was in Bali you hear of swimmers getting swept away in the currents even after being warned not to swim at certain places where no swimming signs are placed.
Also these water can have strong down currents, on one dive we were at around 10m depth and got pulled down to 43m depth. But we have air, and a BCD, you as a swimmer do not.
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Lot’s of decent dead swimmers. Simply lay on your back float on the surface and do not fatigue yourself out. Cold water will also weaken you. But hey, just ignore those no swimming signs in the first place, they are not put there for any valid purpose right?
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I don’t ignore the signs. I stay within the roped off box at Baishawan, for example. Years ago when that box was better for swimming, i did early morning laps in that box after staying overnight in a B&B. No lifeguards out yet but I stayed in the box!
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Taiwan Beach Season 2023 I posted a rip current survival plan here on Forumosa.
If curious about experiencing a rip you can always start out in one of those circular “lazy rivers” at a local swimming pool. Try make it all the way around without touching the bottom.
If you are in Kaohsiung or Kenting, I coach youth surf lifesaving. Search West Bay Nippers on this forum for the available dates. I can buddy up with you and explain what to do in a rip.
Rescues happen to the best of us. At South African Surf Lifesaving Champs, I tried to navigate through massive surf, took a paddle shaft to the face, lost a tooth, and got worked for 45 minutes in the impact zone all while a massive rescue attempt was in progress. I landed up 400m down the beach. Rescue patrol monitoring me and over 800 competitive lifeguards on standby.
Flash rips can flare up and disappear in a matter of minutes. Water needs to escape, even on the calmest of days. All it takes is a turn in the tide or a certain wind direction.
I love the appeal of solo surf sessions, open ocean swims, and just messing around in the surf.
You need to be able to understand the local conditions, have an entry and exit strategy. Learn to use the conditions on the day to your advantage.
I encourage the youth surf lifesavers to use swim fins. That extra bit of kicking power builds confidence in the surf. Treading water becomes easy. Saves energy and means more time in the sea leading to more confidence.
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Yes as a diver I use XXL size fins. Great to use when snorkeling with my mask. It’s really surprising how fast and how much power fins allow you to project in the water. Also I am a bit fat so I have two benefits, I float without weights and I have some natural insulation.
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