Hilton Head Island beach safety: 6 tips you need to know

Thousands of vacationers flock to Beaufort County every summer to kick back, relax, stick their toes in the sand, and soak up the hot Carolina sun.

But unfortunately, beach time can be as dangerous as it is fun -- particularly for swimmers making their way through the waves.

According to Hilton Head Beach Services Director Mike Wagner, more than 20 people are rescued from near-drownings every year on Hilton Head.

Wagner said it’s hard to distinguish the exact cause of every drowning/ rescue on Hilton Head Island, whether the swimmer simply swam too far away from shore and drowned from exhaustion or got caught in the rip tide.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that a majority of the estimated 4,000 drowning deaths that occur in the U.S.every year are preventable.

Here are 6 tips to know to keep you and your family swimming safely on Hilton Head this summer:

Don’t be fooled: sandbars are deceptively dangerous if you don’t pay attention. Tides surrounding the sandbars are tricky and prone to rip currents.

“Sometimes when it’s low tide, people walk out to the sandbar, but when that tide comes in quick and you go from standing in knee-deep water and then suddenly you’re underwater and far out.”

Rip currents often surge through sandbars, posing another threat for the water to surge in and sweep a swimmer away.

“Just in general, no one should walk out to a sandbar, but if they do, be very careful because the tide can change fast.

According to the International Lifesavers Federation, a majority of drownings occur in areas unprotected by lifeguards.

The U.S. Lifesavers Association estimates that the chance of drowning at a beach protected by a lifeguard is less than one in 18 million per year.

“Our lifeguards pay special attention to the tides, and will issue rip current warnings and have the water clear if they see the water is dangerous - whether it’s a shark or a rip current,” Wagner said.

On Hilton Head, about 80 lifeguards patrol 13.5 miles of shoreline during daytime hours.

“You are much safer swimming in an area where lifeguards can see you.”

On average, 100 people in the U.S. die from rip currents every year, according to the National Weather Service -- posing a bigger threat to beach goers than sharks.

“On Hilton Head, we clear the water more often for sharks than we do for rip currents, but they are still a threat,” Wagner said.

However, Wagner said the Folly Creek area (between Burkes beach and Singleton area) does can see dangerous rip and undertow currents.

Here are a few signs of rip current, according to NOAA:

• A channel of churning, choppy water.
• A difference in water color.
• A line of foam, seaweed or debris moving toward the shore
• A break in the incoming wave pattern

The beach transforms to a completely different place within a few hours between high tide and low tide. This makes it easy for people to accidentally swim out further from shore than intended.

“Pay close attention to the tide. It can change quick,” Wagner said.

On Hilton Head Island beaches, generally a yellow flag, often paired with lifeguard whistles, is used to cover all conditions where swimmers should take caution, from dangerous animals to surf conditions.

An American Red Cross survey found that only 56 percent of Americans can swim, even though 80 percent of Americans claim they can.

Wagner said that he sees this a lot on Hilton Head beaches -- people who think they can swim better and further than they actually can.

“A lot of our rescues are just people who swim out further than they meant to and just get exhausted,” Wagner said.

“Rip currents aren’t very wide, so the best thing to do is to swim sideways, parallel with the shore,” Wagner said. “It’s also important to stay calm and not waste energy.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Hilton Head Island beach safety: 6 tips you need to know."