A rip current, commonly referred to as a rip, or by the misnomer "rip tide", is one specific kind of water current that can be found near beaches. It is a strong, localized, and rather narrow current of water. Rips are strongest near the surface of the water and move directly away from the shore out to sea. Walls of water, in the form of waves, break across sand bars & arrive onto the shore. That mass of water must travel back out to sea. When there is a gap in a sand bar near the shore, it creates a narrow groove, through which the retreating mass of water is channeled with greater force. This is a Rip current and it can treat you like a hot tub jet treats a floating leaf, sending you a hundred or more yards out into the ocean. Rips can occur at any beach where there are breaking waves and sand bars. They can be very powerful and unpredictable: some reoccur always at the same place, others can ap  pear and disappear suddenly at various locations near the beach.  Click here for more information on how to identify and deal with riptides you can check with the National Weather Service.  You can also read an article about rip tides in the Pines on our website.