'Good visual': Panama City Beach buys rip current simulator to help educate more people

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·4 min read

PANAMA CITY BEACH − Local first responders hope a new "tool in the toolbox" will help protect beachgoers and prevent future drownings along the Gulf Coast.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, gave a demonstration of a rip current simulator that the department purchased to help educate more people on dangerous beach conditions.

The simulator, which is a box just a couple of feet wide, uses pumps and ping-pong balls to show how water funnels through channels between sandbars and creates rip currents. Paul and his staff plan to bring the device to local schools, clubs and other groups to teach people, especially children, about these dangerous and potentially deadly currents.

Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, gives a demonstration of a rip current simulator recently purchased by the department to help educate more people.
Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, gives a demonstration of a rip current simulator recently purchased by the department to help educate more people.

"It just makes a real good visual imprint, so they actual see and understand," Paul said. "As with anything, you need to always think outside the box. You need to be looking for new ways to try and reach people, new methods to try and get somebody to see it and have that light-bulb moment.

"It basically breaks down in the most simple form what a rip current is."

Paul noted PCB fire rescue purchased the simulator from a Navarre resident, who Paul said was inspired to start building the devices after the recent string of drownings along the Gulf Coast.

Between June 15-24, eight people drowned off the coast of Bay County. Six of them happened off the coast of Panama City Beach, and two happened on an unincorporated Bay County beach outside the city limits. All but one occurred under double red flags, and every victim died after being caught in a rip current.

Rip currents are fast moving currents created by channels in surrounding sandbars. These channels often run perpendicular to the shoreline and cause water to funnel faster out into deeper waters of the Gulf. Rips can vary in strength, depending on how developed the channels are, and they can sometimes be identified from shore where there is a gap in the wave break − areas where the white caps of the breaks are less noticeable.

The best thing a beachgoer caught in a rip can do is swim parallel to shore, meaning toward the left or right of where they are in distress. If they do this, they will be able to break free from the current, often landing on a sandbar where they can stand. If they still cannot stand, they will at least be in calmer water where it will be easier to make it back to shore.

Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, says the rip current simulator is another tool his department can use to educate people on beach safety.
Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue, says the rip current simulator is another tool his department can use to educate people on beach safety.

"What we ask people to do when they get in rip currents is just simply don't panic," Paul said. "You need to remain calm. If you're in the rip, swim down current sideways, and you'll land (on) a sandbar. Or you'll land just past it, and you can just swim into the sandbar and walk right in."

Common flag colors used in beach flag warning systems include a green flag for low hazard conditions, a yellow flag for medium hazard conditions, one red flag for high hazard conditions and two red flags for very dangerous conditions.

Possible charges: Bay Sheriff's Office considers charges for letting kids swim under double-red flags

Panama City Beach, however, never flies green flags because officials say beachgoers should always be cautious anytime they enter the Gulf. Rip currents can always be present, even under clear skies and calm surf conditions. It also is illegal to enter the Gulf under double red flags, and violators can be fined $500.

"You don't need waves to have rips," Paul said. "You just need a little wind and some tide. We ask people (to) always swim near a lifeguard. We have lifeguards at the (Russell-Fields) Pier, the (M.B Miller) Pier and Rick Seltzer Park. In between all of those, we have roving patrols.

"If you're unsure of how to spot a rip current, ask a lifeguard. ... If you're unsure about the flag system, ask a lifeguard."

Those interested in scheduling a time for members of PCB Fire Rescue's Beach Safety Division to give a demonstration with the rip current simulator can contact Debbie Ingram, spokesperson for Panama City Beach, by calling 850-233-5100 and using extension 2261.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach to educate beachgoers with rip current simulator