The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project’s
Summer News Coverage of the
Michigan Sea Grant’s
“Flip, Float, and Follow” Rip Current
Survival Campaign
GREAT LAKES, USA – The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project (GLSRP) endorses the updated Rip Current Survival Strategy created by the Michigan Sea Grant titled, "Flip, Float, and Follow". [Similar to the fire safety technique, “Stop, Drop, and Roll” if you ever catch on fire.] The GLSRP has promoted the “Flip,
Float, and Follow” rip current survival strategy through its “Water Safety Surf
Rescue” classes this summer and it has received over 30 media mentions (Listed below).
Now the GLSRP will be taking this updated rip current survival strategy to an international audience at the 2nd International Rip Current Symposium Nov. 1st, 2012 in Sydney, Australia.
Now the GLSRP will be taking this updated rip current survival strategy to an international audience at the 2nd International Rip Current Symposium Nov. 1st, 2012 in Sydney, Australia.
How to use the “Flip, Float, Follow” Rip Current Survival Strategy
1. FLIP:
Flip over onto your back and float.
2. FLOAT:
A. Float to keep your head above water.
B. Float to calm yourself down from the panic and fear of drowning.
C. Float to conserve your energy.
3. FOLLOW:
While you are floating, you are following the current. Follow the current to assess which way it is pulling you.Then swim perpendicular to the currents flow until you are out of it and then swim toward shore. If you are too tired to swim to shore, continue to float and signal someone on shore. Also, the waves may eventually bring you back to shore.
REMEMBER:
--As long as you are floating, you are alive.
--As long as you are floating, you are alive.
--As long as you are struggling or fighting the current, you are drowning – Conserve your energy and do not do the Signs of Drowning.
2012 CLASSES
1.
06/03/2012 St. Joseph, MI
2.
06/23/2012 Frankfort, MI
3.
06/24/2012 Ogden Dunes, MI
4.
07/11/2012 Coloma, MI Firefighters
Association
5.
07/21/2012 Duluth, MN
6.
07/29/2012 Washburn, WI
7.
08/04/2012 South Haven, MI
8.
08/05/2012 Grand Haven, MI
9.
08/13/2012 Coloma, MI (Private class
for a family reunion)
10.
08/19/2012 New Buffalo, MI
11.
09/02/2012 Sheboygan, WI
12.
Chicago, IL (date to be determined)
MEDIA MENTIONS
1.
September 11, 2012,
The Herald-Palladium
“Flip, float
and follow – A life-saving motto for those struggling in water”
2.
September 11, 2012
Traverse City Record-Eagle
“Great Lakes
drownings: 89 so far this year”
Benjamin said the chief rule for swimming in the Great Lakes is respect
for the water's power. He encourages swimmers to follow the Michigan Sea
Grant's "Flip, Float and Follow" strategy when caught in a rip
current. The first step is for swimmers to flip onto their back and float to
conserve energy and fight off a sense of panic. The next step is to follow the
current and swim perpendicular to the current's flow, until the swimmer is able
to emerge. "When you are floating, you can calm down and assess which way
it's pulling you," Benjamin said. "As long as you are floating, you
are alive. As long as you are struggling, you are drowning."
3.
September 04, 2012
WNDU 16
“Great Lakes
drownings hit 87”
The project
continues to push the technique “Flip, Float and Follow.” If caught in a rip
current, don’t panic. Instead, swimmers should flip onto their back, float to
see where the water is moving, and then swim parallel to the shore.
4.
August 27, 2012
Post-Tribune
Jerry Davich Colum: ‘I think
Corey would be proud of me’
“Everyone who
enters the Great Lakes should know about the ‘Flip, Float, and Follow’ rip
current survival campaign,” he said. “As long as are floating you are alive.” The eventual goal of the Michigan Sea Grant’s
“Flip, Float, Follow” rip current survival strategy is to develop a national
curriculum similar to the Fire Prevention Services’ “Stop, Drop and Roll”
program.
“Ask anyone
anywhere in the United States and they probably know ‘Stop, Drop and Roll,’ ” he noted,
hoping “Flip, Float, Follow” can catch on
as well.
5.
August 23, 2012
AccuWeather.com
“74 Confirmed Drownings in the
Warm Great Lakes this Year”
It is extremely important to be
familiar with memorable safety sayings, including "Flip,
Float, Follow"
that can save your life if you find yourself struggling in a drowning.
6.
August 17, 2012
AccuWeather.com
“Before Summer Ends, A New
Must-Know Safety Tip For All Swimmers”
From there,
Benjamin made it to shore by following the Flip, Float and Follow strategy.
"FLIP,
FLOAT, FOLLOW"
The flip, float
and follow saying was created by the Michigan Sea Grant to be memorable and
help save people in a drowning incident.
Flip over onto your back and figure out which way the current is
flowing.
Float to keep your head above water and conserve energy.
Follow the current until it weakens. Rip currents dissipate
quickly as they move away from the shore into deeper water. Ride it out and
swim perpendicular to the current back to shore.
"We
believe flip, float and follow will work in any body of moving water. The whole
premise is as long as you're floating, you're alive. You calm yourself down and
follow the best action to get out of the water. We believe a lot of drowning is
... because people panic, they're in water, and it is the instinctive drowning
response," Benjamin said. "When someone goes into the instinctive
drowning response, they've got between 15 and 45 seconds before final
submersion."
The flip, float
and follow saying was modeled after the famous "stop, drop and roll."
7.
August 19, 2012
Fox 28
“Mom of drowning victim wants to
prevent future drownings”
The best thing
to remember if you do get into trouble in the water, Flip, float, and
follow. Pratt said, "flip over onto
your back, which puts you in a better position to breathe. Float cause as long as you're floating you're
not drowning. See which way the current
is taking you and follow the best course out." Those tips are exactly what Forystek hopes to
teach to others. "We're surrounded
by water and I think kids need to know what they need to do."
WNDU
“Victim’s family joins Surf
Rescue Project to teach water safety”
Flip, Float,
and Follow. Those are the three statements a rescue project in New Buffalo is
teaching beach-goers and swimmers about water safety awareness across the Great
Lakes region. Cory McFry's mother was at
Sunday's class. Her son, Cory disappeared in July near the Portage Lakefront
Riverwalk. He was swimming with friends when he was swept away by currents. The class emphasizes a Flip, Float, and
Follow survival strategy meant to keep people’s minds from panicking, and
instead focusing on those three body movements.
The class is helpful, but residents have to sign up to get them, so
Cory's said she's pushing for programs like these to be taught in schools. "It should be something that they push
in the schools. It should be something they teach in health class, or gym class
or swimming class,” said Cory’s mother, Christine Forystek. Or you know, and
they should start from elementary school and work their way up. You keep
pushing it and you keep pushing it, and you're going to save a life. At least
one, if not, hopefully several."
9.
August 15, 2012
Wall Street
Journal
Drownings Rise in Heat Wave –
Accidents Haunt Crowds Flocking to Midwest Beaches in Search of a Cool Place
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444233104577591632537807936.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
10. August 14, 2012
The Richard
Piet Show
WKZO Radio
“New Number on Drownings in Great
Lakes”
Updated rip
current survival strategy called Flip, Float, and Follow, created by the
Michigan Sea Grant. The standard for rip
current survival, “Don’t panic. Swim Parallel” [may not always work]… [Listen
to pod cast. Lots of Flip, Float, Follow
info.]
11. August 10, 2012
NBC Chicago
Chicago's,
Brant Miller, getting the Flip, Float, Follow message out to the public during
his weather forecast. http://www.nbcchicago.com/video/#!/weather/video/Forecast--Beautiful-Weekend-/165792776
12. August 10, 2012
Chicago Tribune
“August a deadly month for Lake
Michigan rip currents – Wind, waves, crowds can make a dangerous combination”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-rip-currents-0810-20120810,0,5832654.story If a
swimmer gets in a rip current, the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project recommends
that the person roll on his or her back and float to determine which way the
current is moving. Then the person should swim perpendicular to the current and
once out of it, back toward shore.
13. August 7, 2012
ABC 7 Chicago
“Warning about rip currents on
Lake Michigan”
"If you're
a poor swimmer, continue floating. As long as you're floating, you're alive. As
long as you are struggling you are drowning," said Benjamin.
14. August 7, 2012
WGN 9 Chicago
“Report: 69 Great Lake drownings
so far in 2012”
The Great Lakes
Surf Rescue Project recommends people know the signs of drowning and rip
currents. If you ever get caught in a dangerous current, experts say: flip,
float and follow.
15. August 7, 2012
WGN 9 Chicago
“Report: 69
Great Lake drownings so far in 2012”
16. July 26, 2012
Post-Tribune
“Our view: Great lake can mean
great peril”
The Great Lakes
Surf Rescue Project wants to help by educating people on ways to protect themselves
from drowning with a “Flip, Float, Follow” slogan similar to “Stop, Drop and
Roll.”
17. July 21, 2012
Northland News
Center
“Swimmers, Rescue Officials Learn
To Survive Rip Currents”
"If you're
ever caught in a rip current, flip, float and follow," Dave Benjamin,
Executive Director at the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, said. Dave Benjamin,
of the Great Lakes Rescure project says the advice is similar to the
"stop, drop, and roll" technique from the fire prevention services. "Float
to keep your head above water. Float to conserve your energy and float to calm
yourself down from the panic," Dave Benjamin, Executive Director at the
Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, said. Experts say the key is to asses which
way the current is pulling you while floating. The standard for rip current
survival is to swim parallel with the shore, but Benjamin says that may not
always work and to swim against the movement of the water.
18. July 21, 2012
WDIO
“Water Safety Class Educates
Swimmers on Rip Currents”
If you find
yourself in a rip current, Pratt says you should float on your back and let the
current sweep you out. Once you're able to swim, he recommends swimming parallel
to the shore until you're able to swim out of the current and back to safety.
19. July 10, 2012
Post-Tribune
“Jerry Davich: Drowning latest
reminder of lake’s deceptive ferocity”
It is working
with the Michigan Sea Grant’s “Flip, Float, Follow” rip current survival strategy,
to develop a national curriculum similar to the Fire Prevention Services’
“Stop, Drop and Roll” program. “Ask
anyone anywhere in the United States and they probably know ‘Stop, Drop and
Roll,’” he aptly noted, hoping “Flip, Float, Follow” can catch on as well.
That’s a start, and hopefully more local officials will consider working with
his group. Or erecting memorial signs to warn oblivious or overly daring
swimmers.
20. July 10, 2012
WGN Chicago
“Emergency docs concerned about
rise in area drownings”
Flip, Float,
and Follow at end of news segment
21. July 2, 2012
WWMT
“Summer Water Safety: Rip
Currents”
"We
recommend you use flip, float and follow," Pratt said. "Flip over on
to your back and calm down because panic is really what kills people; float and
see what direction the current is taking you, and follow the safest course of
action back to shore."
22. June 23, 2012
MLIVE
Great Lakes swimming demands
keeping kids within an arm's reach, surf rescue group advises
He recommended
that all Great Lakes swimmers learn the "flip, float, follow" technique
to use if they do get caught in rip currents. That strategy advises swimmers to flip onto their backs and float,
allowing time to calm down, then to
follow the current long enough to learn which direction it is carrying
them-- not always straight out from shore. This gives swimmers a chance to
signal for help, or to swim at an angle out of the current. "The biggest message is if you are
floating, you're head's above water and you're alive. Don't expend energy
swimming against the current," Benjamin said.
23. June 21, 2012
'Watching not enough when beach
packed'
Wood TV
NDPA's 2011
Lifesaver of the Year, Bob Pratt, of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project in
studio with WOOD TV 8 speaking about water safety. (NOTE: there are two videos.
Bob is on the second video. Second NOTE: Michigan Sea Grant created the Flip,
Float, Follow Rip Current Survival technique. GLSRP is advocating it.)
24. June 13, 2012
WGN 9 Chicago
Teen taken to hospital after
drowning incident
At the end of
the video clip, the current drowning stats (25) are mentioned, and there's a
phone interview with Bob Pratt and he acknowledges the Michigan Sea Grant’s
Flip, Float, Follow rip current survival campaign.
25. June 3, 2012
WNDU
Swimmers learn how to handle rip
currents at free class
26. May 30, 2012
Medill Reports
Chicago
Drowning spikes 82 percent over
last year
“If you are
already in the water and unable to reach safe shore, try flip, float and
follow. The rescue project suggests that people flip over onto their backs and
then float to keep the head above water and conserve energy. The third step is
to follow or flow with the current to save energy. “Most current dissipates
quickly as people move away from the shore into deeper water,” Benjamin said.
“Ride it out, figure out which direction the water is flowing and swim
perpendicular to the current toward shore.”
27. May 31, 2012
ABC 57
Saving Lives This Summer
It's also
important to educate your children about the waters and watch them for the
entirety of their time in the water. For instance, 10-year old Juliette
Benjamin has been swimming since she was three, and knows exactly what to do in
a rip current. "Flip, float and
follow. Flip on your back to calm yourself down. float to conserve energy, and
follow the rip current to determine which way it is carrying you then swim
diagonally to the shore for help" said Benjamin.
28. May 30, 2012
WKZP Radio
Interview
29. May 26, 2012
MLIVE
New advice for rip current escape
may help Great Lakes swimmers this summer
Swimmers caught
in the grip of a rip current may have a new weapon to fight back—an easy-
to-remember, easy-to-use strategy to get out of the current and allow retreat
to shore or rescue. "Flip, float
and follow," advises the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Group, water safety
experts who have been studying ways to help prevent drownings in the Great
Lakes. Bob Pratt, educational director
for the group, said current advice for getting out of rip currents — swim
perpendicular to shore instead of against the current -- is generally sound:
Stay calm to conserve energy, swim out of the current in a direction following
the shoreline, then, when out, swim at an angle -- away from the current --
toward shore.
Additional links coming soon...
