GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - The NSRI is urging people to be extremely cautious near the coast this weekend and during the December holiday period.

Besides the spring tide, bathers and boaters at the coast and at inland rivers, dams and lakes and swimming pools are urged to be careful during the holiday season.

The full moon spring tide peaks on Sunday, 3 December.

Bathers and shoreline anglers are most at risk.

High tides and low tides will increase in intensity, peaking on 3 December and then gradually decline in intensity until about 8 December.

Then the next spring tide, a new moon spring tide, peaks on 18 December.

Spring tide happens twice every month, at full moon and at new moon.

It causes stronger than normal rip currents.

There are two high tides and two low tides every day. 

Rip currents are caused when the water reaching the shoreline in waves, swells and sea currents retreats back into the sea (a river of water retreating through the incoming swells back out into the sea).

There are two types of rip currents:

1. Permanent rip currents - found alongside islands, rocky outcrops jutting into the sea, at river mouths, in between reefs and alongside harbour walls and piers, are found constantly occurring in the same place allowing the water reaching the shoreline to retreat back into the sea in the permanent rip current. 

2. Temporary rip currents - found along beach fronts (along the shoreline) and they are forever changing their position and are unpredictable and can form suddenly along a beach front without warning at different places along the shore front throughout the day.

When caught in a rip-current Bathers should not panic.

Simply stay afloat by treading water (moving your arms and legs in circular movements); don’t try to swim against the current as it will only cause you exhaustion and let the current sweep you out to sea but at your first opportunity swim parallel to the beach front until you are free of the rip current and then use the incoming waves to get back to shore.

While this is happening scream for help and wave to alert people on the beach to raise the alarm.

Advice to bathers
Swim at beaches only where lifeguards are on duty and obey the instructions of the lifeguards and only swim within the safe swimming zones lifeguards mark (using their red and yellow flags).

Children should have responsible adult supervision around coastal and inland waters.

Anglers fishing along the shoreline, particularly along rocks on the shoreline, are at greatest risk during the Spring Tide where incoming waves during the high tides engulf higher than normal over rocks.

Anglers should not turn their back to the sea and should be vigilant and cautious of the wave action at all times while fishing.

Advice for boating safety
Boaters, paddlers, sail boarders and anyone launching any kind of craft onto water should wear their life-jackets at all times while on water and carry easily accessible safety equipment - red distress flares, communications cellphone or VHF radio with fully charged batteries in water tight plastic sleeves, a waterproof torch, highly visible neon coloured clothing, a referee whistle worn around the neck. 

Let a responsible person know your time of departure, your exact intended route and your estimated return time and check in with the responsible person on your safe return. 

If you are overdue the responsible person should raise the alarm without hesitation.

All coastal paddlers and boaters are urged to download the free cellphone application NSRI RSA SafeTrx which allows a user to program their route into the cellphone app and in an emergency alert sea rescue authorities who can determine the exact position of the user in an emergency.

'We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news'