[SamAdams76]

I've vacationed on the Outer Banks several times. The surf there is among the strongest I've ever experienced. I love just walking out there and getting pounded by the waves.

I'm also a very strong swimmer. I've been caught in rip tides a few times. Just don't panic. Just let the current take you and eventually you will find yourself able to swim to the side of it (parallel to the shore), then you can let the waves carry you back to the shore. You will almost definitely be in water well over your head at this point.

If you are not comfortable being in water over your head, you have no business getting in the ocean in water over your kneecaps.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Good to know.

[blackdog]

You have to be comfortable treading water as you seem to be getting flushed out to sea. Then you can head north or south once the rip loses its energy.

I went to college near Sebastian Inlet in Florida. I was a beach bum, only doing school at nights. Several times I found myself two miles off the coastline. I am a very strong swimmer and comfortable in the ocean.

[Jamestown1630]

"The surf there is among the strongest I've ever experienced.

I almost drowned there one Summer; not even from a rip current, but the day after a storm when the backrush was powerful. I think it's one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it can be very dangerous if you aren't a strong and knowledgeable swimmer, which I wasn't. The bottom is always shifting - I've seen a lady caught in a rip very close to shore; fortunately she was saved, but it was terrifying to see how fast it pulled her along and how helpless she seemed.

[redgolum]

We go to Nags Head alot.

I don’t go very far out for this reason. And the sharks on the sound side make me curious.