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A visit to the beach can be good fun but sometimes things don’t always go as planned. In this activity you can find out what happens when something does go wrong. There are three different situations to choose from. Decide what to do and then find out the consequence of each choice.
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Scene 1 - You are walking your dog along the pier. Your dog falls in the water chasing after a ball you have thrown for him. You are a good swimmer. You are on your own but there are other people on the pier. You do not have a mobile phone with you. You live 15 minutes drive from the beach. Your dog can paddle, but the current is extremely strong around the pier and he is being pulled under. What do you do?
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1. Dive in and try to rescue your dog.
What might happen?
There is a strong chance that neither you nor your dog will survive. A recent news story told of someone who tried to rescue their dog with tragic consequences.
2. Ask to borrow someone’s phone and call your mum / dad.
What might happen?
Whilst you might feel comforted by speaking to your mum and dad at first, they are unlikely to be able to get there in time, and you have wasted valuable time calling them whilst your dog struggles in the water and becomes increasingly tired. You may be too late.
3. Ask to borrow a phone, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.
What might happen?
The RNLI would come and help, though the dog may self rescue before they get to you. This is the best route to summon help.
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Scene 2 - You are on holiday with your family. One day you go to the beach with your older brother while the rest of your family go shopping. You stop to look in the rock pools; your brother carries on walking around the headland. After a while you realise the tide is coming in fast and is about to cut off the headland. There is no sign of your brother. What do you do?
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1. Walk round the headland to look for him.
What might happen?
There is a chance that your brother has walked around the headland and climbed up the steps and is back home. However if he is stranded you might also end up being in danger and cut off by the tide.
2. Contact the coastguard.
What might happen?
If your brother has managed to go up the steps before the tide came in you would be wasting the coastguard’s time, but if he is injured you might just save his life. This is the best solution.
3. Do nothing, he’s old enough to know what he is doing.
What might happen?
He might be safe and sound back home. However if he isn’t back home this could mean he is still out on the beach somewhere and in danger.
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Scene 3 - You are having fun swimming in the sea by yourself when you suddenly realise you have gone outside the red and yellow flag area.
You try to turn back but feel yourself gripped in a strong riptide current that starts to carry you out to sea. What do you do?
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1. Try to swim for the shore.
What might happen?
You get very tired, even a strong swimmer will struggle against a rip current. The danger is you will become so tried you will get carried out to sea. Swimming alone also means there is no one there to help you.
2. Raise your hand and shout for help.
What might happen?
You have a good chance of being spotted by the lifeguard. However if you panic and stay in the current you could become so tired that the lifeguard may not be able to rescue you in time.
3. Stay calm, swim parallel to the beach and shout for help.
What might happen?
Staying calm while swimming parallel to the beach until you are out of the rip current will help get you out of trouble and then you can swim back to shore safely either with or without the help of the Lifeguard. This is the best solution. |
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