Inflatables, rip currents and more: How to stay safe in the sea this bank holiday weekend

As the temperatures continue to soar, we are all heading to the beach.

How to keep safe if you're going swimming in the sea

Temperatures are expected to exceed 20 degrees in Munster over the June bank holiday weekend, and many of us will be heading to the beach. Caroline Casey, a Water Safety Development Officer with Cork County Council, has given us some tips for staying safe on the beach and around water this summer. 

Supervise your kids 

"Supervise your kids at all times on the sand and in the water, what we mean by that is holding their hand. In the blink of an eye a child can wander off."

Water and alcohol 

"Alcohol and water don't mix. You get dehydrated in this kind of weather anyway and bringing alcohol into the mix will make you more dehydrated. Having said that, alcohol is never acceptable when you're going into the water. 

Inflatables

Caroline urges everyone to understand that inflatables are not appropriate for the beach. 

"Inflatables, like lilos and blow-up beds shouldn't ever, ever used on open water. If there's an offshore breeze you can get blown out to sea.

"We don't allow them on the lifeguarded beaches in Cork and if you come down here we will explain to you why."

Rip currents

Caroline warns about the danger and unpredictability of rip currents when open water swimming.

"Be aware of rip currents in the area where you're swimming. Don't swim in strange places and if you are going swimming, just make sure you know how to recognize a rip current. If you swim at lifeguarded beaches they will have the area safe for you to swim noted by putting two flags on the beach, red and yellow flags and you swim between the flags, close and parallel to the shore. 

Don't swim alone

Caroline added it's vital to never swim on your own.

"If you're going into difficulty, there's nobody there to raise the alarm. If you see somebody in difficulty ring 999 or 112 and ask for the coast guard. It's very important in this kind of weather that you swim on a lifeguarded beach.

Sunscreen 

"If you're swimming make sure you have sun cream on and you're staying hydrated and you're reapplying your sunscreen on a regular basis."

Caroline also asks people not to park in emergency bays as they can hinder emergency services from doing their jobs. 

"We really appreciate beach users taking our advice on board" Caroline adds. 

This article was first published on June 18, 2022