Boost Your Blue IQ

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HOST: This is the NOAA Ocean Podcast. I’m your host, Allison Burrell. The ocean and coasts can be a place of recreation, but without proper knowledge, unknown hazards can turn a sunny day into a traumatic experience. In the United States, lifeguards conduct over 10,000 beach rescues on average each year. This stands as a stark reminder of how quickly fun in the surf can turn dangerous. Tides and currents have the power to carry you away from the shoreline into deeper or more hazardous waters, and even a small wave can sweep you off your feet. In this episode, we’ll discuss wave safety and Blue IQ tips to stay safe in the surf. Today, we’re joined by Bruckner Chase, an ocean lifeguard, endurance ocean athlete, and expert on all things ocean and coastal beach safety. Let’s jump right into our conversation with Bruckner to learn more about boosting our Blue IQs and becoming savvy swimmers at the shore this summer. Now let’s dive in…

HOST: The weather is warming up and summer’s approaching. People are going to begin to flock to the beaches and shorelines around the United States and beyond. What should everyone know about the water to stay safe when they visit the beach?

CHASE: The most important thing to know is the coastal forecast. Too often at home, we just want to know, are we going to be comfortable or are we going to stay dry? But at the beach, we also want to stay safe. And that means checking a coastal forecast that can be put out by the National Weather Services' weather forecasting offices, serving the beach area as close as possible to the one you're visiting. That's going to include, not just forecast of winds and waves and swell and water reports, but also tide predictions, stuff that can dramatically impact your experience on the beach for you and your family. So check that weather report as close as possible to the beach you're visiting, because even a weather report from say an airport 30 miles inland might be dramatically different from what you would see down at the beach. Also know that even if it's sunny at the beach, even distant storms out in the ocean can dramatically impact what the waves are doing close to shore.

HOST: That's great. So this is boosting your Blue IQ?

CHASE: Yes we are. We want to raise your Blue IQ. We want to make sure that you are a genius every time you step onto the beach.

HOST: Where should someone go to better prepare or educate themselves about the coast they’re going to visit?

CHASE: A lot of the weather forecasting offices that serve coastal areas will put out a coastal forecast. It’ll tell you more detailed information about what might be happening near shore and just off shore that could impact the experience of a beachgoer. Also, there are other resources you can search for a surf forecast. Which often surf forecasts will put ocean conditions in context of what's happening at that beach. Even if you're not a surfer, if you're just going out into the water on a boogie board or swimming or playing in the waves, that surf forecast may let you know what it's going to feel like when you're standing on the sand right there. And then aside from looking up information before you go, always when you arrive at the beach, check with the lifeguards, look for signs and posted warnings, that will tell you what's going on right here, right now. Because sometimes at the coast — fog is one example — it might be completely clear as you're driving there, but dense fog might completely eclipse what you can see when you're at the beach. So staying situationally aware and knowing that you can arrive with great information, but what's happening right in front of you is really the thing that should dictate what you do next.

HOST: Ocean lifeguards, they're not always just sitting up in their perch looking at the beach. They're also down on the sand, walking back and forth surveying the ocean. I sometimes find it hard to find a lifeguard. Is there any advice you have for that?

CHASE: Well, different ocean lifeguard agencies may set up and guard very differently. If you visit beaches in Southern California, where the guard stands are positioned and how many there are on a stretch of beach is going to be dramatically different than what you might experience, say in Ocean City, New Jersey, where you're going to find lifeguard stands with two or three people in them right at the water's edge, and you'll see those stands every 200 or 300 meters. A lot of it has to do with how many people are visiting that beach and how that agency has decided this is the best way to protect these areas. And some areas, some state beaches in more remote areas, may only have roving lifeguard patrols, truck based, so there may not be a stand. So when you arrive at the beach, before you arrive, find out where the lifeguards might be guarding the beaches, and then once you get there, are those guards on duty? Are those stands staffed right now? Because also in early season, before a lifeguard agency is fully staffed up, there may be a certain number of beaches that aren't yet guarded. And you want to make guarded beaches during guarded hours your first choice.

HOST: Out of all the beach hazards, rip currents are well known. Can you explain for our listeners what exactly is a rip current?

CHASE: Yeah, a rip current is something that a lot of people have heard. In simplest terms, a rip current is a narrow band of water that's moving from the beach back out into the ocean. Typically not more than maybe 20 or 30 yards wide, although there are exceptions where it can be wider or more narrow, but they are moving out towards the ocean. So for someone who's unsuspecting that they might be in one, they may be pulling them further and further away from dry sand and safety. But it's that narrow channel of water that is water that's been brought up by waves moving back out into the ocean.

HOST: What should I do if I got caught in one and pulled further and further away from the shore into deep water very quickly?

CHASE: What's really important to know is whether it's a rip current or a long beach current, currents can move you from where you are to maybe somewhere where you don't want to be that might be further offshore or it might be along the beach into a dangerous situation next to a jetty or a pier. Some currents can move very, very fast. Rip currents or tidal currents near inlets can move very fast. Sometimes they can move much more slowly, but that movement can be relentless and so slow that you may not realize you're being pulled into danger until you've got a long fight back to dry sand and safety. If you feel yourself being moved in a direction that you don't want to go, try to stay calm. If nothing else, try to stay calm, maybe float on your back, if you're not in breaking waves, and signal to someone else on shore. Try to activate, or have someone activate for you, a rescue response from professional rescuers and give them time to get to you. If you are a strong swimmer, if you can recognize the direction the current is taking you and swim perpendicular to that direction, so that you get out of the current and then navigate your way back to the beach, is the best way to get out of it. But the most important thing is, relax. Try to stay calm, give others the time to get to you or make sure that you take a moment to make the next right decision so you get back to the beach safely.

HOST: So, harnessing my natural buoyancy in salt water can help in this situation?

CHASE: Yeah, salt water does make you a little bit more buoyant, but if you panic, if you tense up and try to fight, that's often going to move you in the opposite direction you want to be, which is relax, stay afloat, make that good decision to either signal to others or navigate out of the current and then back to the beach safely. Most people, if they can keep their face above water, if they can breathe and they're not feeling themselves go under, will stay a lot calmer. If you can try to relax, roll over on your back and keep your mouth and face above the water and just try to breathe, will buy you time and perhaps conserve energy so you can then navigate back on your own or, like we said, give others time to reach you.

HOST: Right, and there's not much you can do to practice or to be prepared for being in this situation. But, that is one thing you can do, is practice floating on your back in the ocean.

CHASE: Yeah, and I think that it is a great life skill to know how to swim, and that's always a starting point. And what people need to recognize, though, is learning to swim in the pool and being a competent pool swimmer doesn't necessarily translate to ocean conditions that you may find yourself in. And just recognize that I'm a really strong swimmer in the pool, but I've never been out in the ocean before. I've never been held under by a wave before. I've never had to swim out through chop or white water and stuff and recognize that sometimes, regardless of how good of a swimmer you are, your best day at the beach might be on the sand. So as far as preparing for the ocean, again, we talk about always making guarded beaches your first choice and not swimming alone, being with others that maybe are more confident in the water or know how to navigate waves, how to get in and out through surf safely so they're not taking every wave right in the chest and it's driving them into trouble. So learning from others, learning from lifeguards, learning suggestions on what to do, and the more experiences you have in the ocean and you realize this is how I get back to the shore, this is how things change, this is how these currents are moving. Staying situationally aware, whether you're in the water or watching others to keep them safe, will increase your experience base and knowledge of what goes on and how to get back out of potentially dangerous situations safely.

HOST: So let's think about if I'm on the other end of it, if I'm on shore and I see a family member or a friend, or even a stranger in distress in trouble in the ocean, what should I do?

CHASE: It's a really, really important question and there's a significant number of fatal drownings and non-fatal drownings for what we call “drowning for love.” When someone sees a loved one or family or friend in trouble and they charge out to save them or to help them. What we're telling people, the message we've come up with with NOAA and National Weather Service is “take ten,” which is an emotional pause to make the next right decision to protect yourself first and then potentially save others. And what that really boils down to is, even a lifeguard sitting on the beach will not just run out into the water. Before we go out to save someone, we're going to grab a flotation device, we may call out over the radio that we've got a rescue in front of us, we may raise a flag or blow a whistle and alert someone else, so we're not going out there alone and unprepared. So taking a little bit of an example from that, that emotional pause, that “take ten,” signal to others, maybe signal to a lifeguard that's back on a stand back beach and doesn't see yet the person in trouble, but signal to others, possibly have someone call 911. The idea first is to keep yourself safe. So is there something on the beach that will allow you to throw a float to someone, or help you reach further with a rope or a towel, so you can pull someone to safety while you stay safe. Often if you can see or maybe even talk to the person or signal to them, encourage them to stay calm. Encourage them to float on their back, let the current take them or stay calm to give professional rescuers time to get to them.

HOST: I love the idea of taking a towel with you. If you do have to go in the water to try to rescue someone, bringing a towel or if you can, some kind of flotation device, but a towel is something that everybody brings to the beach. They can grab it easily.

CHASE: Even lifeguards are trained that you don't want to make direct physical contact with someone who's panicking because they're going to grab you and possibly take you down with them. And lifeguards, we're trained in how to respond if that happens, but we're usually going to try to put a flotation device or something, a board, between us and that victim, get them stable and then navigate back to shore. So that towel or something else that allows you to maintain some distance away from them where you can possibly pull them into safety so you don't both become tragic victims.

HOST: Are there any other things, like a whistle, that's important to bring to the beach?

CHASE: Yeah, having something like a whistle so you can signal to others, maybe the cell phone doesn't work so well at that beach location or you need to signal to someone else along the beach and it's tough to yell. Whistles that many lifeguards have as a standard practice on the beach isn't a bad idea to have with you if you're just going there with your family to signal to others.

HOST: So I want to recognize that everyone comes to the beach with different swimming abilities, including those with disabilities. Is there different advice you would give to someone who maybe moves slower in and out of the water or needs assistance? How can they stay safe in the ocean?

CHASE: Well, a lot of people, they will arrive at the beach or at the water with different levels of swimming ability or water confidence. How well can they move through the water? How confident are they in deep water? Have they been there before? But regardless of what they bring with them, the ocean is going to demand what they need to be. The ocean conditions right in front of you. Your swimming ability and swimming water confidence needs to match the conditions in front of you. Often at beaches you'll see a flag system, red being the highest level of risk, yellow being more moderate level of risk, green being the lowest level of risk, but still demanding attention and awareness of — it's still an ocean environment. And then some people with special physical needs, that may not be able to get out of a dangerous situation on dry sand or out of the water as quickly, they need to account for that extra time or that extra level of help that they might need. We want everyone to be able to have a great positive experience on the beach. And a lot of times it's just recognizing this is what I can do, this is the limit of my ability in these conditions, and this is how I need to choose how I'm going to experience the beach today.

HOST: If you are someone with a disability that's visiting the beach and it might take you longer to get in and out of the water, would notifying a lifeguard that you're there be helpful ahead of time?

CHASE: Yeah absolutely. And I think that if you know it is more challenging for you to get across the sand or in and out of the water it might take extra time, letting a lifeguard that might be at that stand because you chose a guarded beach first…letting them know “hey, I'm going out here, is there anything I need to know?” and “just want to let you know I was out there.” Even as an experienced swimmer myself, if I'm visiting a new beach I will always first go check in with the lifeguard, even knowing that it's an okay place to swim the lifeguards there. If I know I'm going to swim out I'm going to swim to this buoy and then across, I'm going to check in and go “hey, just want to let you know I'm going to be out there.” I will tell you that lifeguards really respect that. You are letting them know so they don't need to add that to another thing that they're not sure what's going on and who that person is. I will tell you that lifeguards would appreciate that.

HOST: And then they could give you specific information about that beach?

CHASE: Yeah, they may have information to share with you that you wouldn't even have thought to ask because it might not have been common sense. Like, a lot of times we said you know it's, “know before you go,” but sometimes we don't even know what questions to ask. But, if you're checking in with a lifeguard they may give you information that you would have thought: ”Man, I didn't even know I didn't know that. I didn't even know that that was really important to know.”

HOST: Yeah, consulting the experts.

CHASE: Yeah, let them get the lifeguards on your team for that beach visit.

HOST: Is there ever any advice for someone with a lower ability to swim to wear a flotation device into the ocean?

CHASE: Yeah, absolutely. Whether it's young kids or someone visiting the ocean for the first time, or on a body of water, coastal safety, boating safety, wearing life jackets, Coast Guard approved life jackets will always keep you safer. That is one of the most standard recommendations if you're at a large body of water and having a personal flotation device Coast Guard approved will be a first step towards making that experience stay safe. And if you've got young people going to the beach for the first time, putting on a life jacket so maybe they can be out in the water, but recognizing that'll keep them afloat, it won't necessarily keep them away from breaking waves, submerged hazards, getting pushed along by currents and stuff. There are other dangers that just a life jacket won't necessarily address. But also relying on flotation devices that aren't designed to be life saving devices can also be dangerous.

HOST: The ones that are official, they have like a tag on them or something to delineate?

CHASE: Well the U.S. Coast Guard will recognize personal flotation devices as being a category that's appropriate for this use. But often you will see if you see open water swimmers or triathletes maybe out training, some of them are pulling a small orange float behind them. Now those are, yes they will allow them to rest on them, but those are not something that's designed for life saving. It may save a life, it may keep them afloat, it may make them more visible so it makes them safer. But then you look at a flotation device like a lifeguard’s rescue tube or a lifeguard’s rescue can. Those are flotation devices that are designed for rescuing someone or keeping someone safe. They're designed to be used in an open water environment, in a high stress rescue situation and something like that is designed for that, versus yes a boogie board or a float on the beach, may help save someone if they're in trouble. But they are not necessarily the choice of a professional safety flotation device.

HOST: Right, because you'd have to hold on to something and keep holding on versus something that's clipped on you and secured.

CHASE: Well, or they might be something that might be punctured and then go flat or they may not have enough buoyancy to actually keep someone afloat. You know a lifeguard’s rescue tube or rescue can has to have a certain amount of buoyancy built into it to be used on the beach. So if you've got something that might look really big, but it may not be able to float someone then again it may not help. Or if it pops or deflates — which a lifeguard’s rescue can or rescue tube will not do.

HOST: Speaking of being visible, I know when you go to the beach I don't think they're thinking about “can somebody see me if I'm in distress?” Do you have any recommendations for bathing suit color?

CHASE: Well I mean, if you watch professional lifeguards race, or if you watch triathletes or open water swimmers they're wearing bright colored swim caps, because it's easy to identify a bright colored swim cap out in the water. So for lifeguards or people looking over the safety of those individuals you can spot them and you can see them. In professional lifeguard races we're often wearing a very neon bright colored top so it's easy to spot people if they get into trouble in the water. If something happens you know someone's unconscious and you need to see them you can find them quickly. But for the average beach goer mostly just playing in the waves, if they're at a guarded beach someone's going to be watching for them specifically. But if you're someone training for an open water swim or something like that, always make something that's high visibility your first choice. That might be one of those orange floats that we talked about, bright colored swim cap. We have a group of masters ocean swimmers up on the Jersey shore that go out every week and one of the things that they must have with them at all times is a bright colored swim cap so that we can see where they are and track them through the water.

HOST: One of the recommendations to stay safe at the beach is to not swim alone. Always have a buddy when you go into the ocean. Or does that mean if one person is going into the ocean and the other one is staying on the beach and keeping track of them, does that count?

CHASE: Well, never swim alone. I mean, when you're out in dynamic water like an ocean or a large lake or something where there's a dynamic condition, maybe there's currents or waves or it's really dramatically impacted by winds or weather, dynamic open water. Going out alone will always put you at greater risk if something happens. I've been doing this for a long time and I know that I have still been caught by surprise and I live at the beach and I'm in the water almost on a daily basis year-round. Things can happen and you'll hear often about water watchers. Often that's referred to in a pool situation where there's someone whose job at that point is just to watch everyone else in the water. Whether it's younger kids or just family or friends, they're watching to see where everybody is in addition to maybe a lifeguard being there. A lifeguard may be watching the whole crowd, but it's maybe someone in your group just keeping an eye on your friends and family and possibly kids.

HOST: So, with all of this talk about the dangers of swimming in the ocean, how can someone develop skills to feel safer when visiting the beach?

CHASE: The ocean can be dangerous, but so can walking on trails. So what we want to do is go aware of conditions. You plan for a hike in the mountains, you plan for a day on the beach, maybe you plan for a surf session or a kayak session or a swim session at the beach. So by perhaps going with people that are more experienced, from whom you can learn how to surf or paddle or kayak or be out on the ocean, but also aware of specific coastal conditions that you need to know about: tides and how they might impact currents or how they might impact submerged hazards, so that danger is not something you're not prepared for or expecting. You know what to do so that ocean and beach visit is always positive. And again, recognizing that the unexpected can happen and really being able to assess this is what I'm comfortable with, this is what I know and if you're looking out at the water and it just doesn't quite seem like that's something you're familiar with or ready for, that might be the day to stay on the sand. We say in terms of getting into the water, if you don't know about your ability and what you're seeing in front of you, then don't go.

HOST: When it comes to beach safety I've heard the term the myth of common sense. What is that and how does it apply in beach safety?

CHASE: Well I think it really applies a lot in how we talk about what people need to know. People know not to go out in ocean conditions like that — it should be common sense — but common sense is predicated on shared common experiences and a shared interpretation of those experiences. So if someone has never been to the ocean before, or never been hit by even a two foot wave before, they're not going to know how hard that hit might be. It's not necessarily common sense if you've never experienced that before. And, so really it is understanding the conditions and that some conditions we need to explain to people that may not have ever seen them, or been in them before, so they can make good decisions to keep themselves safe. They may not know that maybe they were here last year but storms significantly changed that beach and it's not the same, it's not safe now. It's not common sense to go “well I'll go back to the place that I was at last year,” because the ocean and the beaches are dynamic environments that can change a lot from year to year.

HOST: Right, and like you were saying how the waves can be dramatically different from the East Coast of the United States to the West. If you've spent your entire life on the East Coast and you're visiting the West Coast for the first time it might not be common sense to look for a sneaker wave or moving logs.

CHASE: Exactly. I grew up in Tennessee and had to learn what a lot of these ocean conditions might mean to me or friends or family when we're visiting the beach. And it was only through years of being around this, and being around experts and seeing how these weather conditions may shape the shore, or shape the water, and how they might impact the people that are in that environment. It was a development of a lot of common experiences and seeing what that means to me or to others in the water, that now it becomes something that we need to communicate to others that may not have those years of experience there. And that's really why it's always great to make a guarded beach and lifeguard your first choice. Because more often than not they know that water, they know those conditions, and they can help it make sense to you and what you're prepared for and what you need to know so that you and your family stay safe.

HOST: I mean I've looked up the weather before going to the beach just to see if it's going to rain. I think that's about the extent. But actually going to the Weather Service website and looking at more detailed information about the beach or the coast near where I'm going to visit. That would tell me like the temperature of the ocean because I remember one time I went it was 102 degrees out but the ocean was freezing.

CHASE: Yeah, often weather forecasting offices that put coastal forecasts out they may include water temperatures that will include swell reports, swell direction, wind directions on the water, also NOAA data buoys. If there is a buoy in the ocean near that beach that'll give you an indication of what the water temperatures might be. There you know you can also ask often lifeguard stands or lifeguard headquarters will have a whiteboard behind them where it'll tell you this is what the swell is doing this is what the tide is doing this is what the water temperature is. So if you get in the water whether you intended to go in there or didn't intend to go in there, you know what to expect. And knowing what to expect is always a really good first step to stay calm when you're out there. You just want to make the most of your experience out there.

HOST: What about lightning?

CHASE: Lightning can strike on a beach miles ahead of where the actual front is. So at the beach we always tell people when you hear thunder it's time to start clearing the beach because often it takes longer to get to safety when you're on the beach than it is if you're, you know, in a campground or in your backyard or on a playing field. It's a little bit harder to clear the beach and get to safety and you need to factor that in.

HOST: You know when I'm thinking about beach safety, for example the Jersey Shore, where there's hundreds of people and everybody's bringing their kids. But there's also the National Marine Sanctuaries that have beaches that you might just be hiking along and visiting and their websites have information as well.

CHASE: And National Marine Sanctuaries have coastal elements, like the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has obviously the whole coastline and marshlands around Monterey Bay. So National Marine Sanctuaries that do touch the shore may include information about conditions that you know close to shore as opposed to way offshore. Also, many state and national parks may have their own forecast or predictions for that location as well as signs indicating, where are there safe places to go? Where to get help if you find yourself in trouble. What's a safe path down to the beach? What's a safe path back out of the beach? If something happens or if you see someone else in trouble and you're calling 911 or alerting others, the more accurate you can be in telling them where something's happening then they will be able to get there faster and respond faster.

HOST: That's a good point. Not only knowing exactly where you are but being able to recognize landmarks. Because once you get down there sometimes every part of the beach looks exactly the same and there's no signs that say you know, fourth street exit, sixth street exit.

CHASE: Yeah it can be tough. I live on the South Jersey shore. It's where I work as an ocean lifeguard, where I swim and play and train in the water, and often a lot of that coastline all looks the same, and it's really tough so you need to pay attention to it. If you do see someone in trouble or see an accident happen, as accurate as you can be that lets professional rescuers get there quick. It might mean the difference between whether it's a fatal drowning or non-fatal drowning or just an assist to get someone back to safety.

HOST: Yeah because a lot of times when you're going down the beach you're driving around trying to find a parking spot. You might not know exactly where you ended up parking so just making sure you know as best as you can these landmarks and directions.

CHASE: Yeah, I think just to restate, when we talked about when you first arrive at the beach, what do you do? What we tell people is, from a safe, dry place, often elevated, maybe at the top of the dunes before you walk over there…spend a few minutes surveying the area, where do you see access points to and from the beach? So if you need to get out of there fast, where can you get back to the road, back off the beach? What landmarks do you see? Is it a pier, is it a jetty, is it a water tower? Is it a unique color on a house's roof? What signs are out that might tell you about dangers from marine life, to hidden dangers, to strong currents, that say maybe don't swim here. Or maybe it says “no lifeguard on duty” or “remote beach: don't go in the water.” Usually there's a good reason for that. So surveying from that safe dry place. Do you see flags, warning signs, landmarks? So that you make sure that that beach day stays really fun for everyone heading there and you know also might give you an indication that yeah let's visit this beach but we're going to stay on the sand.

HOST: I've heard the statistic that approximately 100 people lose their lives from beach drownings each year in the United States. Is this accurate?

CHASE: Well, the National Weather Service tracks surf zone fatalities, looking at reports of where people had a fatal drowning in a coastal area, and that would include the Great Lakes. And typically they're tracking around 100 per year, so that is one source for fatal drownings. And yeah, it's been about 100 per year.

HOST: Beyond those that lose their lives, there's still a lot more people that are affected by traumatic experiences at the beach?

CHASE: Yeah, I mean, a lot of times you will hear news reports talking about fatal drownings. And we just discussed the fact that there are roughly 100 fatal coastal drownings per year. But for every single fatal drowning, there could be three to four times that number of non-fatal drownings that still required hospitalization. So that could mean traumatic life-changing injuries, either traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries that could also really change the trajectory of someone's life and those around them. And then also looking at just the number of rescues. The U.S. Lifeguard Association in a given year may perform over 10,000 rescues. Now, some of those might be relatively simple assists, where they just help someone get their feet back on the sand and get back in. Some of them may be much more involved and cause a lot more trauma to the person being rescued and the people with them, as well as the rescuers. So, really, we want you to have a positive experience on the beach and recognize it's not just the fatal drownings. Even a non-fatal drowning, even a traumatic rescue, could really impact you and your family, not just for the rest of that beach visit, for years to come.

HOST: Speaking about statistics that inform our understanding of beach safety and hazards, is there an age range that is most at risk of coastal ocean related injuries or drownings?

CHASE: Well often if you look at the age demographics of fatal drownings there is a preponderance of people that are in a younger age group, like teens to early 20s then often there's another group that's older 55/65 or plus. So there are age demographics that might be more prevalent in fatal drowning statistics. But the individual risk of someone having a fatal experience or a non-fatal experience in the water really boils down to their choices and behavior in and around the water.

HOST: I understand that in 2024 of the surf zone fatalities calculated by the National Weather Service, nearly 87% of the deaths were men. Are men and women at equal risk of ocean related injuries or drowning?

CHASE: Often you will find that in fatal drowning statistics men are represented in those numbers to a higher percentage than women. But again that risk can really be boiled down to that individual's behavior.

HOST: About the reasons why younger men and women end up in these dangerous situations…could you talk about peer-centric decision making?

CHASE: From a social science perspective, and developmental perspective, older teens they may be out on their own more so they're not under a parent’s supervision. So maybe they're going to the beach on their own whereas normally they would or in years past they went with the parent watching them at all times. So now they're making their decisions on whether to go in the water or not or what they do when they're at the beach. So one, being at an age where they're not supervised and making their own decisions and that with that lack of parental supervision, now it's a more a peer-centric decision making process. “What are my friends doing?” “What are I and my friends going to do and how are we going to influence each other's decision and stuff?” So recognizing that it takes, you know, one 18 year old who's the mentor and leader and the genius Blue IQ, that can really shape the safety of the peers when they all go down to the beach.

HOST: So besides the well known danger of rip currents, are there other equally dangerous ocean hazards that cause drownings or serious injury to ocean swimmers?

CHASE: What we found is, there were some core things that were kind of across all beaches. And we boiled down beach safety into a mindset, or a philosophy of respecting the ocean, a mindset of staying situationally aware, and then action being “take ten” if someone's in trouble in the water. But also we found that in the Pacific Northwest, on an area that's impacted a lot by larger swell colder waters, that cold water immersion is a danger. Sneaker waves: larger waves that come further up the beach and may sweep someone out into that cold water. Log rolls: large massive logs that are on the beach that might get picked up by an outgoing wave and then knock someone over or pin them underneath that. On sand beaches, like you'll find on the east coast in Florida and the Gulf, rip currents can form and can pull someone into danger. If you're in a section where there are barrier islands, on the Panhandle of Florida or on the Jersey shore, title currents moving out or in at an inlet between barrier islands create very strong currents that can sweep someone a long way inland into dangerous conditions or way out to sea, far further far faster than maybe a rip current would move. In the Southern California or Pacific Northwest, larger waves that may create dramatic shorebreak that people that have never been there before may not recognize. In Hawaii and American Samoa it might be remote beaches with no lifeguards nearby, dangerous reefs and rocks, submerged hazards that most people would never think to look for if most of their beach time has been on a more mellow sand beach on the east coast. And now they're looking at reefs and rocks and stuff in remote areas that can create other currents swirling, that might pull them into dangers or pull them out to sea before they even realize what's happening.

HOST: Well I'm looking forward to getting out there this summer maybe to a National Marine Sanctuary or just a regular beach to dip my feet in the ocean.

CHASE: Absolutely. I think that there are always challenges as lifeguard agencies gear up and get ready to protect the beaches, but I will tell you from the South Jersey area, we're looking at it being a really big exciting summer.

HOST: To summarize the most important points to boost your Blue IQ when you're headed to the beach. What would you say?

CHASE: You know I think one of the first things we did when we were looking at all these beaches, all of our favorite beaches throughout the U.S. even down to American Samoa. We boiled a lot of things down to three main things, you know, the philosophy of always respect the ocean. You know, respect this dynamic environment that might be different from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, year-to-year for sure. Stay situationally aware of everything going on around you and then “take ten,” making the right step to protect yourself and then save others. Then we also want to help you make the most of that visit. So the challenge is: raise your Blue IQ. What more can you learn about the ocean that might make that experience even better? Becoming more aware of all the specific things you need to know about the beach in this exciting environment to not just stay safe and protect others but exploring new ways to be out in the ocean. Whether it's surfing or paddling or kayaking or swimming or body surfing; the more you know, the safer you can be and the more you might enjoy that experience and being able to share it with others. So we want to raise your Blue IQ to give you the chance to be not just the smartest person on the beach but also a mentor, a leader, a protector. And someone that can make sure that every beach trip stays safe and fun for everyone around you.

HOST: The National Ocean Service is going to help you raise your Blue IQ. We have videos on our Ocean Today website and links to the videos in the show notes. Thank you so much Bruckner, this was great.

CHASE: It's great to be here. It's always great to come back down to NOAA and share stuff that we're passionate about. We want people to enjoy the amazing diverse coastlines that are out there. And if you get the chance to visit a National Marine Sanctuary or your own favorite piece of shoreline, from the Florida Panhandle to Aunu’u in American Samoa to the Great Lakes. Keep it safe. Keep it positive for everyone you're there with.

HOST: This has been Allison Burrell with the NOAA Ocean Podcast. To continue to boost your Blue IQ with beach safety tips or to learn more about the National Ocean Service, visit our show notes. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and check out all our episodes through the National Ocean Service website or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening. Let’s keep making waves.