“I would figure I'd be strong enough to swim through it,” said Cathy Novick. Then swim parallel and on a diagonal back to shore. If you’re caught a rip current, the rule of thumb is float or tread water until the current stops pushing you. “They can take you 100 yards off shore in minutes and even seasoned swimmers have difficulties swimming against a rip current,” Jessica said. “We visit the Great Lakes all the time and to think you be caught in those currents and feel out of control is very frightening,” Jessica said. Aquatics Manager Jessica Haney at Ascension Genesys Health Club calls rip currents deceiving. This year lots of rain ang high winds are turning the Great Lakes into a recipe for disaster. “I think people are lulled by the sense that if they're looking at the lake and they see waves on either side and a calm space in the water but it's not calm,” said Jessica Haney. That's the signature recipe for a Michigan summer. They also say 33 percent of those drownings are from dangerous waves and currents, which we're seeing a spike of right now.

That's according to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. Think you can swim through a rip current?ĭrownings in Michigan are up 80 percent compared to the same time last year.

Genesys club