The Riptide at Pensacola Beach

Every summer, lifeguards along the Gulf Coast at Pensacola Beach, Florida, pull dozens of swimmers from riptides — narrow channels of water rushing seaward at speeds up to eight feet per second. What kills most victims is not the current itself but their response to it. Panic sets in. Arms flail. Legs churn. Every ounce of energy pours into fighting the water, swimming hard toward shore.…