Dr Rip’s mission to make our beaches safer

It’s 10am on a sunny summer’s day in Sydney, and inside a classroom, Australia’s best known surf scientist, Rob “Dr Rip” Brander is explaining to the primary school students what a rip looks like.

“Look at that dark gap between the waves,” he says, pointing to a giant photo of a beach on the  screen behind him. “And can you see the bumpy water on each side of it?”

“You wouldn’t cross the road without looking left or right, so don’t go in the water without spending at least five minutes checking for rips,” he tells his young audience.

The coastal scientist and professor at UNSW has been giving talks on the hazards of the surf, particularly rips – strong, narrow, currents that flow from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and out past the line of breaking waves – for more than 20 years.

Whether it’s to surf life savers, community groups, or thousands of school children, Rob’s knowledge of how beaches work as part of the UNSW Beach Safety Research Group has helped save many lives.

Thanks to donations totalling more than $200,000 from Surf Life Saving Australia since 2019, his tireless campaign continues. His current focus is working out the best way to teach people how to understand what rips are.

“A lot of people think they know what a rip is, but when you ask them to point one out one when they’re at the beach, they can’t actually identify it, or worse, they’re not sure what to do if they get caught in one.

So, what do you do if you do get caught? “Float, relax and signal for help by raising or waving your arm to attract the attention of lifeguards or call out to nearby surfers if they are close by and there are no lifeguards,” says Rob.

“Teaching people about rip currents is an ongoing challenge as they are the number one hazard on our coast.

“Is the best way producing more videos, is it presenting the research at higher levels of government, or is going back to a more grassroots approach and giving more public talks?”

Rob gained the nickname “Dr Rip” for his habit of jumping into rip currents and releasing harmless purple dye. He is a past recipient of the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Australian Science Research and was appointed Member of the Order of Australia in 2023 for his service to coastal science and the Australian community through beach safety research and education.

With more than 11,000 beaches, Australia is one of the most aquatic nations in the world, and rips remain one of our greatest hazards, with an average of 26 people drowning in them every year.

“More people are drowning each year rather than less, so it’s vital we continue trying to educate as many people as possible about surf and beach hazards,” Rob says.

Learn more about UNSW’s world-leading beach safety research at beachsafetyresearch.com