October 2026 (ROTM#214) Sharky Beach, NSW, Australia

A sneaky snake-like flash rip!

I have no idea how many people look at my Rip of the Month pictures or actually read the descriptions, but if you are an avid follower, you’ll know that I get excited when I get pictures of flash rips because they are so hard to capture. You have to be there at the right time and place…and have your camera ready (ok, your phone). So I am pleased that I managed to get another flash rip – this time while walking my dog on a local dog beach with the friendly name ‘Sharky Beach’. I had another picture of the rip that my dog was in, but the rip didn’t look as good, so I’m going with this one.

It was an interesting rip given that the waves weren’t that big and this one was just repeatedly forming and disappearing along this short section of beach. Random wave breaking again is the culprit and there is an offshore reef that could have been directing waves to this section. Where’s the rip? It’s the narrow (only about 1 metre wide!) murky water starting from the shoreline to the right of the photo that meanders about 10 metres or more offshore before starting. You’d have to be unlucky to be caught in this rip and to be honest, it would be very easy to swim out of it, but if you weren’t a good swimmer, it could quickly take you into deeper water over your head.

Also remember that flash rips don’t last very long. This one disappeared completely not long after I took the picture.