The Danger Of Rip Currents Became Personal For One Michigan Man

There are rip current and swim safety warnings around a big chunk of the Great Lakes Friday, including the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

WVPE’s Jennifer Weingart spoke with Jamie Racklyeft the founder of the Great Lakes Water Safety Consortium about safe swimming in the great lakes and his remarkable personal story.

“In 2012 there were 101 drownings in the Great Lakes," Racklyeft says. "That’s a record of all the years we’ve been tracking since 2010. And I was almost one of them.”

Racklyeft said the best way to survive rip currents like the one he was caught in is “flip, float and follow” flip over on your back and float to conserve energy, following the current until it releases you and you can swim back to shore.