What is an undertow?
When a wave hits the beach, its force can often cause the unwary or young people to fall down. Once they have fallen, the wave will recede and pull them back into the water. When you are pulled into the water, simply stand up and walk back to shore. Undertow is a very weak current that draws excess water back into the deeper ocean. It will not pull you under and keep you there as is often misunderstood about undertow. Undertow is actually harmless to the individual. The myths attributed to undertow are stemmed from the realities of rip currents.
