How Savvy are You When it Comes to Beach Safety

This is not a paid or sponsored post.
This is a guest post - We can never be to safe, can we?


Since June 1 - 8 is National Beach Safety Week, below is an easy—or enlightening—quiz courtesy of Wrightsville Beach, a North Carolina beach that offers families crystal-clear waters and smoke-free air. After passing (3 or more right) or failing (2 or less) the quiz, learn more by watching this short video — Clean Beach and Clear Waters—or read here to learn about how Wrightsville Beach goes above and beyond to eliminate worry for parents who deserve a less-stress summer vacation

How Savvy are You When it Comes to Beach Safety?

TRUE or FALSE

1.      Water-resistant sunscreen is the same as waterproof sunscreen.

2.      Wearing a white cotton t-shirt is not as effective at blocking UV rays as wearing SPF 15.

3.      If you find yourself caught in a rip current, the safest way to get back to the beach is to swim parallel to the shore until you’re out of the current. Then it’s okay to swim towards shore.

4.      Most beach lifeguards are high school students who need summer jobs.

5.      Since public beaches are public and not exclusive, smoking is allowed by law.

ANSWERS

1.      False, according to the FDA, a water-resistant sunscreen has to maintain its SPF protection after 40 minutes of exposure to water. A waterproof sunscreen has to maintain its SPF protection after 80 minutes of exposure to water.  

2.      True, a white cotton t-shirt has an SPF that ranges from 4-7 depending on if it’s wet or not.

3.      True, swimming towards shore while you’re in the outward-pulling rip current will only tire you out. Swimming sideways requires less energy, and it’s the best way to get out of the current so that you can safely swim towards shore.

4.      False—at least at Wrightsville Beach where most of the 32-person staff are county and city firefighters. Wrightsville’s USLA-certified agency is actually a division of the local fire department, and they call themselves Ocean Rescue, not lifeguards.

5.      False, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, almost 200 municipalities in the U.S. have beaches that are entirely smoke free. Wrightsville Beach was the first beach in North Carolina to ban smoking.