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How rip currents work and what to do if you get caught in one

Carolina Beach Rookie Guard Matisse scanning the water.
Carolina Beach Lifeguards
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Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue Facebook page
Rookie Guard Matisse scanning the water.

Rip currents were responsible for 91 deaths at U.S. beaches last year. The rescue team at Carolina Beach has already had a busy beach season this year — Carolina Beach ocean rescue captain Shawn Kelly recently approximated almost 100 beach rescues by his crew alone in about a one month period.

Due South checks in with Shawn after a busy beach holiday week to see how things are going and what swimmers should be aware of to stay safe at the beach.

Guest

Shawn Kelly, Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue Captain

Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Jeff joined WUNC in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and WUNC’s Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary “Right Turn,” launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.