Shorebreak: Little Known Beach Danger With Big Consequences

OCEAN CITY, Maryland (CBS/WUSA)--Shorebreak. Ever heard of it? Few people have. It is a surprisingly big hazard that comes with small waves at the beach.

Every year, hundreds of swimmers are injured by waves. However, a little-known fact is that waves don't have to be huge to cause damage.

Shorebreak--when small waves abruptly break in shallow water--can pull swimmers off their feet and into the hard sand at the ocean's bottom.

That's what happened to Josh Basile, of Potomac, Maryland. Basile is paralyzed from the shoulders down after being thrown from a wave during a summer vacation in 2004.

"I was just in waist-high water," Basile says. "[The] wave came behind me, picked me up, and dropped me on my head."

Basile said he didn't have any pain when he was thrown into the sand, but when he tried to turn himself, he couldn't.

"My accident occurred because I let my guard down," Basile says. "I just wasn't really aware. My only worry at the beach was, 'how much fun am I gonna have?' I never thought a vacation would turn out the way it did."

Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol in Maryland says every season his life guards handle more than a hundred rescues involving swimmers who've hit the ocean floor.

"The problem with these types of accidents," says Arbin, "Is they happen in a split second."

The United States Lifesaving Association calls shore break an international problem, which causes debilitating injuries--even death.

Arbin says Ocean City lifeguards use real-life rescues to educate beachgoers about the danger of shorebreak. He says lifeguards pull crowds out of the water if they see shorebreak, and explain what's going on in the water.

TO PROTCT YOURSELF FROM SHOREBREAK

• Never turn your back to the waves

• Never dive to the bottom of oncoming waves

• If you start getting tossed around, put your arms out in front of you to protect your head and neck. A broken arm is better than a broken neck.

WARNING SIGNS AT THE BEACHES

Shorebreak warning signs are being used at some beaches in the United States, and there's a push to develop an international warning system.

Ocean City, Maryland has warning signs up and down the beach. They are on the beach entrances along the boardwalk as well as on lifguard stands. The beach has a total of 92 stands. They also hold beach safety seminars on Sunday mornings where shorebreak is discussed. The beach patrol also hands out pamphlets regularly to beachgoers .
Koeppen reported signs warning of shore break are being used at some beaches in the United States, and there's a push to develop an international warning system.

Dewey Beach has water safety signs on all 18 of their lifeguard ctands; however, a captain with the beach safety patrol tells a 9NEWS NOW researcher the signs do not directly address shore breaks.

Rehoboth Beach tells a 9NEWS NOW researcher, there are no warning signs along their beach.

Bethany Beach patrol tells 9NEWS NOW they have warning signs on all 14 of their lifeguard stands saying "Beware of Shorebreak."

Virginia Beach beach patrol says they have beach safety signs on all 41 of their lifeguard stands as well as the beach entrances off the boardwalk. However, they tell 9NEWS NOW there is no permanent sign that specifically mentions the dangers of shorebreaks.