Anyone Who Has Ever Gone Swimming in Heavy Surf Will

Anyone who has ever gone swimming in heavy surf will tell you that if a wave is about to crash over you, the best thing to do is dive down, under the wave. Why does this keep you from being swept up in the wave, like being in a washing machine?

A) You dive below the shoreward moving part of the wave.
B) You dive into the rip current, which will carry you out to sea.
C) You dive into the base of the zone of circular motion associated with the wave.
D) You get carried sideways by a longshore current, which is better than being beaten up by the breaking wave.