You are swimming on a beach in the surf. You leave your cooler and supplies on the beach, and after a half hour you swim back to shore, but your stuff isn't there. You look along the beach and see your cooler 200 m down the beach. How did that happen?
A) You must have had too many and just lost track of where you were.
B) You were affected by the longshore current and drifted with it along the coast.
C) You must have gotten caught in a rip current without knowing it.
D) You must have been swimming parallel to the shore without thinking about it.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The most likely scenario is that the swimmer was affected by a longshore current, which moves parallel to the shore and can carry objects or people along the coast. Rip currents and swimming parallel to the shore are less likely explanations, and getting too distracted to keep track of the cooler is a possibility but not as likely as being caught in a current.

You Are Swimming on a Beach in the Surf