Rules & Water Safety

Like you, we want everyone who comes to Virginia Beach to have a good time. We share your frustration when people deliberately step outside the bounds of acceptable public behavior which intrudes on your fun.
young adults splashing in water

In order to help provide a safe and pleasant experience, the City of Virginia Beach asks for your cooperation by refraining from the following behaviors:

  • Wearing revealing attire which is inappropriate in a public setting
  • Engaging in sexually explicit behavior
  • Standing, walking or sitting on the sidewalk, boardwalk or any other public place in such a way as to create a safety risk or inconvenience to others
  • Littering & throwing objects from hotel balconies
  • Playing music in a hotel room, car or portable stereo at an excessively loud volume
  • Videotaping without permission
  • Engaging in any behavior which is likely to intimidate, harass or disrupt the peaceful enjoyment of others
  • Engaging in any act which violates the law

 

By observing these common courtesies, you will help make everyone’s visit to the Virginia Beach resort area a more pleasant experience.

water safety

Swimming & Boating Water Safety Information

Drowning Statistics:

Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death in the United States and the second leading cause of accidental death for persons aged 5 to 44. For children in the one to two year age range, drowning is the leading cause of injury death. In some states, drowning is the leading cause of injury death for persons under 15 years of age.

Males drown at a significantly higher rate than females (about 5 to 1). For boat related drownings, the ratio escalates to about 14 to 1.

Safety Tips for Ocean Swimming:

In order to enjoy the ocean environment and a safe visit to the beach, the City of Virginia Beach Department of Convention and Visitor Development offers the following tips for ocean swimming courtesy of the city’s own Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center.

  • Learn how to swim & know basic water safety.
  • Ask lifeguard about water conditions.
  • Swim in an area monitored by lifeguards and obey all signal flags. Red Flags = WATER IS DANGEROUS
  • Never swim alone. Always swim in groups and avoid secluded beaches.
  • Be aware of the tidal cycles and marine life in the area in which you are swimming.
  • Know your swimming ability and stay close to shore.
  • Swim with care near sandbars or steep drop-offs.
  • Swim sober.
  • Avoid the water at night, dawn or dusk.
  • Avoid wearing shiny jewelry in the water.
  • Don’t float where you can’t swim.
  • Don’t fight the current.
  • Don’t swim in waters being fished or around fishing piers.
  • Don’t dive. Protect your neck. Go feet first.
  • Only use a surfboard or bodyboard with a leash.
  • Never leave children unattended.
rip current

Rip Currents

Most waves are formed by wind on the water. Sea waves usually result from storms, often hundreds of miles from shore. When waves break, water is pushed up the slope of the shore. Gravity pulls this water back toward the sea. If it converges in a narrow, river-like current moving away from shore, it forms what is known as a rip current. Rip currents can be 50 feet to 50 yards or more wide. They can flow to a point just past the breaking surf (the surf line) or hundreds of yards offshore. Some 80% of rescues by lifeguards at America’s surf beaches are due to persons being caught in rip currents.

Rip currents may pull continuously, but they can suddenly appear or intensify after a set of waves, or when there is a breach in an offshore sandbar. Longshore currents, inshore holes, and other bottom conditions contribute to the formation of rip currents.

You can sometimes identify a rip current by its foamy and choppy surface. The water in a rip current may be dirty (from the sand being turned up by the current). The water may be colder than the surrounding water. Waves usually do not break as readily in a rip current as in adjacent water.

If you get caught in a rip current, try to relax. A rip current is not an “undertow” — it will not pull you under. Do not try to swim against the current as this is very difficult, even for an experienced swimmer. If you can do so, tread water and float. Call or wave for assistance. You can also try to swim parallel to shore until you are out of the current, then swim directly toward shore.

Longshore Currents:

The same forces which cause rip currents also cause longshore currents. These currents are most evident when waves hit the shore at an angle. This tends to cause the water to be pushed along the beach away from the direction of the oncoming waves. Usually, longshore currents are less hazardous than rip currents because they move along the shore, not away from the shore, but they can knock children and weaker adults off their feet. More importantly, longshore currents can feed and increase the power of rip currents.

Inshore Holes:

Variable wave conditions, particularly seasonal changes in wave patterns, can create unevenness in the ocean bottom. This includes sandbars and sudden deep spots, called inshore holes. They can surprise waders, who suddenly find themselves over their heads. They can also create channels in the bottom, which concentrate and greatly intensify the power of rip currents. At any beach with uneven bottom conditions or obvious sandbars, a higher level of caution should be used.

Boating Safety Tips:

The sun, water, and wind can make for a great day to go cruising in a boat. For many individuals and families this is a favorite summer pastime. It can be safe, as well as fun, if the fundamental rules of boating are understood and observed.

Don’t drink and boat. Boating while intoxicated is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. The “designated driver” system doesn’t work in boating. Everyone is at risk because the boat’s motion, coupled with alcohol, increases the chances of losing balance and falling overboard.

Everyone on the boat should wear a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device (PFD) or life jacket. A PFD is the best protection against drowning. Check the weather and water conditions before leaving the shore. If it looks like storms are brewing or the water is very choppy, wait for another day to go boating.

Limit the number of passengers in a small boat. Don’t exceed the limit allowed by the boat’s capacity plate. Keep in mind the size and weight of each person. Equal distribution of weight will limit the possibility of capsizing.

Have visual distress devices approved by the Coast Guard on board. Pyrotechnic red flares, orange smoke, orange distress flags, and electric distress lights must be in good working order and easily accessible.

Use the “one-third rule” in fuel management. Use one-third of the fuel to go, one-third to get back, and keep one-third in reserve.

Always tell someone where you will be boating, when you will be back, what your boat looks like, and other identifying information.

Recreational boating is second only to highway transportation in the number of fatalities that occur each year. Alcohol is involved in most of these accidents.

Pool Safety Tips:

Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of four, and most childhood drownings occur in residential pools. The Department of EMS offers these water safety tips for all parents and pool owners:

  • Teach children to swim at an early age.
  • NEVER leave a child unsupervised in or near any body of water, even for a second.
  • Never leave toys, wagons, or tricycles around the pool.
  • Attend a course in CPR and learn what to do in case of an emergency.
  • Have a phone available whenever participating in any type of water activity

Pet Regulations:

Virginia Beach Animal Enforcement Unit Animals on the Beach and Boardwalk Summer Advisory

While you are visiting our great city, please remember that we have a beach code involving animals from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Violations of these are criminal offenses that can result in a fine of up to $250

READ MORE ABOUT PET REGULATIONS IN VIRGINIA BEACH >>

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