Rip Buoy is a marine flotation device that is positioned in permanent ocean rips 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide aid to swimmers that are caught in rips.

Managing Director of Rip Buoy, Neil Wallace, returned to Port Macquarie from South Korea last week after introducing Rip Buoy to more than 110 international water safety experts, life guards, oceanographers, engineers, researchers and scholars.

"We received tremendous support for the concept, and made promising links with organisations in the United States, France, Denmark and South Korea, who are keen to see the Rip Buoy in action and trial it in their own rip trouble spots," Mr Wallace said.

"Australia has 11,000 beaches and 17,000+ rips on any one day. Last year in Australia, 95 people died on our beaches, 89% of the surf zone rescues were rip related. But of course rips are not unique to our country, and Rip Buoy has the potential to save lives right around the globe.

"This was confirmed by the positive response we received from the world's leading rip experts at the Rip Symposium, including the event's keynote speakers Dr Leatherman and Dr Fletemeyer from Florida, and Dr Castelle from France.

"Governments, lifesaving organisations, resorts and private enterprise across the globe can benefit from the Rip Buoy by providing protection for swimmers, reducing the costs associated with drownings, and ultimately saving lives."

The Rip Buoy was initially trialled at Port Macquarie's Town Beach in February this year, and is set for another trial at Shelly Beach within a few weeks, in partnership with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.

Locals will notice the bright yellow flotation device sitting offshore for three months during the Shelley Beach trial, and are urged to view the Rip Buoy from the beach and to use it as a safety device only if necessary. The trial at Shelley Beach is a structural trial therefore the back-to-base system will not be fitted. Severe penalties will apply for public misuse and vandalism. Mr Wallace said as part of the ongoing research and development process, Rip Buoy representatives will be conducting surveys in the Port Macquarie town centre and major shopping centres next week.

Rip Buoy is a lifesaving aid that is positioned in permanent topographical ocean rips 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The aim of the Rip Buoy is to provide aid to swimmers who are caught in rips.

The Rip Buoy can accommodate three people to be on board the device and 15 people holding onto the external life lines which surround the Rip Buoy. When a swimmer gets caught in a rip, the rip current will take them towards the Rip Buoy which is positioned in the centre of the rip current. The Rip Buoy is designed so the swimmer can easily slide on board, where they activate a back-to-base emergency button, seek refuge, stay calm and wait to be rescued.

The concept was developed by marine engineer Neil Wallace, after he personally witnessed four swimmers caught in a rip, with one unfortunately drowning at Shelley Beach in Port Macquarie on Australia Day in 2010.

Drawing on his marine engineering background, Neil designed a safety device that could assist swimmers when caught in a rip whilst swimming at a beach. The concept has undergone significant research and development, has involved several prototypes and is now in the final stages of testing.

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