Oh man, I think that would definitely put me off of visiting there, too! I am with you on not liking to get in the ocean past my waist. My aversion is more against getting salt water in my eyes and mouth, but I definitely wouldn't be able to handle a rip tide either! On a side note, it is really crazy thinking about how we used to have to book vacations without the wonders of the internet! Not that it always helps anyway given the amount of bogus reviews on many sites, but at least you can get a better idea of where you are going now. At least you got your worst vacation out of your system early--hopefully nothing else can top that one!