Continued stupidity of people around the sea and water

[Omegstrat6]

Video footage of a young child narrowly escaping being swept out to see at Ilfracombe making the news I see. She, along with others, was on a slip way as waves crashed about them and she was swept off by them. Very luckily, someone managed to save her. When will people learn?

I get the attraction of the power of the sea, I do and I get that ****age boys especially like to take risks and I have given my own a b ollocking for jumping off the quay (nick-named "danger point" because of the under-tow) into the sea where were used to live. But too many adults are similarly either ignorant or stupid or else forget they have parental responsibilities around water. How many lives have to be lost by kids drowning in rivers, lakes or the sea? Most of the time the dangers are highlighted but a 6 or 8 year old with no adult supervision isn't likely to take much notice. But it isn't just kids. Where we live both dredging and climate change has led to erosion of the beach and a sharp drop in the sand and has formed. Clearly visible when the tide is out, it's obviously hidden when the tide comes in (hence the warning notices)but if you are walking along the shoreline and you can see a seal swimming alongside you in the sea about 2 m away it's pretty obviously not doing so in about a foot of water! Even so, people continually go into the sea and continue to be caught out by the sudden drop in depth.

I know, as a generation thing, many of us on here were probably allowed to play out with our mates at a relatively young age and I'm sure we all got away doing so in potentially dangerous places (a local building site was one of our favourites) but water poses a particular threat and the dangers were always driven into me as a kid. Certainly, if we were at the beach, we were always overseen by adults.

Having said that, whilst I sometimes get a bit p issed off by the rather over bearing attitude of the local seal protection group when you see the stupidity of some people around them it becomes more understandable. From letting their dogs off the lead around birthing seals to placing their young children actually seated on the seals backs for a "selfie" their stupidity and lack of common sense can be astounding.

Just don't get what is wrong with people. As a HASAW rep I fully understand that many do not see the potential dangers in things until an accident actually happens and someone gets hurt. But how many reports on the news and social media of kids drowning do we have to have before people wake up and parents especially take notice? The deaths of those so far are tragedies but in too many cases, they were all to easily avoidable.

[mickd1961]

I love the sea but have always been very wary of it.

I love Watergate Bay a mile outside Newquay and there’s been many times that I’ve body boarded there during October, November and January, often on stormy days with not another soul on the beach or in the water.

I’ve used this bay for 45 years and I know it and it’s tides and riptides like the back of my hand, I know my limitations and tailor my boarding to each day’s conditions.

There’s not a single other bay I would use, especially on my own.

All of this said, if I got cramp etc I could be in as much trouble as anyone but I’m hyper alert the whole time.

Like yourself, I’m constantly aghast at the lack of awareness of people around water and the way parents are so stupid around water in the way they fail to police their kids.

[phild]

I'd be crap at getting out the water if I fell in - I can only do the doggy paddle, I got my red badge for it ya know! Any good swimmers on here?

[mickd1961]

I'd be crap at getting out the water if I fell in - I can only do the doggy paddle, I got my red badge for it ya know! Any good swimmers on here?

I could swim a mile in my 30’s and 40’s Phil but only breaststroke for the majority.

I can do front crawl but only for 3 or 4 lengths at a time as the breathing creases me.

[Omegstrat6]

I'd be crap at getting out the water if I fell in - I can only do the doggy paddle, I got my red badge for it ya know! Any good swimmers on here?

Like yourself, I managed to get my red braid many moons ago and generally swim like a brick but my wife and family are all strong swimmers. They all say the same though-swimming in the sea where you have to contend with tides/under currents etc is totally different than doing however many laps in a pool. Should be blindingly obvious but sadly not. As Mick also points out, each beach will have its own peculiarities and potential dangers. Might be relatively safe to go out for a swim on some but far more dangerous on others.

[mickd1961]

Like yourself, I managed to get my red braid many moons ago and generally swim like a brick but my wife and family are all strong swimmers. They all say the same though-swimming in the sea where you have to contend with tides/under currents etc is totally different than doing however many laps in a pool. Should be blindingly obvious but sadly not. As Mick also points out, each beach will have its own peculiarities and potential dangers. Might be relatively safe to go out for a swim on some but far more dangerous on others.

In my favourite bay you can tell if there’s a dangerous rip just by looking at the ripples and ridges on the sand as you walk down to the surf.

The other giveaway is if the water is pulling at the back of your ankles as you’re walking in the shallows, that’s a sign to beware of.

The tide seems to be pulling in a diagonal direction if there’s a rip on as well.

[Omegstrat6]

In my favourite bay you can tell if there’s a dangerous rip just by looking at the ripples and ridges on the sand as you walk down to the surf.

The other giveaway is if the water is pulling at the back of your ankles as you’re walking in the shallows, that’s a sign to beware of.

The tide seems to be pulling in a diagonal direction if there’s a rip on as well.

You're perfectly right in that, whilst some hazards may be hidden, there are frequently others that are sign posted by nature-but only if you know what to look for or, as they say, "have eyes to see". I sometimes think we have become too divorced from nature and are certainly not as adept at understanding her or reading the signs as previous generations were.

[kettering_baggie]

Sadly, it’s often the person going into the water to save someone that ends up being drowned. I am a strong swimmer but going into a rough sea is likely to be suicidal. I have often been sea swimming and even in calm waters going against the tide can be very hard work and can tire a swimmer very quickly. I swim in pool regularly, 2,000+ metres a session, but I am sure a rough sea would overpower me in no time.

[Joy_Division]

I am afraid people tend to totally underestimate the power of the sea. I was down in St Ives one year when a storm coincided with high tide. The sea was crashing up the beaches and sea walls with such ferocity that it was hurling stones the size of water melons into the streets and shop fronts. If one had hit you it would probably have killed you such was the force of the water and size of the stones. Quite frightening to see it.

[Titchfieldbaggie]

I am afraid people tend to totally underestimate the power of the sea. I was down in St Ives one year when a storm coincided with high tide. The sea was crashing up the beaches and sea walls with such ferocity that it was hurling stones the size of water melons into the streets and shop fronts. If one had hit you it would probably have killed you such was the force of the water and size of the stones. Quite frightening to see it.

Looking at the footage, and taking very rough measurements of the water on the slipway, there is 26000 ft/lbs hitting at impact. You just wouldn't would you?