Tides And Waves

[Chris]

Tides And Waves

BE AWARE OF THE SEA’S MOVEMENTS.

Keep an eye on tides. To avoid getting into difficulties, always check
the tide before you enter the water. Equally, be careful not to get cut off
by the tide when walking along the shore–and make sure children playing
on the beach are not in danger of the tide.

Watch out for waves. Waves are formed by the wind blowing
across the surface of the sea. The longer the wind blows, the bigger
the waves will be. How steeply a beach shelves will also affect the size
and type of wave.

There are three types of wave:

Surging waves never actually break. Look out for
this type of wave, as they can easily knock people
off their feet and drag them back out to sea –
especially when standing on rocks, the shoreline
or harbour walls etc.

Spilling waves appear when the top of the wave
tumbles down the front of the wave. These types
of wave are generally the safest for swimming in.

Dumping waves break with great force and in
shallow water. These dangerous waves usually occur
at low tide, when the sand banks are shallow and
there is less water for the wave to break into.
Avoid the sea when you see dumping waves.

REMEMBER: it’s important to be constantly aware of tides and waves when you
are in, or beside the sea.