UKC

Hi all.
We're off to Cornwall again this year for climbing, and now snorkelling as well. This has raised an interesting concern about rip tides though. I've checked on google, but can't find any useful info about rip tides in West Penwith, and I'd rather that my daughter wasn't swept out to the far Atlantic just yet. Do any of you knowledgeable people know where I might find info or a map of the most likely places where these beasties are?

cheers
Graham

In reply to gribble:

As I understand it, rip currents can occur pretty much anywhere, so it's better to have an awareness of them, in much the same way you might have some avalanche awareness, than to actively avoid particular beaches. Some beaches are quite prone to them, Gwenver, Porthcurno, etc. but those beaches in particular are popular and see swimmers daily AND are life-guarded too.

This video is pretty good: youtube.com/watch?v=-hCZuYzNujI&

Swim between the flags. The more popular beaches in West Penwith are life-guarded for much of the day throughout the summer season, so Gwynver, Porthcurno, as mentioned above, St Ives Beaches etc - they'll have flags too.

In reply to Tom Last:

Thanks for that. I suspected that was the case. We'll be heading for rocky coves rather than beaches (better visibility), so I guess it's down to asking the locals.

In reply to gribble:

The bigger or worse the waves are the worse any rips will be as there is more water moving around. Go on a calm day. Generally rips form in deep water channels and if they are strong can be quite easy to spot. They are very useful for surfing! The movement of water with the tide or river mouths will form currents that can go anywhere, they are not so easy to spot. Just go on a calm flat day in a sheltered cove and you should be fine. Never swim against a current or rip, swim at right angles to it and eventually you will escape it.

In reply to gribble:

Try Mill Bay / Nanjizal - I'm told by a local that it's a good beach for swimming, and it's not sandy this year (it can be sandy or rocky, depending on the winter storms). I'd also try the left hand of Porthmeor (marked Carrick Du on OS maps) - there's some DWS around there, and the water is fairly clear.

Although Tom's advice re flags is sensible (and will avoid you getting shouted at by the lifeguards), it doesn't mean that the flags are the only safe place on the beach - on the larger beaches, there will often be several rips, and a number of spaces between them. The best way to check is to go on the cliffs above the beach, and watch the currents - but you won't be able to see the sediment transport so much on rocky beaches.

In reply to gribble:

As others have said, rips generally form on flat open sandy beaches when the water pushed up the beach by swell/waves starts to channel its way back out to sea, you can usually spot them as the oncoming waves don't break or are smaller in the rip current, but they can be hard to spot and very strong. More common on a rising tide. Also they sometime run across the beach as well as just straight out. Most of the big north Cornish beaches where they occur are covered by lifeguards, speak to them if your worried and swim between the flags.

Anyway, If you want good snorkelling you'll want to avoid sandy beaches, as the visibility is generally terrible unless very calm. Rocky sheltered coves are a good bet. Still you want to watch for currents and swell, which can be dangerous, particularly around rocky headlands. These sort of places tend not to have life guards either.

Stuff on the south side of Penwith peninsula might be better (Lamorna, St Loy, Porthgwarra), or the Lizard (Prussia Cove, Cadgwith).

These guys do snorkelling tours, and can probably advise on safe places to go.
http://freediveuk.com/snorkeling-tours-3/

In reply to Phil79:

Thanks for that sound knowledge, and thank you everybody else too. It didn't even occur to me about DWS potential! All I have to hope for now is some toasty warm tropical water...

In reply to gribble:


Yeah, you might be disappointed on that front...

Actually its not too bad with a wet suit on, about 16-17 degrees at the moment I think.

In reply to gribble:

I never quite knew what there were, apart from they were not great!

Nice explanation here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current

In reply to gribble:

Riptides are only truly a danger to those who don't understand them - once you understand them you can a) prepare for them and b) deal with them if you get caught in one.

In reply to gribble: I am talking as an occasional visitor and absolutely not an expert. My experience was swimming / body boarding at Sennen in high summer with the crowds you would expect on such a brilliant beach. I became aware that the routine of swimming out and boarding in wasn't happening. I tried to swim in and got nowhere. I then focussed and tried more determinedly to swim in and again got nowhere. There were a couple of others in the same predicament yet only a few yards away folk were enjoying themselves as normal. I became aware of drifting down the beach while unable to come out so I let myself go with it, then quite suddenly I could swim in quite easily. I think a couple of lifeguards came in and helped others. I guess my two penneth is that rips can occur on the safest swimming beaches and apparently quite suddenly. Stay within the flags on a supervised beach is my advice.