Beaches and related danger

General map

Beaches

This week, you may (in fact, you should) be tempted to go to one the ocean sand beaches of the Silver Coast. There are many beaches, all easily accessible. The meeting site has a bike rental close-by and we will try to organize transfer with the minibuses wehn possible. See the map hereafter:

However...

The beaches will not be safeguarded before June 15, which means there will also be no indication regarding swimming conditions (water temperature, winds, tides, flags). They can be very dangerous and there are several deaths every year, because people don't know the ocean and underestimate the risk. So, here are a few guidelines and some information to avoid any bad situation.

1) When the beaches are not safeguarded, never go swimming alone!

2) Check the tide timetable

https://maree.shom.fr/harbor/CAP_FERRET

3) The beaches from the Silver Coast are famous not only for their golden sand, but also for their strong rip currents, named "baïnes" in french. These form at mid-tide and can take you from the shore to several 100m away from it in minutes. If you feel this is happening to you the golden rule is not to swim against the current, but perpendicular to it, because it is relatively narrow and this is the only way to escape it. You can also wave your hands to alert people on the shore. They will call the rescue.

More on the baïnes / rip currents:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baïne (french) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current (english)

This does not apply to the beaches of the Bassin d'Arcachon. There, there are two currents (north and south) that can be strong, especially at the cape. These currents are stronger at mid-tide.