Understanding our beach
Estuary/River Current
The clue is in the name, the mouth of the River Exe. Water exiting the river in to the sea causes strong currents. You should not swim in the narrow channel at the mouth of the river, the fast flowing water will take you off your feet and rapidly out to sea. It also has a lot of boat traffic that makes it dangerous
Rip currents
Rips are strong currents running out to sea, which can quickly take you from shallow water out of your depth. They are caused by water flowing back out to sea through deeper channels in the sea floor. They often form around fixed hazards like Maer Rocks, the groynes and sand banks.
Tides
The water level is constantly changing due to the moon and sun’s gravity pulling the oceans. This results in 2 high tides and 2 low tides every day. It takes just over 6 hours for the tide to go from low to high or high to low. The heights of these tides vary through the month, Spring Tides occur every 2 weeks on Full and New Moons, the high tides are higher and the low tides are lower, this means the water moves much faster presenting an additional risk. On spring tides the beach will look very big at low tide and very small at high tide. In between Spring tides we get Neap tides where there is much less difference in the tide heights and currents are not quite as strong. In Exmouth outgoing tides cause currents running east along Queens Drive, towards Budleigh, incoming tides travel west and up the river towards Exeter. The incoming tide will also cut off your entry or exit from the beach between Orcombe point and Sandy Bay.
Waves
Waves are great fun, but they can be dangerous. Waves come in all shapes and sizes, generally the bigger the wave the more dangerous it will be. Not all waves are the same size and much larger waves can surprise people splashing in shallow water easily taking them off their feet. Large waves may also cause rips and currents you are not usually aware of.
Cold water shock
For most of the year the water around the UK is cold enough (under 16°C) to cause cold water shock. This is the body’s reaction to being immersed in cold water, it affects your breathing, heart rate and movement. To minimise its effect you should enter the water slowly, stay in waist depth water and splash your forearms and the back of your neck. You should wait until you can control your breathing (60-90 seconds) before going any further. If you fall in, you should do you best to remain calm, float on your back and wait until you get your breathe back, do not attempt to swim hard.
If you are planning to go on to the water you should wear a lifejacket or Personal Floatation Device and consider wearing a wetsuit or drysuit depending on your activity.
Calling for help in an emergency.
You should always carry a means of calling for help, a whistle, mobile phone in a water proof pouch or VHF radio: If you do need to a get help in an emergency:
Put one arm in the air and shout for help.
If you have prepared and are carrying a whistle 3 loud deliberate blasts is a distress signal
If you have a mobile phone call 999 and ask for coastguard
If you have a VHF radio use channel 16 to make a distress call to all vessels, use Pro Words - May Day, May Day, May Day then detail the name of your vessel, your call sign and Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI), your position, the nature of your distress and the number of people on board. You should also request immediate assistance.
Missing children
Children are safest when supervised.
As soon as you get to the beach, agree a meeting point in case of separation. If the beach runs a children’s safety scheme, using wristbands or tickets, take part. They’re free and they work. If you are on a lifeguarded beach, visit the lifeguard hut on arrival and they can give you special wristbands to put your contact details on.
If a child does go missing:
calmly check your surroundings first, ensuring other children remain supervised
contact the lifeguards or police and keep them informed
let all searchers know once the child is found.