Baïnes - Dangerous holes under the sea
This natural phenomenon is present on most the world coasts. The baïne is a temporary pond. It shapes between the coast and a sandbank. Looks like a hole, a natural pool.
A baïne is always moving. It can move, dig, disappear with each tide. This depends on the weather conditions or the tidal coefficient.
Creation of the baïne
This phenomenon forms on a relief where the tide is strong and the sand is fine.
Along the coast, the swell pushed by the winds attacks the coast and carries sand with it. Thus, every year the beach steps back a few meters. Each wave carries its share of sand and deposits it a few meters from the shore.
At the falling tide, the water retained between the sand bank and the beach goes to open a breach in the sand bank. Here it is the "exit" of the baïne.
As we go along a sandbank forms creating a hole. In this small basin, the water is warmer, calm, and particularly pleasant and welcoming.
Baïne phenomenon
The baïne aren’t dangerous every time.
At low tide, the cuvette is almost empty.
At the rising tide, when the waves pass over the sandbank, the basin is filled with water. The level of this one becomes higher than the ocean and the bay will empty itself giving birth to a current.
At high tide, there is no difference in level between the basin and the sandbank. The baïne current stops.
At the falling tide, we find the same dangerous phenomenon until the hole is empty.
The output current of the baïne
The output current of the baïne also called rip current is dangerous because it takes away the people from the coast.
Moreover, the most dangerous is that the speed current is higher than the speed of a good swimmer.
Thus, coming back to the coast against the tide is impossible.
To come back to the beach, it is necessary to leave go away from this current to escape this mortal phenomenon.
Some advices are do not try to swim against the current, do not let the current carry you away, and do not stay on the sandbank at the risk of getting caught by the current.
