Colour of the sea?

[LMH]

We went to Mablethorpe today (sadly). I wanted to take some photos of Gaylord on the beach but it was way too rainy.

So just Gaylord and myself went for a walk along the beach, he was off lead. We approached the sea. God, the water was dark brown and there was horrible grey/brown froth everywhere.

I called him away and we turned round and continued to walk along the beach but well away from the sea.

The sea in Cornwall isn't that colour. Is the sea on the East Coast heavily polluted? It looked disgusting.

Lisa

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

It was like that when I was a kid Lisa, the same at Ingoldmells.

I think it's due to the shore or underlying strata which is clay. It's not always obvious because it's covered with sand but sometimes gets exposed.

 

[LMH]

Well, I don't mind if it's underlying strata, that's fine. I wasn't sure if it was something else causing it to be that colour.

Lisa

 

[Damian]

With the amount of rain we have been having, all the surface water from the fields etc will be draining away to drainage ditches and out to sea, complete with soil in suspension and whatever pesticides, fertilisers etc that have been used on them in the course of crop growing.

The brown colour will be caused by the soil in suspension, and the froth by the chemicals dissolved by the rain and mixed withthe sea and thrown about by the currents and waves.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

I remember being on the beach at Ingoldmells as a kid and the clay was often exposed in places. When walking in bare feet you had to be careful of ending up on your a$$ because it was very slippy.

 

[LMH]

QUOTE:

'When walking in bare feet you had to be careful of ending up on your a$$ because it was very slippy. UNQUOTE

Beats catching crabs I guess.

Lisa

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

hehheh! That reminds me of going to the Point at Ingoldmells (I don't know if the Point is still there)and crabbing. We bought a ball of string then tied a stone about 18 inches from the end. We then bought some shrimps and tied one on the end. Caught lots of crabs and the occasional eel :O)

This was back in the 50's and we stayed in a caravan. I have a pic somewhere, if I can find it I will post it on here and maybe someone can name the make of caravan.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Hi Lisa,

I'm afraid that is the colour of the sea on the East Coast :O(

Unless we have a lovely day with blue skies, the sea always has a tendancy to look brown, and alot of places you see the nasty brown scum floating about, particularly at Wells.

Fortunately the sewer pipes no longer pump out the untreated stuff they used to, but the real down side to that is, the crabs are not nearly so good!!!! :O)

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Another factor is because, as seas go, the North Sea is relatively shallow so is more susceptible to wave and current action stirring up mud and sediment. Take some of the banks like Dogger which are miles out, at low tide they are like islands.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Lisa,

Back a few years, a group of us would break free from our families and go sailing for a week (36ft Westerly with twin keels) - this was mored at Maldon on the East Coast

And the reason for twin keels, rather than the normal single fin - was so you could let the boat settle onto the mud as the tide ran out.

And there is a lot of mud on the East Coast - sailing is sometimes called "mucking about in boats" but on the East Coast "boating about in muck"

Robert

 

[RonD]

I'm pretty sure Ingoldmells' beach has a Blue Flag award...what a joke!

Ron