A comprehensive (beginners) guide to tides for swimmers
And what to do if you get caught in a rip tide
Is the tide coming in?
Imagine the scene; you are standing on the beach at Nairn watching the waves and listening to the Oystercatchers. Is the tide rising, coming in, or falling, going out? Depending on where you stand on the sand the answer to this question could be very important to your safety. Many people get the answer to this key question wrong. There remains a lot of mystery and misunderstanding about tides and from time to time a swimmer, kayaker or walker gets caught out by not knowing enough about the changing tides. Apparently, even Galileo didn’t understand the tides so we can take some solace from this, in that not many people take the time to understand them. But if you are a sea swimmer it is the knowledge you should try to acquire. This article is aimed at providing the beginner with a guide to how the tides relate to sea swimming — but nothing quite replaces being observant and watching the sea closely each time you are there.
Personally, I find it reassuring that in a world where algorithms increasingly and silently guide our lives, the tides remain one of the few things in modern life which cannot be reduced to ones and zeros. Since relocating to Nairn in 2019 I have had the pleasure of daily beach walks to observe the tides in the…
