Lacanau, Le Porge, Biscarosse… The middle school students of Mios, at the entrance to the Arcachon Basin, are familiar with the swimming and surfing spots of the Atlantic, whether in Gironde, in the Landes or in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques . But are they familiar with the dangers of this ocean?
In order to raise awareness of the risks, the CRS-MNS (lifeguards) have initiated an educational tour this year in around forty colleges in the former Aquitaine. “The teenagers have the impression to know, they have already heard about the baïnes and the shore break, but ultimately very few know how it really works”, explains to us the Brigadier-Chief Stephen Slack, who spoke this Tuesday in Mios. “However, it is absolutely necessary to understand the functioning of these phenomena, it is only in this way that we will reduce the accidents. “
The dangers of baïne
When we ask these students what a baïne is, for some it is “two currents that meet”, others believe they know that “it is better to let yourself be carried away when you are caught in it”. All of this is not totally wrong, but it is not really correct either. “Baine is a hole of water that fills up,” explains Stephen Slack, “when it is full and the water is draining, it forms a very strong current, called a rip current, and which takes you to the bottom. wide, sometimes up to 500 meters. “
Baine “is particularly dangerous three hours before the end of the ebb tide and three hours after the start of the rising tide,” he continues. It can be seen by the fact that the water is relatively calm at the surface while on the sides, waves break on the sand tongues. All the danger is there, because for people who are not used to it, baine is attractive and at first glance does not represent any risk, whereas it is on the contrary where there is the most danger. “
Respect the beach codes
A video then explains the phenomenon of shore break, a very powerful wave formed at high tide, which breaks right on the edge, when the beach is sloping. “When you are caught in it, it can press you against the ground, which can have consequences on the neck if you hit the sand head first, insists the CRS. When the waves are too strong, we are allowed to put a red flag and close the swim. “
Ah, the flags. Limiting the risks also means knowing the beach codes, respecting everyone’s perimeters. “A beach is regulated by regulations,” recalls the captain of the CRS Sud-Ouest zonal management, Pascal Gensous. However, we deplore more and more individualistic behaviors, with some surfers who believe they are allowed anything, swimmers who go into the water in the sliding area … Between 2018 and 2019, we had an 88% increase in contraventions, and a particularly active year in this area is expected. “Stephen Slack recommends as for him to” go to the first aid station before going to bathe, to look at the color of the flame. [verte, orange ou rouge], and take note of the data concerning the beach, which are displayed by the lifeguards, that goes from the temperature of the water to the tide times through an arrival of jellyfish ”.
21 dead for 70 drownings in 2020
At the end of the policeman’s intervention, the schoolchildren learned a lot of things. For example, they now know that “when you are caught in a baïne, you have to try to swim parallel to the beach to get out”, announces Illan, or that “you must always swim in the supervised area. , that is to say between the blue flames ”, proclaims Flora.
On the Aquitaine coast, there is in fact no drowning in the monitored areas, while in 2020 there were a total of 21 deaths for 70 drownings on the coast, spread over all the departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes and Gironde.
In Carcans, a drama that marked the spirits
The decision to organize this educational tour in the colleges was moreover taken after a tragedy which marked the spirits last year. On August 20, 2020, a 46-year-old father, his 17-year-old daughter and his 13-year-old son drowned north of the beach at Carcans (Gironde), after being washed away by a current of baïne.
“Almost all the beaches on the coast are dangerous,” says Stephen Slack. “The biggest shore break in France is located at the Gravière beach in Hossegor (Landes), but the phenomenon is present everywhere, and even locals who bathe every year on the same beach are trapped. A beach formed by a large sandy plateau one year can become steep the following year, which will generate shore breaks. A baïne can be there on July 14, and close a few days later due to a weather phenomenon. Hence the need to be constantly vigilant. “
The Aquitaine coast is monitored each season by 123 CRS, spread over 33 stations. This year, they will invest the beaches from July 2 to August 30.