Camber Sands

[Thunder Bolt]

As I said, very unusual.....hopefully the full circumstances will come out in the fullness of time.

People die trying to help other people.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

If you are referring to a normal tide then Camber Sands is no more or less dangerous than many beaches in the UK. Thousands of people use the beach in the summer, sadly this year has seen an abnormal number of tragic deaths, the most recent of which are still to be explained.

If you mean a rip tide then this is not a tide in the sense of anything cyclical and down to the influence of the moon or sun . It's a current caused by the water pushed onto the beach by breaking waves needing to return back. There are ways of spotting rip currents as well as clear advice on how to keep safe if caught up in one.

If you surf then you get to understand what a rip current is, even how to use it to your advantage. Other countries have signage about rip currents and how to be safe. We have none, at least round here. We also have a media who perpetuate a false picture of what a rip current is, never explain it and never present any information on how to deal with them. It's basic water safety and for us as a maritime nation it's a disgrace that we are not better informed about these things.

If you are caught in a rip then it will be scary if you don't know what it is. Trying to swim against it will just tire you out. If you are cold or wearing the heavy clothing then your risk of drowning is increased. If you are a poor swimmer and get out of your depth then the danger increases.

I encourage everyone to read up on rip currents and, how to spot them on the beach and understand how you can get out of one if caught. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current is a good start.

The lack of knowledge is shocking, maybe it should be taught in schools.

There is a series of advert about people drowning on tv atm, and that the majority who die didn't intend to go into the water. To me, this is where they should be saying what to do to improve your odds of survival rather than saying it happens. A missed opportunity imo

 

[mike79]

On a typical summers day 25'000 people enjoy the sea at Camber Sands without incident. But today 3 fully-clothed men wash-up on the beach within minutes of each other, in perfect bathing conditions - followed by a further two at dusk plus another (yet to be recovered) spotted floating in the surf.

This wasn't a jolly day at the sea-side gone tragically wrong.

Great insight that.

I especially like how a typical day of no drownings or near drownings means there can't ever be drownings

 

[wellquickwoody]

People die trying to help other people.

You hear of one help one, or two helping one, but almost unheard of for five young men to drown together on a British beach without there being any survivors that we know of. Very sad. Maybe we will get the full details later.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

You hear of one help one, or two helping one, but almost unheard of for five young men to drown together on a British beach without there being any survivors that we know of. Very sad. Maybe we will get the full details later.

Agreed, the numbers are unusual, but I think you're looking for something that's simply not there.

One or two get into trouble, possibly due to a rip current, others try to save them, the same rip current pulls them out to sea. Panic would, I'd hazard, very easily ensue all round. Human nature is- generally- to try and help others, especially when they're our mates.

As you say, there are many, many instances of people dying whilst trying to save somebody else they perceive to be in trouble (or even their dogs). Three dead in this example from Cornwall:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-33957297

And one here from China earlier this year (five dead): http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/five-people-drown-trying-save-8444864

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

This is a horrible thread with lots of nasty comments.

R5 today said 5 lads down from London for the day. Confirmed on BBC web page

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37182791

As I said yesterday, the sea was a millpond when I was on the other side of the power station (Sandgate). Given that the sea itsef was nowhere near dangerous enough to constitue a five times lethal weapon, my guess is these five may have been 'having it a little too large' before venturing into the sea. Time will tell.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Agreed, the numbers are unusual, but I think you're looking for something that's simply not there.

One or two get into trouble, possibly due to a rip current, others try to save them, the same rip current pulls them out to sea. Panic would, I'd hazard, very easily ensue all round. Human nature is- generally- to try and help others, especially when they're our mates.

As you say, there are many, many instances of people dying whilst trying to save somebody else they perceive to be in trouble (or even their dogs). Three dead in this example from Cornwall:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-33957297

And one here from China earlier this year (five dead): http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/five-people-drown-trying-save-8444864

I was in Cornwall last Friday. The sea was brutal, and for the only time in my life I decided it was too dangerous for me (and this was on a 'safe swim' part of Porthcurno beach). I have never seen anything remotely similar at Camber. There must be extenuation.

 

[Boy Blue]

If you can't swim then stay out of the water. They wasn't caught in any rip tide.

 

[GT49er]

On a typical summers day 25'000 people enjoy the sea at Camber Sands without incident.

Bizarre to think that Camber Sands draws roughly the same size of crowds as the Albion! Must be a bit crowded....................

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Our coastline is littered with some great beaches,coves a playground for young and old that are so so enticing and let,s face it in reality it,s like an open hand waving it you to "come-in" but with that Grime reaper presence if you don't respect it. How many of us have stood on The Thames embankment and watch the tide go out and just look at the speed of outward suction and remember The Thames has a seven metre "rise and fall" think you can swim against that ? The Human body tires,The Sea never does.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Five men who died at Camber Sands got into trouble after failing to realise how quickly the tide would come in, the RNLI has said.
The men were on a day trip to London to the Sussex resort on Wednesday.
The RNLI said it did not believe that rip currents were responsible for the deaths. Police said the group were in their late teens and early 20s.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37182791

 

[The Birdman]

Please share

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

And please sign this petition for lifeguards on the beach:

https://www.change.org/p/get-lifeguards-at-camber-sands-beach-during-summer/sponsors/new

 

[Buzzer]

I saw someone tweet this today - a drone capable of dropping a lifebelt. It does mean though that you'd need 2 lifeguards on standby. 1 to operate the drone and the other to be attempting the rescue.

 

[Boy Blue]

I saw someone tweet this today - a drone capable of dropping a lifebelt. It does mean though that you'd need 2 lifeguards on standby. 1 to operate the drone and the other to be attempting the rescue.

All very good but the swimmer needs to understand what it means.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

A father and child died at Newquay yesterday after getting cut off by the tide.

They were fishing on rocks the condition of the sea changed in one hour and a big wave washed them into the sea.
The sea down here does change dramatically on the tides that's why we have surfing.
All our beaches down here have lifeguards and most know all about rip tides and what to do yet still many go in the sea either side of the flags, idiots.
Listening to Jeremy Vine today the police commissioner for Sussex made my piss boil, Camber (which I know well) although a safeish beach should have a lifeguard because it is so popular, lifeguards are funded by the council I think so maybe it's the council not willing to spend the money.
I would be very surprised if it was a rip at Camber especially if the sea was calm, reports seem to confirm it was the speed of the incoming tide, I also remember very soft patches of sand in places at Camber as well, this may also have been a factor.
Very sadly I was not surprised that the lads were Sri Lankan.
My wife is also Sri Lankan and I know many Sri Lankans, great people but so many just can't swim, out of all the Sri Lankans I know, none can swim or at least are very weak swimmers.
Of course these lads may have been very good swimmers, I don't know but there must have been a lot of other people in the water at the same time but it was just these poor lads that lost their lives.
Extremely sad.
Very disappointed with some of the comments on here.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

They were fishing on rocks the condition of the sea changed in one hour and a big wave washed them into the sea.
The sea down here does change dramatically on the tides that's why we have surfing.
All our beaches down here have lifeguards and most know all about rip tides and what to do yet still many go in the sea either side of the flags, idiots.
Listening to Jeremy Vine today the police commissioner for Sussex made my piss boil, Camber (which I know well) although a safeish beach should have a lifeguard because it is so popular, lifeguards are funded by the council I think so maybe it's the council not willing to spend the money.
I would be very surprised if it was a rip at Camber especially if the sea was calm, reports seem to confirm it was the speed of the incoming tide, I also remember very soft patches of sand in places at Camber as well, this may also have been a factor.
Very sadly I was not surprised that the lads were Sri Lankan.
My wife is also Sri Lankan and I know many Sri Lankans, great people but so many just can't swim, out of all the Sri Lankans I know, none can swim or at least are very weak swimmers.
Of course these lads may have been very good swimmers, I don't know but there must have been a lot of other people in the water at the same time but it was just these poor lads that lost their lives.
Extremely sad.
Very disappointed with some of the comments on here.

Radio five interviewed a brother of one of the lads. Incredibly moving, could hear a poor woman grieving in the background. The interview seemed to suggest that the lads were caught in deeper channels where sand had worn away in storms at the weekend. An article I read suggested that they could all swim. It is a travesty that there are no lifeguards on the beach.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Radio five interviewed a brother of one of the lads. Incredibly moving, could hear a poor woman grieving in the background. The interview seemed to suggest that the lads were caught in deeper channels where sand had worn away in storms at the weekend. An article I read suggested that they could all swim. It is a travesty that there are no lifeguards on the beach.

Fair enough if they could swim, didn't want to generalise but I was just making the point because I know so many.
Apparently the terrible winter storms of a couple of years ago dramatically changed the sea bed making the state of the sea and tides different to how they used to be before the storms, certainly true of some beaches in the south west.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I don't think we're very well educated about the dangers of the sea in this country. Everything I know about rip tides I learned from watching Bondi rescue. Incidentally, the vast majority of people reassured on that show are Brits or Asians, the locals rarely get in trouble because they're educated about the water from a young age. Quite often Chinese of Korean tourists swim straight into a rip fully clothed and need to be rescued.
The fact there's no lifeguard at camber is a disaster waiting to happen (twice)

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I'm not going to paste the 'rip tide' pix here, from the post above, but just go on to google earth and see:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.9309679,0.7973013,1855m/data=!3m1!1e3

There are NO rip tides at Camber. Until the tide is high it is practically impossible to walk out far enough to find water deep enough to swim in. It is a non-swimmer's paradise - not enough depth for swimming. It is impossible to be caught by the incoming tide unless you have swum out about a mile into the open sea, and even then it won't be a rip tide that gets you but exhaustion swimming back in. And even then you'd need a strong offshore wind (which we did not have yesterday) and or be a shocking poor swimmer and/or seriously lacking in common sense and/or handcuffed to an anchor. AND the radio reports that Camber beach is 7 miles wide is cock. From the harbour wall to the central part which is heaving with people is less than a mile. To the East of the central part it is wind serfer territory (although none yesterday - no wind). If we find that this case was not due to exteme foolishness of one sort or another then I'll be surprised. Tragedy for the boys, but there is no need for widespread panic.

Edit I just did a search to find out how often folk perish at Camber. This article has to be a complete and utter joke:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rescue-teams-try-desperately-revive-them.html

Where in the pix is the rip tide? It looks like the most idyllic and safe spot one can imagine (which it is). The 'mud' in the troughs at Camber is 3 inches deep at most, insufficient to justify the headline. I suppose this may be a bit of guilty emoting after the Mail found they had to bin their initial speculative article about the identity of the drowned..... but even so. It is Adam Trimingham standard gash.

I have played footy on those 'sand bars' with my lad on countless occasions, since he was three. It is actually impossible to get 'cut off'. All you need to do is stroll casually towards the harbour where the bar meets up with the main beach. Or more simply wade through waste deep water to the next bar in.

I'm still baffled though. Sorry for repeat posting on this thread - my second favourite beach in the UK, and it amazes me to see such claptrap and frenzy. I'll take back the previous suggestions of boozing and drugging, however. These boys don't seem like the sort.