How fast the tide comes in, shot in uncompressed time a short distance away from the bridge on the Holy Island side looking towards the mainland. The small post on the left of the video can be used as a reference point as the water traverses the road.
Max depth at high tide: just over 6 feet.
Strong winds can develop.
As the tide rises from the South a strong current develops because the sea swirls around the poles indicating the Pilgrims' Way - the crossing used by Monks - (out of picture left hand side), producing dangerous whirlpools.
If you choose to drive on the flooded road you will feel your vehicle steering going lighter as it gets lifted by the water, and the salty sea, as it is thrown up under the chassis by the tyres, will rot the electrics and brake pipes.
ALWAYS CONSULT THE TIDE TIMETABLE BEFORE USING THE CAUSEWAY or if parking in the turning spaces near to the danger signs before visiting one of the pubs in the village(!)
Click this link: holyislandcros... to view the current Holy Island causeway crossing times.
Date shot: 11 Jul 2017
Weather: cloudy / bright.
Wind: North Easterly, 11 miles per hour (“Gentle Breeze”)
POSSIBLE SCENARIOS:-
A)
The school holidays are in full swing and the causeway is busy despite being an hour after the published safe crossing time.
The tide, coming in from the South, is rapidly getting deeper over the road and there is a stiff 25 mph wind from the North. Traffic is flowing in both directions East / West anxiously trying to get across "before it's too late" with drivers finding that, when they get to the bridge, it is only one lane wide, so they have to give way to oncoming vehicles and queue in the salty water. The spaces provided for turning are filled with parked cars.
Unfortunately a sudden 40 mph gust of northerly wind occurs and pushes over the vehicles sideways. The current then sweeps them, in the opposite direction, into the sea necessitating an expensive call out to the emergency services including Air Ambulance.
B)
Summer holidays have begun. Again a rising tide is flowing through the causeway. Two queues of vehicles, one in each direction are moving through the water towards the bridge.
The first driver in each queue has been tempted to cross because, when first entering the water, the level has been fairly shallow. They find, however, that it gets deeper as they progress through the sea and experience the effect of the strong current has on their steering. Other vehicles follow behind.
The driver (A) at the head of one line is temporarily relieved when getting to the bridge discovering the road to be dry, but then (s)he has to stop to let through the other driver (B)'s oncoming queue off the bridge. After a while (s)he can proceed but then finds deeper water at the other side of the bridge. Panic sets in and driver (A) stops.
The other drivers in the line can't get past the stopped vehicle as the bridge is only wide enough for one vehicle and driver (B)'s queue is moving in the opposite direction. This queue also eventually comes to a standstill because of the non moving traffic on the bridge.
The result. With both queues stationary on a rising sea tide:
1. those lucky enough to be near the small refuge hut in the centre of the bridge will have evacuate into the hut - hopefully all will be able to squeeze in. All other people will have to either try to turn round or reverse out of the sea: both courses of action being very risky;
2. the emergency services will have to be called out to rescue people and vehicles.
C)
A 4x4 driver who thinks (s)he is invincible is about to prove it by deliberately driving into the well flooded causeway. Unknown to him / her, another driver of a similar vehicle at the other end is thinking about attempting the same feat from the opposite direction. They both start out. Unfortunately, when they pass each other, the force from the wash from each vehicle's tyres is so strong that it knocks the other vehicle over into the sea.
Let's hope these scenarios never happen.
21 окт 2024
