#englishchannel

mkwadee@diasp.eu

Last week, we had a day trip to #Torquay but rather than drive or take the train, we decided on a different route. The first leg was a #cycle trip to #Exmouth, about 17 km, followed by a boat trip around the #Devon #coast. The weather was a bit changeable but there were only prospects of short showers.

Well the first shower- didn't take long to arrive and here you can see the drops falling into the #EnglishChannel in the #wake of the #boat. An interesting combination of periodicity and irregularity on the water's surface.
Rain falling on the sea

But soon the rain cleared up and the Sun poked through the broken clouds.
Sunshine filtering through clouds

The first part of the #coast travelling #west is primarily #sandstone with its distinctive orange colour. You can see the layers tilted through geological action. #Erosion is always evident at the surface but on the action is the sea. The rocks are dated at about 250 million years.
Sandstone cliff
Sandstone cliff with erosion

On to a bit of #EngineeringGeology and #GeotechnicalEngineering, the erosion is a serious problem for any structures built on or near the coast and there is a mainline railway track on the route to London which runs along it on this stretch. #NetworkRail is busy trying to stabilize and strengthen the cliffs using #RockAnchor, #RockBolts and #meshing to retard the process. Here you can see workers #abseiling as part of their work.
Workers working on cliff face to stabilize the slope
Train going past a sandstone cliff

The erosion causes all manner of interesting irregular shapes in the rocks which make ideal place for #Seabirds to live. These include #Cormorants, #Shags and #Gulls.
Eroded sandstone cliff with a large void
Cormorants on a sandstone cliff
Sandstone cliff
Sandstone formation with large void

As you travel further west, the stratum abruptly changes to #limestone which is over 300 million years old. The form of erosion is also different as limestone is also chemically eroded by slightly acidic water. You can also see that the colour of the sea here is a very deep green.
Limestone cliffs
Limestone eroded to resemble a giant seat
Limestone with brightly coloured vegetation
Limestone with brightly coloured vegetation
Titled layers of limestone in a cliff

The #limestone also forms small #islets just off the #coast, again on which birds alight.
Cormorants on a limestone islet
Larger islet

A close approach to an islet reveals the beautiful detailed patterns of #rock and #vegetation.
Limestone islet
Bright vegetation at the waterline
Limestone cliff edge

Approaching our destination, some brave souls were clambering over this islet and perhaps were preparing to dive into the water.
People on a jagged islet

#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #DSLR #Nikon #D7000 #Summer #Devon

mkwadee@diasp.eu

We had a #cycletrip to #BudleighSalterton today, which is a nice round trip of 48 km. It was a very pleasant day, not too hot and with a refreshing breeze to keep you cool. Those of you in the know will be glad that I wore short trousers and so my pump could not get stuck in my trouser leg.

The #beach is made up of pebbles of various sizes ranging from the size of your hand (15-20 cm) down to less than a centimetre. The colours vary from #purple and #pink to #grey and #blue. Here's a typical assortment.
Pebbles on Budleigh Salterton beack

Looking out to #sea (the #EnglishChannel), you can see that the water is various colours too ranging from marine #blue and #green to #brown near the #shore where #sediment gets churned up. (Note, it is nothing to do with the current notorious practices of private water companies.)
Budleigh beach and the English Channel

Looking #west and #east respectively, you can see the #sandstone and #mudstone #geology of the #cliffs
Western view from Budleigh beach
Eastern view from Budleigh beach

Right up by the #sea, you can sea the small #waves lapping the #shore. I suppose this #photograph is technically a #selfie.
Waves lapping on the shore

Finally, on the way home, I took a picture of the #cyclepath between BudleighSalterton and #Exmouth which stretches about 6 km and avoids motor traffic altogether. I can't think of many more pleasant routes to #cycle on.
Cycle route between Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth

#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #Android #Summer #Bike #Biking #Cycling

mkwadee@diasp.eu

Today's #cycle trip was to #Exmouth which is about 18 km away by #bike and either on #cyclepaths or very low density residential #MotorTraffic. It has been a bright sunny day but still a bit cool. This is a #photograph of the #ExeEstuary which opens out into the #EnglishChannel or #LaManche. It was #LowTide and so you can clearly see #SandBanks in the middle of the #estuary which form a #habitat for #birds but also a #NavigationalHazard for boats. You can see the opposite #bank too which is in #Starcross.

#MyWork #MyPhoto #CCBYSA #DSLR #Nikon #D7000 #Spring #Beach #Cycling

mlansbury@despora.de

France, UK authorities face manslaughter lawsuit over deaths of migrants in Channel boat tragedy

The Paris prosecutor’s office said it has received a manslaughter lawsuit for failure to help in the tragic capsizing last month of a boat in the English Channel that cost the lives of at least 27 people trying to reach Britain.

The manslaughter lawsuit, filed Friday by the French humanitarian organization Utopia 56, accuses the maritime prefect of the Channel and North Sea, the Regional Operational Centre for Surveillance and Rescue of Gris-Nez in the Pas-de-Calais and the British Coast Guard of not doing enough to prevent the deaths.

The only two survivors of the disaster told Kurdish media that the migrants on the boat made distress calls that were ignored as their canoe deflated and their engine broke. They claim the British said the boat was in French waters, and the French the reverse. These accounts were confirmed by victim family members, who were in telephone contact during the attempted crossing.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20211220-france-uk-authorities-face-manslaughter-lawsuit-over-deaths-of-27-migrants-in-channel-capsizing

#MaritimeLaw #Maritime #Law #EnglishChannel #UK #UnitedKingdom #CoastGuard #EmergencyServices #manslaughter #capsized #France #French #British #distress #migrants #death #HumanRights