TIDE SCULPTURES

The timber groynes seen on so many UK coastlines are constructed for the purely practical purpose of defending beaches from the effects of longshore drift, which sounds like a lazy and romantic way to spend a balmy evening by the sea. Longshore drift is actually the movement of sediment, like sand and pebbles, caused by the wave action of the sea. When first installed, the timbers are straight, with sharp angles and pristine iron nuts, bolts and bands. In time, erosion by weather and water take their toll and without maintenance, the groynes disintegrate after about twenty years. Many of the timber groynes on Worthing beach have disappeared but the few that are left have been transformed by the forces of nature into beautiful sculptural forms.