Shrinking or Expanding? Well, Yes!

Península de Maraú. From a coconut head 60 feet up

Both. As they like to say, "they're only phases". Beachfront everywhere- bay, ocean or riverfront- is strictly in God's hands: The tides and currents giveth. And they taketh.

An exchange with Pablo, Spanish real estate agent friend in Barra Grande about the erosion of the Camamú Bay side of the Península at Barra Grande, the 'vila'...


Bob,

Received an e-mail from Mr. Barry Hall. That being the American gent who works for the USAF at Mobile, Ala. and Pensacola, Fla. As you know he and his lady, Dona Idilia own a nice beachfront property here in Barra Grande. Well, their property has been severely attacked by the sea, suffice it to say that their front fence has been replaced twice and their newly built gazebo is now at 4yds. from the high tide -- when I first visited them last year the new kiosk was at 25yds. from high tide ...

If you´ve seen Jo-Jô´s restaurant lately you know how distressful the situation is ... also at Jorge´s restaurant, Capitão
Gancho ... now it´s all along the beach, from Ponta do Mutá to Sophie´s beach bar. Only from Pousada das Pedras onwards the beach has grown [sic. receded] like more than 60mts. in depth. The pier isn't faring any better ... won´t be long before it topples into the water.

A French engineer friend of mine is offering some help. He said they´d had the same problem in southern France, Med´s coast. I know the area well, only 150 miles from my hometown. Looks like they fixed it real smart, using a system closely related to that of the local fishermen´s "camboas". Sort of a mobile palisade which stretched along the beach in three succesive rows would in this case be catching sand, not fish.


Pablo,

I hadn't realized how much the ocean had eroded the beach in Barra Grande. Camamu Bay currents have removed close to sixty (60) meters deep frontage?!

When we arrived 2-3 years ago, the conventional wisdom was that this 'large sand spit' of a Peninsula, was shrinking- on the OCEAN side. But BAY side beaches, we were told were in fact growing. Wider and wider. In many places, landowners received a windfall (landfall?) increase, often 50 meters or more. Many Bay side properties we saw obviously had their Bay frontage significantly increased. They were planting trees and gazebos on land previously well under water.

And now, a few laters later, the opposite?

I don't agree mobile palisades to catch sand, prevent erosion work. I suspect the dynamics would be similar to fixed ones. We've seen groins, jetties tried with varying degrees of success in California and everywhere else. The fact is, they have a serious downside, in addition to cost. Groins built at right angles to the beach block natural, free movement of sand sideways along it.

The result to landowners is some sand is caught for them. And removed from others. Not an equitable solution. You end up with an artificially scalloped beach. Those on the immediate upper side of the prevailing current gain. Those on the downside are, well, on the downside. They lose. What counts is the net result of sideshore current, daily tidal currents both in and out, prevailing winds and NE wavetrains up the Bay. The attempt to block sideways sand migration is a waste of time.

The chances of a win-win result are slim against the natural order. Like the stockmarket, for every winner there's a loser. And the dissension, once people 'downstream' from the obstacles (palisades, groins, etc) realize "their" sand is going to the neighbors.

The fact is, the sand belongs to no one. And to everyone- it's the ecosystems', not ours. Have you seen the near total inability to combat surf and tidal impact on the ocean side where no reefs exist? They have tried to save gazebos, a swimming pool or two built too close to the beach. They've tried to preserve land which had been foolishly stripped bare of 'restinga matinha' (natural sand spit vegetation)- dumping big rocks behind post palisades in the attempt to keep the ocean away.

Like pushing a rock up hill, ask Sisyphus. Fighting gravity or the ocean doesn't work. Even if you imagine you have been successful, it will come back and bite you when least expected.

Bob