Spending the day on the water in a sea kayak is one way to experience the Pacific Ocean. Photo by Benjamin Brayfield

Just minutes down Cape Arago Highway from Charleston you can enjoy Sunset Bay State Park. The small bay is protected on three sides and sheltered from the coastal winds that blow when inland temperatures soar.

Sneaker waves appear without warning, slamming the beach with deadly force. They carry sand that can saturate your clothes, weighing you down and hindering your escape.

Be Safe: Never turn your back on the ocean.

Watch those logs

The ocean’s power can lift a log and drop it on top of you. Even small logs can weigh tons when they’re waterlogged.

Be Safe: If you see a log in the surf or on wet sand, stay away.

Rip currents

Swift currents rushing out to sea can sweep you off your feet, and they’re stronger than any swimmer. Dark, choppy water is one sign of a rip current. Debris and foam floating out to sea are another.

Be Safe: Keep children close when playing in the ocean. If caught in a rip current, don’t panic. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the current, then head for the beach.

Know the tides

Strolling out to an interesting rock can leave you stranded if the tide rolls in.

Be Safe: Stay off rocks and small, enclosed beaches. Pick up a free tide table at a state park, an information center, a shop or a motel.

High waves can reach you

Waves can sweep you off a rock, jetty or headland, carrying you out to sea.

Be Safe: Avoid exposed rocks, jetties and headlands during strong wave action. Don’t assume anything is ‘high enough.”

Beware of high, steep cliffs

Assume all cliff edges are unstable. Wet trails or soft ground can make for unstable footing. Rocks can be slippery even in dry weather.

Be Safe: Wear proper shoes, and stick to the trails. Stay behind guardrails and fences.

Heads up

Standing below a cliff can be dangerous. Storms and waves have eroded the shoreline in some places, increasing the chance of slides.

Be Safe: Beware of falling rocks. Don’t climb bluffs and eroding hillsides. Avoid the bases of cliffs.

Children practice their building techniques at Sunset Beach.

Erecting a basic sandcastle doesn’t require a blueprint — just patience and a bucket.

The experts, of course, make a big production out of it. Competitive sand sculptors plan their construction projects with elaborate details for the wow factor.

Water-soluble glue, diluted in spray bottles, adds stability. Variously sized and shaped tools achieve textures and details. Tents may cover castles in progress to avoid the rapid drying that is sure to destroy a sandy masterpiece.

Such strenuous efforts are just for the pros. To have fun building a castle, all you need is your bucket and shovel, plus a serene recognition that nothing lasts forever.

Nearly the lowest tide of the year just off North Bend's new boardwalk. Photo by Lou Sennick

Clamming, crabbing, fishing, beachcombing or boating –  much of what we do around here requires knowledge of the tides. But deciphering the tide table is just the beginning of understanding them.

Every day on the West Coast, we get a higher high tide, a lower low tide, a lower high tide, and a higher low tide. The two high tides are a little more than 12 hours apart, so the time of the tides gets later every day.

If you spend a week clamming on Coos Bay, and you want to clam at lower low tide, you’ll have to plan every day differently. For example, if lower low tide is at noon on Monday, it’ll be at about 1:08 p.m. on Tuesday. Wednesday it’ll be at 2:15.

Clammers also should be aware that in the summer, the lowest low tide occurs in the morning, whereas in winter it occurs in the afternoon or evening.

On the bay, the range between the high and low tides –  the amplitude –  is six to 10 feet. The amplitude varies during the month. At the new and full moons, the amplitude is greatest, because the sun and the moon are lined up. Particularly high and low tides are seen about twice a year, when the new or full moon coincides with perigee, the time that the moon approaches the earth most closely in its orbit.

This photo shows high tide just off North Bend's new boardwalk. Photo by Lou Sennick

On the Oregon Coast, the tide sweeps from south to north. Tide tables list the times of high and low tides for reference points along the coast and provide correction factors for other places. For example, if your tide table says ‘Humboldt Bay,” it will have correction factors for Charleston, Empire, and Coos Bay.

The tide takes only 9 minutes to get from Humboldt Bay in Northern California to the mouth of Coos Bay. But from there, the tide takes 7 minutes to get to Charleston, another 50 minutes to Empire, and another hour to reach all the way to the Coos Bay waterfront. At Shinglehouse Slough near Millington, the delay is about two hours; at Green Acres Boat Ramp, about three.

This delay is caused by the shape of Coos Bay, explained Mike Graybill, director of South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.

‘The bay is 10,000 acres, and 15 miles long, and there’s only a small hole at Charleston for the water to come in, so it’s like filling a swimming pool with a garden hose,” he said. ‘Also, our bay is really shallow, like a ribbon of water, so there’s a lot of friction as water moves into the bay.”

When the incoming tide meets the outflowing river, water actually piles up in the lower part of the bay until the tide can overcome the pressure of the fresh water.

Conversely, crossing the bar at Charleston is particularly dangerous on a receding tide, Graybill said. ‘The water rushing out stands up the ocean waves and makes them unstable.”

In our shallow estuary, fresh and salt water mix thoroughly, unlike the deep estuary of the Umpqua River near Reedsport.

‘In the Umpqua, you can see cattails, a freshwater plant, as far up as Dean Creek,” Graybill said. ‘The fresh water floats on the salt water, and the incoming salt water pushes the fresh water back up the river without mixing with it.”

The interaction of currents in the estuary can be seen in the form of ‘tidelines,” which are long strings of floating foam and debris that develop when two currents rub against each other as a result of wind action or the flow of streams. Birds and fish (and, therefore, fishermen) are drawn to these lines because food is abundant there.

To help you plan activities around the tides, tide table booklets are available at hardware and tackle shops. You can also see tide charts at

tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml.

If you’ll be further up in the bay than the Coos Bay waterfront, the map Oregon’s Coos Bay Estuary Water Trails provides tide corrections for all boat launch points on Coos Bay and South Slough. You can get a copy at South Slough Reserve’s interpretive center, or download it at www.coostrails.com.

By Gail Elber

World File Photo

What kid doesn’t remember being immersed — literally — in the Oregon Coast?

The warmth of the dry sand pressing on you. The giggling in your ears by those executing the feat.

Don’t worry — there generally aren’t any ants, and most people don’t take honey to the beach anyway.

Bay Area beaches include Sunset, Horsfall and Bastendorff. All offer the opportunity to visit the underworld.

Photo by Benjamin Brayfield - Horses and riders leave the shady turf for the sunny surf near Bandon.

Riding a horse on the open sand can be a perfect beach experience. How about a romantic sunset ride with a loved one, or a memorable outing with the kids?

Bandon Beach Riding Stables offers guided riding tours seven days a week for all occasions. Riders of all ages are welcome, though children under 5 must ride double. Accommodations are available for special-needs equestrians.

The stables are located at 54269 Beach Loop Drive, three miles south of town. Call 541-347-3423 for details.

Photo by Benjamin Brayfield - Brogan Ellis looks for agates in the surf on South Jetty Beach in Bandon. (inset) Agates are displayed that were found in the surf on South Jetty Beach in Bandon.

Whiskey Run is an agate hunting mecca just to the north of Bandon and up Seven Devils Road.  For much easier agate hunting, try the shops located in Old Town Bandon.