Beach - a hypothesis

[Jimbo]

Ne

[Andy7]

I think as do some of the locals that the severe erosion of this section of the beach was due to the placement of many large stones in front of the Delphino Blue.

These stones distorted the water and tidal current during winter storms and 'back washed' the sand out to sea where it now sits in long ridges 30 meters out.

However this erosion is part of a larger scale shrinkage of the beach over the last few years which I think has been due to a succession of stormy winters in Corfu.

I have photos of the beach from my first visit in 2008 and it was massive, but when you check the weather records for Corfu between 2000 and 2008 you will find a long series of calm winters with few winter storms, however, winter 2009 was stormy and 2010 and 2011 even stormier as deep low pressure systems crossed Greece during the winter months. The recent winters 2012 to 2015 have seen further stormy winter spells although not as bad as those between 2009-2011.

We need a return of those calmer drier winters in Corfu to restore the beach and with high pressure now extended across the Eastern Mediterranean this winter could be the start of a beach revival.

Andy

[Jimbo]

I agree with a lot of that, Andy. Whereas the beach use to be a shallow horseshoe shape it now has steep V shape in towards Mango. That steers the incoming tide in a concentrated way towards that point on the shore.

Maybe dumping a load of sand like an artificial dune across the affected spot would help. Down at the Waves end of the beach the seaweed helps to bind the sand at the edge, and it grew noticeably this year over the summer/autumn.

[buttyboy@live.co.uk]

I was looking at the webcam today of the beach and it looked ok near Mango so why it comes right up in the summer who knows.

[Jimbo]

It's more a case of storms rather than time of year. There were violent storms from the north this year. We could do with a WebCam on top of Havana Bar showing the beach area! That way I could capture an image once a day and make a video showing the beach state.

[buttyboy@live.co.uk]

good idea Jimbo. Also san stefanos has become more popular over the years so all the people stuffing themselves with the good food and beer and then laying on the beach in that area has caused a weight issue  so the  sand sinks causing beach to come right in lol. Maybe the delfino blu will build one of those wooden pontoon areas there who knows. we still love it and will continue to go every year no matter what. I have a 6 week old daughter who will next year be taking her first steps in san stefanos and we cant wait for her to meet everyone. roll on the summer

[tonyco1]

I've looked this up and I think Jim & Andy are right here.
It's logical and I've heard of, in fact saw a similar thing on a beach in Goa.
Tides are fiercer there than Corfu, and usually only beach huts are erected during the "season", but a local hotel built a Restaurant out onto the beach.
The tides came right in over a year or two and a narrow hotspot occurred right up to the building.
Made me think reading this as the guys in the beach-hut next to it were saying the building caused the problem.

[Jimbo]

Beachapedia.org has a great deal on this subject. To summarise the main points:

* Building near beaches causes erosion
* Sea walls or barriers to protect these buildings makes the situation better for the buildings but worse for the beach
* The best solution is to move the buildings !!!!!!!
* "Nourishing" the beach with identical sand may help, but it requires regular replenishment. And it's expensive

We may reasonably guess that the section past Mango and Havana will shortly be impassable except at very low tide. Agios Stefanos will then have accidentally destroyed its greatest asset apart from food. I wonder if this is being debated in the tavernas and kafenions in Avliotes?

[will7777]

Hi all
Just head that sanstef beach sounds like its on the move . .uesed to see a horse shoe shape  and a gentle slope
Down to  blue water's ..hopping to be over with may wife and  kids ..hopefully it will be as safe as it always have bin

[Jimbo]

It's very safe. So safe that you can lie on a bed outside Mango in the sea and order a beer!

[Dupnica]

Bumped into Kostas(sunbeds) a couple of weeks ago as we walked along the beach. He 's not enjoying his retirement, misses all the people, and thinks he might  be back working next year.
I mentioned how wide the beach is this year beyond the Havana. He says it's all down to the direction of the wind during the Winter. If it blows from the South the beach will be wider in the Summer.If it blows from North it will be narrow.
So there you have it, all our theories about building on the coast blown out of the water so to speak!

[StevenM]

Had the same conversation with Vagelis  who used to work in the Nafsika and now spends his time fishing and renting his villas. A few days back he said exactly the same thing, it's all down to the direction of the wind.

[Andy7]

Not sure about all the theories but I am sitting on the beach in front of the Havana now and I can't believe how wide it is this year, best I have seen it in 5-6 years. At a guess I estimate the beach is  40-50 meters wide in front of the Havana and further along the beach its big enough to accommodate 4 lines of sun beds.

It's great to see and a vast improvement on the last few years.

There is a lot of sea weed in front of Waves Taverna that will need clearing but all in all the beach is excellent and litter/rubbish free.

Andy