Coasteering is movement along the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

of a rocky coastline on foot or by swimming, without the aid of boats, surf boards or other craft. Coasteering allows a person to move in the “impact zone” between a body of water and the coast where waves, tides, wind, rocks, cliffs, gullies, and caves come together. The term was used by John Cleare as the combination of the words "

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

" and "coast" and was stolen by Andy Middleton in Wales in 1985, who then made it a business idea.

History

Although all aspects of coasteering have been informally practised by people for a very long time, if only as a means of access to a cut-off cove beyond a headland, the term appears first to have been used in 1973. In the book ''Sea Cliff Climbing'', John Cleare and Robin Collomb said "A few enthusiasts believe that coasteering will become popular and has a big future". In 1985, it emerged as a commercially guided recreational activity initially along the cliff coastline of St.Davids in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. By the mid 1990s write-ups started appearing in the travel/recreational pages of the newspapers showing that several commercial companies were offering such activity. The activity then spread to all regions of the UK where there are suitable rocky coasts, including Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Anglesey and the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. The advisory organisation for coasteering in the UK is the National Coasteering Charter (NCC). In the UK the activity is recognized by th
Adventure Activities Licensing Authority
which is a department of the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...

Activities

Coasteering may include all or some of the following activities: *''Swimming or Adventure Swimming:'' These activities can occur in calm, rough or white water; and/or tidal currents. Dressing for swimming in the sea ( wetsuits, buoyancy aids etc.) is often an integral part of Coasteering; even on routes where it is possible to stay dry. A route, or activity, where the group start out with the intention of staying dry - whether through route choice or the use of ropes and harnesses - would not usually be considered as coasteering but sea level traversing, which is usually a dry pursuit. *''Climbing, scrambling:'' The very nature of the coastline that is needed for coasteering demands aspects of these activities. Ropes, as security on rock, are not used. Any climbing activity usually takes place above deep water, with safety spotters used where appropriate. There is a similarity to the sport of

deep-water soloing Deep-water soloing (DWS), also known as psicobloc, is a form of solo rock climbing that relies solely upon the presence of water at the base of a climb to protect against injury from falls from the generally high-difficulty routes. While typica ...

, but this would normally be carried out by experienced individuals not wearing equipment suitable for coasteering. Coasteering is not usually intended as an 'always dry', climbing activity. *''Jumping into water:'' Coasteering "...often involves a series of jumps into deep water."

Guided adventure experience

The rocky cliff coasts of western Britain provide the world's principal location for organised guided coasteering, where it is available from over 100 activity centres.List of AALA Recognized Providers for Combined Rock and Water Activities
/ref> Usually half day or one day trips are offered at a variety of levels catering for beginners, intermediates and advanced. Some trips are especially slanted towards study of the

coastal ecology A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Marine coastal ecosystems include many different types of marine habitats, such as estuaries and lagoons, salt marshes and mangrove forests, seagrass me ...

. Some centres cater for parties of school children.

Adventure races

Coasteering may be included as one of the disciplines for a stage of an

adventure race Adventure racing (also called expedition racing) is typically a multidisciplinary team sport involving navigation over an unmarked wilderness course with races extending anywhere from two hours up to two weeks in length. Some races offer solo co ...

. This is especially common in New Zealand, but is also to be found in Australia, Canada, and the USA.

Safety

In 2015 in the UK a document giving safety advice for coasteering providers was published. Also in the UK, the HSE has an information sheet of good practice for the Adventure Activities Industry.

Basic safety equipment

Safety equipment reflects the environment in which the sport is performed and often includes: * Wetsuit (for cooler waters outside the tropics) * Protective clothing and gloves to prevent abrasions - may be provided by the wet suit * Buoyancy aid * Helmet * Shoes to provide grip on rocks * Wetsuit boots, trainers or canyoning boots (closed toes) * Throw line * Communications – hand-held VHF and/or mobile telephone * Knife

Hazards

One hazard is the impact that occurs with the water surface when jumping into water from height and it was reported that, "If you jump from 20 feet (6 meters) above the water, you'll hit the water at 25 mph (40 kph) -- the impact is strong enough to compress your spine, break bones or give you a concussion." When diving and flipping into water along the intertidal zone there is an increased risk of receiving an injury including a spinal injury

List of hazards

* Being swept away by currents * Clothing or feet being caught in rocks or objects underneath the water surface * Cold Water Shock * Drowning *

Hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

* Impact with rocks * Impact with water surface * Submerged objects "...like rocks, fishing gear, mooring lines and other under water hazards hatmay not be visible"

Places known for Coasteering

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

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Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

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References

{{Extreme sports Individual sports Water sports