Baïne

11:21 Jan 8, 2021 

@ Daryo: "baine" is typically used in the Basque country (and les Landes) where I used to live, and I often heard it used to refer to the current. Are you basing your thoughts on beaches/fishing on personal reflections or prior knowledge and research? Unless we had more context, we couldn't say 100% which part of the system known as "la baine" is being fished. Do we know that the context is referring to a retreating tide?

23:28 Jan 7, 2021 

can be very dangerous - especially the ones that are almost flat.

When sea water starts retreating after a high tide, the flattest the beach the faster it retreats.

Even if the water is not too deep and you can "walk" on the sea floor the force of mowing water can be overwhelming.

And the trap is quite similar - until the retreating water starts dragging you out to the open sea, it all looks nice and harmless ...

12:03 Jan 6, 2021 

here is a good picture of what it is: http://tpebateaux.e-monsite.com/pages/biologie/houle-vague-e...
and the same picture on an English-language page
https://www.livescience.com/3910-rip-currents-ocean-deadlies...

19:05 Jan 5, 2021 

NOW you're talking! That now all makes sense :)

18:18 Jan 5, 2021 

"Baïne-fishing":

https://www.top-fishing.fr/contenu/actualite/116/1/special-a...

Sounds ike they get right in there:
"Passer plusieurs heures à moitié immergé en affrontant vagues et courant en effectuant des lancers très puissants est un véritable sport."

18:03 Jan 5, 2021 

I don't think more context is necessary. If you google 'cafe baïne' or 'restaurant baïne' you'll find plenty of places called after this phenomenon. So, it's well known even if it comes from the Basque language. I didn't know that but I have seen TV programmes discussing the dangers for swimmers. For me, an equivalent would be 'Mistral' - this should be translated as 'Mistral' because it is a phenomenon that occurs in a certain place. You would never explain it 'wind'(?) and would use the French word. Or 'Belharra' is not a 'wave'. For me, pool or pond or lagoon don't quite capture the whole meaning (because it doesn't look like a pond when it just looks like part of the ocean) which is why I would leave the original French word.

17:53 Jan 5, 2021 

yes, I had realised that (believe it or not!), which is why I keep asking for more context. Given the very real danger of "baïnes", it seems very odd if the text is suggesting in any way that people might actually wish to catch fish in or from them! These are not lovely, innocuous rock pools!
BUT, context is everything, and could make sense of what - on the face of it - appears inexplicable to the uninitiated!
And the comparison to a "falaise" - while amusing - is quite misleading, as everybody knows what a "falaise" is (especially as it is usually translated into English, anyway!), whereas a baïne is far less well known.

17:43 Jan 5, 2021 

This, including great photo-diagrams, is a comprehensive explanation of the dangers, for those looking for more background:

https://www.lacanausurfinfo.com/news-meteo-plage-329/le-dang...

To draw a kind of silly parallel, if you were translating the word "falaise", would you point out the dangers of being near cliffs?

And would most French people who live away from the SW coast of France even understand the word baïne (which is perhaps effectively a dialect word?) and the dangers of baïnes?

17:28 Jan 5, 2021 

the trouble is that - while technically accurate - the term "pool" (whether tidal or not!) sounds far too benign for the danger these pose to unsuspecting swimmers, or even paddlers. Which is why we need more context! What we have been given could imply that anglers might want to set themselves up in one of these "pools" for a pleasant day's fishing! Although I know absolutely nothing about fishing, so could well be mistaken, this somehow seems extremely unlikely to me, given the real dangers of these particular "pools"

17:07 Jan 5, 2021 

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/lagoon/

The phrase "Comme pour les baïnes" doesn't tell us anything!

Please could you provide some more of the frequent occurrences of the word in your text, along with their context!

14:06 Jan 5, 2021 

"Tidal pool" came to mind for me also, but apparently the term means a pool of water that is left when the tide goes out.

11:51 Jan 5, 2021 

Yes Carol, I agree with the term 'pool' from what I have seen in the pictures. What about 'tidal pool'?

11:45 Jan 5, 2021 

Not sure if this is applicable, as context provided is fairly sketchy!
But I have frequently translated this word in the context of tourism and safe bathing, and not only in the Landes area. It refers to those pools and "islands" on the beaches that are revealed at low tide on certain beaches. Swimmers often get fooled by the higher ground (hidden underwater sandbanks) they're standing on, but worse still, get swept out to sea by the extremely powerful rip tides that occur especially at low tide even in apparently safe and deceptively shallow water (I seem to remember, but this last detail is worth checking if it is relevant!). This results in drownings every year, hence the countless warnings to bathers in Brittany and elsewhere. In this context, I usually warn tourists to beware of dangerous rip currents, although I realise you might simply be referring to the temporary pools left in the wet sand as the tide goes out... (?)