FKOM START POINT TO PORTLAND. 539 



Bay are just the reverse of those in other parts, i.e. they are opposed 

 to the direction of the flood -tide. The opening into the bay lies 

 between the Skerries Buoy and the Mewstone, whilst its head is at 

 Hallsands. This shows that the currents in the bay tend in the main 

 to go from the Dartmouth end towards the Start. The presence of 

 the Skerries Bank undoubtedly has a great deal to do with the opening 

 of the bay from the north-east, but it seems clear that this bank must 

 itself have been formed under the influence of the eddy. Since the 

 latter is running down through Start Bay for nine hours out of twelve, 

 it follows that for three hours out of twelve it is opposing the on- 

 coming flood-tide off the Start, and the materials it is carrying down 

 in suspension eventually come to rest either on the beach or along the 

 line of demarcation. This seems to explain clearly enough why the 

 Skerries Bank is present off Start Bay, and also why it is broader near 

 the Start than at the other end near the buoy. The tendency is for the 

 sand to accumulate more and more at the south-west corner, because 

 it is there that the opposing currents meet and are most in conflict, 

 causing the water to be comparatively calm, and it is only the deep 

 channel cut out by the eddy between the bank and the land which 

 prevents the south-west corner from being filled up by sand. 



Along the beach from Slapton to Hallsands we have the Chesil 

 Beach reproduced on a smaller scale. The finer sand mixed with 

 stones and gravel is found on Slapton Sands, whereas at Hallsands 

 there is practically nothing but pebbles. The theory of Cornish seems 

 to apply equally well here. The eddy and the ebb together being in 

 excess of the flood, carry all materials down the bay. The heavier 

 stuff comes to rest sooner under the lee of the projecting promontory 

 of Start Point, and is thus deposited on the beach at Hallsands, whilst 

 the lighter sand is carried onwards and deposited on the Skerries. 



In conclusion, the comparison between Chesil Beach and the beach 

 in Start Bay may be recapitulated. In both cases we have currents 

 flowing for nine hours one way and three hours the other, a projecting 

 promontory at each which acts as a natural groyne, a grading of the 

 beach materials from fine to coarse in the direction of the more pro- 

 longed current, and the presence of a large sandbank offshore. 

 Further, both beaches have been raised in great part, if not entirely, 

 by the action of these currents, and a stretch of water has thereby 

 been enclosed — in the one case Slapton Ley, behind Slapton Sands, in 

 Start Bay ; in the other case the Fleet, near Portland. 



When more samples of the bottom-soil have been obtained it will 

 be possible to push the comparison still farther. 



