Beach closed

Can anyone confirm if the beach at Villefranche is still open. I have found this online,

Friday 25 July: Toxic algae outbreak... air base to close... but the Var benefits

Toxic algae outbreak

A Villefranche beach has been closed after an outbreak of toxic algae. It is the same algae, ostreopsis ovata, which was recently detected off Monaco’s Larvotto beach. A small beach at the end of the Villefranche bay has been closed to the public. The algae, which forms on rocks and thrives in warm water, can cause breathing difficulties for bathers and beach-goers.

any comments?

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This is something that crops up along the coast from time to time. The main beach is open and was very busy today. The part that is closed is a small bay at the extreme eastern end. There is an oceanographic institute in Villefranche and the water quality is checked daily. The permitted level of the algae is 30 parts per million and a sample on Sunday showed, I think, 35. Another check was to be done today.

The same problem could occur at a less well policed part of the coast without being discovered.

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Hi

Have just returned from annual French holiday, travelling from north to south and staying in Mandalieu for couple of weeks. I was at Villefranche last Tuesday (22nd July) and was on the main beach for couple of hours. In the early evening at dinner I started to feel quite unwell, sore throat, tingling nose and bad headache. I had a couple of really bad days and it wasn%26#39;t until I was starting my drive back up to the north that I heard on Riviera Radio that part of the beach had been closed, and what the symptoms were. I%26#39;m now wondering whether it was this that made me feel so bad ....I%26#39;m trying to find out more.

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There seems to be another outbreak of algae taking over beaches in Northern France according to %26#39;The Gaurdian%26#39;

Is this a real problem or just newspaper hype?

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Keith, I%26#39;ve been reading about it.

It would appear pretty serious. A horse-rider and her horse were overcome. The horse died. A worker involved in the clearance of the seaweed was overcome by fumes and ended up in hospital.

Apparently the fumes have a similar effect to cyanide.

timesonline.co.uk/tol/…article6740746.ece

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Its not good reporting from the Times but so easy to grab stuff off the newswire and join them up.

Ulva lactuca is sea lettuce an is a type of sea weed and its not so commonly found in this part of the med region at the shore line plus there are no tidal mud flats like in Brittany which allows the decomposition of the seaweeds and the build up of hydrogen sulphide. [There aren%26#39;t many areas here where horses be excercised on the beach for that matter]

The problem in the mediterranean region is occasionally from Ostreopsis ovata , a type of moicroscopic algae which like all algaes occasionally has %26#39;blooms %26#39; where the numbers increase rapidly . When thge algae blooms there can be some issues with people inhaling the microscopic water droplets contaning the algae, leading to mild breathing difficulties, cough etc which dissapears on its own after a couple of hours.

The beaches in France on the cote d%26#39;azur are checked for water quality every day and the results can be seen either at the mairies [town halls] or beside teh beach itself.

There is a blue flag which denotes good water quailty [this is separate from the European blue flag beach symbol and flag which many beaches in the nregion also have]

If there is any doubt about the water quailty a beach will be closed as a precaution.

Algal blooms are shortlived phenomena and end as quickly as the probelm arose so things are back to normal in a couple of days max.

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From what you say, selkieNice, this seems to cause a type of maritime %26#39;hay fever%26#39;. I wonder if this algae is the same one that caused the Cote d%26#39;Azur%26#39;s seas to turn from azure to green a couple of years ago?

Ed

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Do you mean a patch of murky green midst the blue or a general overall green?

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General overall green, lasted for months. It was very noticeable. Much commented on by Nice Matin (and greatly lamented as the possible end of the Cote d%26#39;%26quot;Azur%26quot; forever !) I imagine the algae were yellow and the reflection of the blue sky made the sea appear green. Fortunately now everything seems to have reverted to normal. Perhaps the jellyfish ate the algae.

Ed

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The algae are not wisespread like that when they bloom =its a discrete murky brownish greeny looking patch because they are a mustardy yellow en masse. They also don%26#39;t last long

varmatin.com/edito/…photo-133899.jpg

I don%26#39;t remember comments in Nice matin about the changing colour of the sea- when was this and can you dig up a link? [I%26#39;ve searched the Nice matin site myself but can%26#39;t see anything]

The sea does appear to change colour due to weather/atmospheric conditons =-this is particulalrly noticeable at Nice .

The sea by Antibes has fewer colours in its range due to the different geography but green is part of the range on occasion, esp in winter and by the cap