With rivers flowing weakly, the tide pushed sea-water in, both cutting fish catches and preventing irrigation.
At low tide, water would flow from the lagoon into the sea, and from the sea into the lagoon at high tide.
As there is no harbour, the boats are launched off the beach, allowing Mr Williams about four hours at sea depending on the tide.
You can, of course, fight an unpredictable tide by building sea walls, flood gates and breakwaters.
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When the tide is out, the sea leaves little pockets of water behind.
Every day at high tide a 5-foot sea wall surrounding the reinforced home is buffeted by waves.
Mr Mitchell said that at low tide only a narrow channel of sea remained.
The sea wall was also partially destroyed as a high tide of 9.9m (32.5ft) at 20:43 BST brought seaweed and pebbles crashing against it.
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The flooding, which began on the night of 31 January, was caused by a combination of a high spring tide, deep atmospheric low pressure which raised sea levels and exceptionally strong northerly gales, which led to a surge of sea water over coastal defences.
Located at the thin end of the Thames tidal estuary, it is considered to be one of the cities most under threat from rising sea levels with around 150 square kilometers located below high tide level -- home to more than one million Londoners.
The destruction of the road and sea wall at Perelle came during a 9.9m (32ft) tide.
The Environment Agency said that during periods of high tide, high river levels would be unable to discharge into the sea, which was likely to lead to localised flooding at Surfleet reservoir.
The haunting effect of Ensor's sea of masked figures, who cascade toward us on a surging, endless tide, is due in part, as the art historian Patricia Berman has described, to the collapsing perspectives and multiple viewpoints the artist employed to create a sense of chaos.
Water from the North Sea completely covers the road to and from St Mary's Island when the tide is in.
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The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said sea conditions had been moderate to rough on Friday, with a higher-than-average high tide.
The tide had completely gone out for about 100 meters or more and most parts of the sea-bed near the coast were visible.
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