Report by Chris Cole

The barometer was stable at 1014 mb. There was a light north easterly wind and the temperature was about 8c and the sky was clear, making good hunting conditions.

I walked east from the car park. The exposed sand was flat but devoid of any shell debris spoils. There were few turritellas and nummulites amongst scattered light gravel dragged down from the top of the beach. I only found 2 small shark teeth and one myliobatis fragment in about 90 minutes. There were none of the normal exposures visible, not even the E3 reef.

Collecting has been poor at Bracklesham throughout the summer. I believe that this has been due to the amount of sand that has been deposited on this area of the beach. Similar conditions prevail at West Beach Selsey.

Last week we had the first winter storm that more or less coincided with the spring tides. This seemed to make little difference to the beach.

I will keep monitoring the status of both Bracklesham and Selsey sites and post another report to advise of any improvement.

This is an appropriate time to introduce an update to the Environment Agency proposals for the "Managed realignment" of the sea defences at Medmerry (West Beach, Selsey).

Check out the link below. There is an Environment Agency "Surgery" in the Selsey Town Hall on Saturday 14^th November between 1000 and 1600 where the public can discuss the ongoing developments.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/109062.aspx