Tides, that is. There is much more than high and low, important as that may be. Fisherman and boaters keep close tabs on the tide for very good reasons. Beachgoers and surf riders also are interested in high or low tide as it affects their activity to some extent. There are, however, other tides and variations we should be aware of.

Spring tides occur during new moon and full moon periods (every 14 days). These are higher tides caused by gravitational attraction between the earth and sun. Neap tides are lower and occur between the Spring tides. At the Bay of Fundy in Maine there may be a 55-foot rise between Spring low and high tides. In SE Florida this range is about 3 1/2 feet; 2 1/2 feet during the Neap tides.

We have two tides during a tidal day (24 hrs, 50 min.) in SE Florida. This is a normal tide action, called a semidiurnal tide. A diurnal tide (once a day) can occur in some areas due to tidal resonance in an adjacent ocean basin. Fort Walton beach on the Gulf of Mexico is such an area.

Rip tides, caused by a massive, concentrated flow of water off the beach, returning to the ocean, can be hazardous to swimmers as they are a strong current flow straight out from the beach to deep water. They occur at various times and places depending upon local onshore wave action, direction and intensity.

It is said that time and tides wait for no man, but they are on a schedule. See your local newspaper or TV weather forecast.

Also, courtesy of the Jupiter Inlet District, you can now get weather conditions and a panoramic view of the Jupiter Inlet by clicking Jupiter Inlet at www.video-monitoring.com/