Sea bathing

In the 19th century, the introduction of railways led to the further development of seaside resorts and bathing boxes.

The death of large numbers of people while swimming in the open sea led to the introduction of surf lifesaving in Australia and lifeguards throughout the world in the early 20th century.

With the extension of scheduled air transport since the latter half of the 20th century, the development of seaside resort areas such as Ibiza in Spain, the Queensland Gold Coast in Australia and the Miami metropolitan area in the U.S. attracted millions of visitors annually.

Though no longer widely considered to actually cure disease, shades of the supposed curative properties of sea water can still be noted with the trend of bath products containing Dead Sea salt, which is claimed to provide some relief from certain skin diseases.

Some resorts such as Margate had modesty hoods or tilts which were canvas awnings attached to bathing machines.

Jane Austen regularly visited seaside resorts and in her uncompleted novel Sanditon stated "The Sea air and Sea Bathing together were nearly infallible, one or the other of them being a match for every Disorder..."[3][5] The invention of the railway, and the proliferation of rail travel in the mid-19th century made it possible for large numbers of people to visit coastal regions.

The Association proved its worth on February 6, 1938, on Bondi Beach when hundreds of bathers were saved when they were taken out to sea in a freak rip on what became known as Black Sunday.

As a result of the development of such organisations, lifesaving techniques became standardised and competitions between competing clubs were established and have become popular.

In Australia, debate continued from the late 19th to the mid-20th century about what constituted appropriate bathing costume for both men and women.

At one time, an ordinance suggesting men wear skirts to cover up in the sea resulted in mass public protests.

Kellerman was arrested on a Boston beach for public indecency for wearing her trademark one-piece swimsuit but by the 1910s the style was becoming widely acceptable.

[citation needed] Modern airline transport has made travel to warmer locations more accessible and affordable.

[9] In the United States, the Gold Coast (Florida) enjoyed similar growth as first the railroad and then aircraft brought tourists to its beaches for bathing.

[citation needed] In Europe, the presence of good beaches for bathing, a warm climate and favourable exchange rates led to the rapid growth of tourism in Spain.