High tide refuge

A high-tide refuge is a sheltered pocket of water that small craft can reach and lie in safely around high water, when an exposed approach or a drying berth is workable only on the tide. In a tidal harbor with a wide tidal range it is the deep corner or basin that stays usable while outer berths dry, setting the tidal window for arrival and departure. The term also names the high-ground patch where shorebirds and intertidal wildlife gather as a rising tide floods the flats, a feature a coastal management plan must keep when works change the intertidal area.