Moaning sandbar

A moaning sandbar is a harbor shoal known for making low, sustained noises as water flows over it, typically around low tide, a sound accompanied by turbulence that can be dangerous for small boats. The phenomenon appears in English language literature and poetry, including Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem Crossing the Bar, which he wrote after crossing the Solent, with Salcombe, a town with a history of maritime wrecks, suggested as a possible source of his inspiration.