Flotsom

Down on the beach, the tide had turned and was beginning to ebb.

The evidence of the stormy weather was still clear in the breakers as they rolled in from the Channel.

Up beyond the normal high tide mark, seaweed littered the greensward, and this old gnarled root had been thrown clear of the waves.
A ship carrying timber had obviously fallen foul of the storm. Maybe the strapping had given way, but what looks like a deck cargo of timber had been washed overboard and now litters the coast. (According to this morning's paper, the timber stretches from Poole to Newhaven)

As the GF walked he saw people taking what they could carry. One guy was loading a minibus to the roof with the timber.