In spite of balmy temperatures, the national maritime authority is appealing to people NOT to go swimming in the sea for the next few days, or to walk too close to the water’s edge. The temperature of the sea is not the problem, it is waves and currents, which promise to be strong and relentless for the first few days of the New Year. The choppy seas will be most in evidence in the north, but the warning in place applies to the whole country.