Why do Red Sea resort beaches close the pontoon and restrict swimming beyond the buoys?

Waves usually pick up around midday and calm down by evening — during this window the pontoon entrance is often closed for 2-3 hours. Mornings are calm.

Lifeguards watch the buoy line closely and will whistle if someone swims past it, requiring them to turn back — they get in trouble with management if swimmers go too far.

During rough seas, swimming past the buoys is banned. Over a 10-day September stay, the pontoon was fully closed once (until noon) and once swimming was restricted to the buoy zone only — otherwise swimming further out was fine.