All it needs is a one word warning - Sharks! - and the sunlit sea empties in a flash with bathers scrambling to reach the safety of the beach. It's a familiar scene.
Now we have a new version. This time the warning word is Coronavirus! and it comes from the UK governments.
Not just out of the water but out of countries.There is the scramble to get to safety, back home.
With the return towards normality, many people, tired of restrictions and life in lockdown, decided it was time to get away from it all to their favourite holiday destinations.
The allure of sun and warm sea was irresistible. Now hundreds of thousands are regretting it as they rush back.
The reason is the decision by all four governments to compile a list of countries hit by an increase in infections.
After months of indecision, a system of' 'air bridges', allowing flights to designated countries, was worked out and the holiday exodus began.
The fly in the ointment, or rather, the shark in the ocean, is a rise in cases in the countries judged to be safe.
A new scheme was hastily devised based on infection rates which has led to ruined holidays and more criticism, from the public and the countries affected, including France and Portugal. There are scores of countries listed by the Foreign Office as open only for essential visits, with regular additions adding to confusion.
The holiday makers' hasty retreat, at just a few hours' notice, either by cutting their break short - often costly - or putting up with two weeks of quarantine on return home, has caused frustration and anger.
They cite countries where testing at airports has reduced the risks and cut down the numbers needed to be quarantined .The government is being urged to rethink, to make another u-turn.
Unless there is, what is left of the holiday season will continue to be an expensive gamble.
It looks as though that coronavirus shark will keep us out of those sunlit waters for some time yet.
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