In the 17 hundredsa, people were generally afraid of the ocean and wanted nothing to do with it. But then in the 17 Hundreds, some enterprising doctors started touting the supposed health benefits of both sea water and sea air. That was the shift that kind of got people heading for excentive periods of time to the seaside. This is a place where you go, it's a sort of kick your tuberculosis, not to hang on your tan, right? A. Fun fact, the doctors who ran those proto beach resorts had their patients drink sea water. They also had them wash their eyes with it. I think it safe to say this was nobody's idea of a vacation.