Shipping Forecast

[papercorn2000]

And they only give the forecast for Trafalgar out once a day...

 

[Piemaster]

No, but most weather - with the exception of possibly a really really violent storm, which as Arch says is very rare, isn't going to be much of a problem to your modern common or garden propellor-driven container ship. It's going to forge ahead anyway whatever the weather.

Ahem (I have posted this link before - apologies but it is relevant). There are more examples of the effect on much bigger vessels.

Weather does effect scheduled services (such as container ships) and doesn't have to be extreme to do so. Pushing through a head wind/waves is different to a following one. Tides and currents can make a big difference. And the cargo arriving in one piece is always a consideration.

As for rarity, depends which part of the world you are in. There is a special loadline (Plimsole line) for the North Atlantic, and one for North Atlantic Winters which shows how the regular weather conditions are regarded there

 

[papercorn2000]

Have you never seen The Poseidon Adventure? if the captain had been listening to Radio 4 instead of poncing about having agood time, that would have been the Poseidon Pleasant Cruise - Although a Bit Bumpy at Times.

 

[ChrisKH]

I think the clean air act was in the 50's, wasn't it, and that apparently had a big and fairly rapid effect on smog. I suppose the effect was still improving for some time though, and as more and more people got central heating and moved away from coal or even smokeless fuel, maybe that helped....

I do recall we had a coal fire and back boiler until the early 70's. Probably all our fault then.

 

[Arch]

Piemaster, I remember seeing that link before, and thinking 'wow!'. I wouldn't want to be out on an open deck, and I wouldn't want to have to deal with that day in day out, but I wouldn't half like to experience something like that, just once.

Coming back from Le Havre, it was pretty rough, although in a nicely rhythmic way, and we were in bunks, so it was just like being rocked - just the occasional big wave woke us up - it was like going over a humpbacked bridge in a car too fast. I liked it though, until I started to worry about whether the handbrake on the van would hold...

 

[bonj2]

But the shipping forecast is available to all sailors - not all vessels out there are container ships. That's like saying pedestrian crossing are pointless because they aren't used by lorries.

If you only have a small yacht or cruiser, you want to know whether it's sensible to go out or not.

And even the captain of a big ship probably likes to have some idea what's likely to happen.

And I didn't say 'very very rare', I said 'not all that common', which is not the same.

Yeah but if you're thinking about going out in a sailing boat you can usuallly SEE what the weather's like. Sailing boats dont usually go across the atlantic you know.

 

[bonj2]

Ahem (I have posted this link before - apologies but it is relevant). There are more examples of the effect on much bigger vessels.

Weather does effect scheduled services (such as container ships) and doesn't have to be extreme to do so. Pushing through a head wind/waves is different to a following one. Tides and currents can make a big difference. And the cargo arriving in one piece is always a consideration.

As for rarity, depends which part of the world you are in. There is a special loadline (Plimsole line) for the North Atlantic, and one for North Atlantic Winters which shows how the regular weather conditions are regarded there

There's no doubt it'll be slower, but I don't see why they need to know that it's going to be slower in advance. One of my family got a new car recently and had to wait for it to be imported on a ship. It was late, presumably because the ship had gone slower than expected due to the westerly winds we've been having. She had to wait for it until it arrived - she didn't get told it was going to be late, they didn't KNOW the ship was going to be slower due to the shipping forecast.

 

[bonj2]

Then you'd be surprised at the number of container ships taking shelter in Torbay in much above a force 7.

Yeah but if ship's going from america to england, say, across the atlantic and there's a storm it's unlikely to make it capsize.

 

[bonj2]

Beleive me, no you can't.


Yes they do. Pop over to the Azores and you'll see loads on the stop over.

So why is it called the 'shipping' forecast and not the 'sailing' forecast?

 

[Arch]

Yeah but if you're thinking about going out in a sailing boat you can usuallly SEE what the weather's like. Sailing boats dont usually go across the atlantic you know.

And if they did, the shipping forecast would be of limited use, since it mainly covers the North Sea, Channel and Irish Sea, along with the Atlantic Coast of Ireland and Scotland.

And at sea, you can see about 3 miles. What about if you intend to go further than that? Or intend to be out overnight? Can you always tell what the weather will be like next day just by looking out of the window?

(Not to mention the fact that yachts DO cross the Atlantic)

 

[bonj2]

Yes they do. Pop over to the Azores and you'll see loads on the stop over.

not those traditional ones that have ONLY got a sail. They're usually massive yachts with a token sail that have also got engines.

 

[goo_mason]

Also on at 5.30am and on R4 long wave around midday. The midnight broadcast is the only one that features "Sailing By" as the theme music (yes, I have read "Attention all Shipping").

Isn't it the broadcast at around 12.45am that has 'Sailing By' ?

 

[bonj2]

And if they did, the shipping forecast would be of limited use, since it mainly covers the North Sea, Channel and Irish Sea, along with the Atlantic Coast of Ireland and Scotland.

And at sea, you can see about 3 miles. What about if you intend to go further than that? Or intend to be out overnight? Can you always tell what the weather will be like next day just by looking out of the window?

(Not to mention the fact that yachts DO cross the Atlantic)

Well that's bollocks for a start 'cos you can see a lot further than 3 miles. How come you can sometimes see calais from dover, that's about 20 miles...

 

[TheDoctor]

Because it's aimed at shipping, which includes sail and engine powered vessels.

FFS, it's like nailing jellyfish to the wall sometimes...

 

[bonj2]

And if they did, the shipping forecast would be of limited use, since it mainly covers the North Sea, Channel and Irish Sea, along with the Atlantic Coast of Ireland and Scotland.

And at sea, you can see about 3 miles. What about if you intend to go further than that? Or intend to be out overnight? Can you always tell what the weather will be like next day just by looking out of the window?

(Not to mention the fact that yachts DO cross the Atlantic)

yeah alright ok i acept that it's useful for small boats. But, therefore, as i said why is it called SHIPping forecast?