The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally

I was interviewed by Susan Gray on behalf of the Ramblers yesterday. We chatted over tea, blasts of icy December air and then some more tea. Did you know that the amount of tea walkers drink is inversely-proportional to the number of days we are from the winter solstice?

We only went for a short walk, it was more of an indoor interview than a walking one, but we were outdoors just long enough to appreciate the difference a couple of hundred feet of altitude can make. In the valleys it was far from balmy, but it was a pleasant temperature that did not draw attention to itself. On the tops of the South Downs, there was grimacing aplenty and the sandwiches we had planned to eat en route stayed in the rucksacks to be taken back down to the village of Houghton Bridge, whence they had come. The…

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Congratulations to Sam LLewellyn on the launch of The Marine Quarterly.  A more handsome nautical vessel would be hard to find. (The Marine Quarterly that is.)

It would be considered poor form for me to comment at length on the quality of the content, since the launch issue includes a piece by me, ‘Stars and Waves’ on the subject of traditional Pacific navigation techniques. Suffice to say, the whole is beautiful and fascinating.

I suspect that the nautical community will soon be divided into two groups, those that know of the MQ and those that do not.

For more information or to subscribe (it is subscription only) visit The Marine Quarterly.

Just back from a bracing and invigorating couple of days on the water. My wife and I sailed from Chichester to Cowes, where we met up with the Contessa 32 Association’s Christmas Rally.

The sail back today allowed us to revel in one of those winter days that make the others more bearable. Barely a cloud in the sky, Force 3 or 4 sailing all the way.

Here is a riddle for nautical navigators:

At about lunchtime today I took this photo from our yacht. What is slightly strange about this picture?

As usual answers on a postcard or by email.

UPDATE:

The answer, which Captain JP got spot on, was that if we are looking towards the sun at lunchtime then we must be looking close to south. Ie. The picture was taken from the north of a south cardinal.

A weekend of sailing has just passed, one that was full of meteorological kindness.

Nature was generous in two ways over the weekend – perhaps as a reward for my having set up a page of weather lore?

Firstly, blue skies, fair winds and warm sun ruled over the Solent. Secondly, an approaching warm front signalled its intent, in line with meteorological science and common folklore, by sending a team of mares’ tails ahead. These cirrus clouds would be followed by cirrostratus, altostratus and then the rain-bearing nimbostratus. A show was being promised, and then put on.

Our good fortune continued on Sunday, when we were given a ringside seat to watch the nimbostratus, but never had to get too close. The dark grey clouds advanced slowly and pressed down to the west of us. The rain fell barely a mile from our small Contessa 32, but by the…

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My thanks to everyone who came to my talk last night at the Weald and Downland Museum. What a wonderful place to spend a summer’s evening, I recommend a visit to anyone who has yet to sample its delights.

On a different note, I received a fascinating letter recently from someone who has read the book. They wrote to me with an unusual observation.

I have touched the phenomenon of the ‘green flash’ at sunset in this blog and elsewhere, it is well documented and well heard-of. My correspondent is keen to learn more about something different and since I have been unable to solve the mystery, I promised to publish the extract from his letter here in the hope that a blog reader may be able to offer an insight.

“...My second point is the green flash you mention. My experience was quite different from the quick…

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The land’s wind shadow can be seen in the smooth water nearest the foreground of this picture of Nutbourne Marshes. This is an effect sailors, particularly dinghy sailors, will be very familiar with. It is the same effect that causes a build up of ice, sand and dust deposits on the lee side of obstacles on land. It is not usually quite as simple as the object getting in the way of the wind though, because of something called Bernoulli’s Law.

It is one of those laws that features a lot in our lives, but gets little credit. It helps chimneys to work properly and aircraft to fly. It causes the wind to accelerate as it travels over a curved surface and then decelerate as it reaches the other side. It probably deserves more credit as it is this effect that allows boats to sail into wind, a completely…

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On Sunday morning, when sailing off the south coast, visibility came down to a few hundred metres at times. The sun played some of its usual tricks in the fog and one that I don’t think I’ve seen before. When looking down-sun it created a colourless rainbow-like arch with pure white underneath, it was very like sailing past the Millennium Dome, or whatever it’s called these days. At one point there was one visible when looking towards the sun as well, it felt like sailing between two domes. Surreal.

We were out of sight of land for most of the morning even though it was no more than a couple of miles away for a lot of the time. A small bird (Tit, Warbler?) landed for a brief inspection of some of the ropes, which was comforting and reassured me that we were still within reach of land!