Why do waves bend towards the shore?
When waves meet shallow water they slow down. When one side of a wave slows down, the wave bends towards that side. It is a…
Tag: How to Read Water
The Fish Cliff Clue
When John Pahl and I were sailing around Iceland, we noticed that you could use the puffins to indicate the direction of land very reliably,…
Winter Sea Cumulus
The clouds always make a map for us. On winter mornings, the cumulus clouds map the sea. A lot more about this and the other…
5 Sea Colours That Are Easy to See
Every time we look out at the sea there are lots of colours. Our brain tends to mash them all up because it is busy…
What is a ‘Drying Height’ on a Chart?
The definition of a drying height: “The drying height is the vertical distance of the seabed that is exposed by the tide, above the sea water level at the lowest astronomical tide.” But this…
Water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper
Water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper, is a bitter tasting map-maker. It is an inconspicuous annual plant, but it is useful to natural navigators. It grows up to…
Cross Hatch Wave Pattern
This is a video for readers of the book How to Read Water. Notice how a cross-hatch pattern forms where the waves meet on this…
Learning about the Moon by Watching the Thames
An extraordinary guest article by John Pahl. I love looking at the night’s sky, following the movement of the Moon and stars across the sky.…
How to Smell Rain
A wonderful guest article today by Milo Carnegie Mee. Of the plethora of smells that greet our noses when we are outdoors, the redolence of…
How to Navigate with Lombardy Poplars
There are three types of tree in any landscape: friends, guests and rebels. Every tree is native, invasive or planted. Native trees have been part…
Transit Lines
My favourite signs always combine simplicity, elegance and practicality. They are often so effective that technology can’t improve on them. Cats’ Paws, the ruffled patterns…
The Glitter Path
A ‘glitter path’ is light reflected off water from a low sun, moon or other bright object. Glitter paths help us to read water because…
How to Read Water
Clues & Patterns from Puddles to the Sea A New York Times Bestseller. A Sunday Times “Must Read” book. A must-have book for walkers, sailors,…
The Sorting by Sea Currents
Sea currents sort objects according to size, shape and weight. There is a documented case of left Wellington boots from a lost container washing up…
Pacific Island Navigation
There was a near perfect ripple map on a very windy West Wittering beach yesterday. The different wave patterns on each side of an island…
How to Read Water – New Animation!
Here is the first of a short series of animations that I will be publishing over the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy!
How to Capture the Sun
I’m just back from Kincaldineshire. A big thank you to the extraordinary Charlie and Caroline Gladstone for inviting me to run a couple of mini…
Waterstones Paperback Interview
There was a special edition paperback of How to Read Water published only for Waterstones. It included an interview that was added to the back…
Reflections and Ripples
We see the most detail in relatively calm water when we look at the places where light and dark reflections meet. Look at the line…
Water Reading Courses in the Maldives
I have just returned from an extraordinary visit to the Soneva Fushi resort in the Baa Atoll region of the Maldives. I was there to…