Navigating by Sea Swells off Foula, Shetland
Here is a lovely nod to sailors navigating by sea swells off the Shetland Isles – it is rare to find reference to this swell…
Tag: swell
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,…
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…
What is Fetch?
The definition of the word ‘fetch’ is simple: The distance that wind travels over open water. But why do we need to know that? Spend…
The Difference Between Waves and Swell
One of the commonest questions ocean watchers ask is: What is the difference between waves and swell? The concise answer is: “Swell is best thought…
Joshua Slocum and the Birds
My thanks to Pertti Pesonen for reminding me of these passages in Joshua Slocum’s classic, ‘Sailing Alone Around the World’: On the 12th, some hundred…
Flutes, Forces, Fires and Force 7s
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…
Ocean Swell Navigation
Last night I accidentally stumbled on one of the best images of ocean swell that I have come across. I was looking at Essaouira on…