What is a Wind Shadow?
A wind shadow is a place where the wind doesn’t reach. There is a calm, sheltered zone on the downwind side of all obstacles, a…
Tag: water
A Big Green Dew Machine
My thanks to Peter Gibbs for this gem of an email: I thought you might like this observation from today. I’ve been working in the…
Nature’s Clues and Signs – Pagham
Pagham is a coastal village in the south of Sussex. My walk took me out of the village into agricultural and then flooded areas, before…
How to Spot Patterns in Calm Water
If you are trying to work out what calm water is doing, it is sometimes tempting to feel like nothing interesting is happening. There are…
David Hockney Reads about Reading Water
My thanks to Charlie Gladstone for sending an interesting email about a beautiful book, with an intriguing couple of paragraphs. The book in question is…
How to See Through Reflections on Water
Anyone who spends time on or near the water will have noticed that sometimes we can see through water, but often we can’t. For those…
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…
Some Observations from Search and Rescue
My thanks to a helicopter pilot for this fascinating email and for permission to share it. And for adding the ‘ptarmigan altimeter’ to my collection!…
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…
Allow the River to Invite You In
Whilst researching a chapter in the book, How to Read Water, I spent time with fly fishing expert and all-round river guru, Stuart Crofts. During…
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…
What is Radiation Fog?
We are used to feeling the warmth from the sun on our faces. Heat radiates millions of miles across space, through our atmosphere to warm…
Beach Hut Picture Puzzle
What direction are we looking in this photo of West Wittering beach in West Sussex, UK? Clues (if you want them): All dunes form with…
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,…
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!
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…
How to Find Direction Using Tree Bark
The wind, rain and sun do not affect all sides of trees equally. This creates patterns on the trees’ bark that we can use to…
Cluespotting in Puddles
My thanks to Omar and Fran for braving the elements on the course last Friday. I knew they were in the zone when they stopped…
The Supermoon and Tides
Tides are at the greatest range near a full or new moon and these are called ‘spring tides’. This is when the sun and moon’s…