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Firstwatch
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
Day Skipper - Part 6 - Tidal Information

Tide height Tidal information is available from various sources, including the Admiralty Tide Tables, almanacs and local harbour authorities and of course, this website.

Wherever the information comes from it follows the same basic format. But it is vital that you check the time zone in which the tides have been set. Universal Time equates to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). During British summer time (BST) you have to add one hour to tide tables for British ports. Tide times of European ports are set in European standard time, one hour ahead of GMT and shown as "Time Zone - 01.00". This means that you need to deduct one hour to get to Universal Time (GMT).

Some locally produced tables take BST into account when calculating tide times, so make sure you know which time zone is being used.

Helpful hints

Winds come from a direction but tides go to it.
Check the time zone that your tide tables are set in before making a potentially expensive mistake.

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