Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas

[chris-s]

We don't go far in our little Pegasus 700, but I do like to make sure we get the tides right, we need all the help we can. To that end, I've only ever used the tidal stream diagrams in my 'Reeds Small Craft Almanac' and have often wondered if the Admiralty atlas gives any more or better information, particularly for around the south coast, west of the Solent. And would something like "NP250 English Channel" have all the same info as the more localised ones have eg NP255, NP254 etc?

Chris

 

[Praxinoscope]

It’s so long since I used NP250 (almost 40 years) that I don’t remember them fully but seem to remember that they were very much like the Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas that we use in the Irish Sea, a very ‘Broad Brush’ approach showing the major flows but not so good for very localised information, this is where the tidal diamonds on the Admiralty charts come in useful as they give information on the directions and strengths of the currents in the localised areas.

 

[ctva]

I can recomment the Imray Tides Planner app for phone / ipad which for about a one off payment of a fiver will give you all the tidal stream atlases for the UK matched to your time so no need to figure out how many hours before / after Dover you are. Also wourks on any date for the current and next year.

The Admiralty atlases are a lot clearer than the small reprints in the almanacs.

 

[Boathook]

Peter Bruce has produced a book of tides from Portland to Anvil and it shows all the back eddies, etc. His original was for the Solent. Found them both handy over 5he years.

 

[[70521]]

I love the tide atlases and have several including NP250 English Channel, they are great for planning, but I am an old fuddy duddy and don't do all these wizzy electronics stuff. Especially after my plotter reset itself to 2002, complete with tidal information, last summer in the middle of the North Sea! Thankfully, things has been planned on paper.

 

[Rappey]

Have a look at montymariner.co.uk who is also a member here. He has many tidal stream atlases on his great website

 

[johnalison]

In the past I have used a tidal atlas, which I think was Stanfords. More recently I have found Reeds to be perfectly adequate for most purposes, but for critical points such as the Elbe entrance I tend to use the tidal diamonds on Admiralty charts. If I were being honest I would have to say that I now mostly use the plotter. I don’t know if the Admiralty atlas has s detailed enough to show small eddies. In the past I have relied on local pilot books for that sort of information.

 

[doug748]

The smaller the scale the more detail you get, right down to those for Portsmouth and Plymouth. As a leisure sailor, unless you are racing, such detail may not be needed often.

For the broader strokes I like Reeve-Foukes which gives heights, tidal flows and more, based solely on Cherbourg. It's visual and features hourly charts so is a great aid to planning. As you go along you can turn a page each hour and see the projections right in front of you.

No need to buy pages of tidal data every year. If you know the time and height at Cherbourg you can have the full info for all Channel ports at your finger tips.

.

 

[Daydream believer]

Reeds & the Channel Pilot, for local stuff, or the admiralty tidal atlas for passage plans over a larger area. If I want to get a detailed one for, say, crossing the Thames estuary, Lands end, Channel Islands & the section of coast to Brest, then tidal diamonds on the most appropriate scale scale chart I have to hand. I then plot these on to my tidal sheets, ( I photocopy these when filled in) where I can pencil in Dover HW & I never need to look again as I just rub out the old tide time & pencil in the new. It makes passage planning for tides a doddle. I have them all pinned in sets for different areas, having sailed all the areas that I am likely to ever go again.
I even have the best departure/arrival times pencilled in as well, so I do not have to work it out every trip.

 

[R.Ems]

..

 

[LadyInBed]

Try these Tide Stream Charts : Monty Mariner
Put them on your phone / tablet (they are .png images) and you will always have them to hand for planning

 

[LadyInBed]

Have a look at montymariner.co.uk who is also a member here. He has many tidal stream atlases on his great website

Ah! Thanks, you beat me to it. ?

 

[laika]

Not adding much to above replies but..

per doug748's post #8, the smaller the scale the better the detail. I own NP250, NP337 and the heinously expensive but invaluable "Winning tides" and use them all. For some of us, getting the nav right is its own rewards without being the alpha male racer humbling their opponents

NP250 is great for the big picture view and it's what I use for cross-channel but for costal passages it's not going to give you much that you can't get from other sources. I'm not familiar with the small craft almanac but assuming it's much the same as what full-fat reeds gives you, you're probably better off with the almanac chartlets for planning passages round the sticky-outy bits like Portland.

Much depends on how much you enjoy the navigation part of our passtime. At less than £20 for a tome which doesn't expire I'd consider it a no brainer to have NP250 and the more detailed tidal atlases for areas you sail but sure, most people don't "need" it and it depends entirely on the parts of this sailing malarkey you enjoy.

 

[dunedin]

Diamonds on the largest scale paper chart of the area, and/or paper Admiralty TSA booklets.
It is reckless to fiddle with electronic gadgets for such critical information.

Gosh, I am living dangerously, using electronic devices for tidal information.

Actually, many of the more advanced tidal models are only available online.
And of course large ships, the RNLI and others get their chart and tidal information electronically.

 

[LadyInBed]

At less than £20 for a tome which doesn't expire I'd consider it a no brainer to have NP250

It makes my freebie really good value