Tide tables?

[NorthUp]

To add to the confused tides on the west coast this year, during the first week of July this year I had plotted a west- east course across the Minch. Passage time was to be around 18 hours though in the event we aborted after 5 hours- but the anticipated change in tidal direction never occured. It continued southward for at least three hours longer than expected, and was still southerly when we went home. Swopping tales later with a fisherman, he had a similar experience that week in the South Minch.

 

[Amulet]

I don't understand why this is even slightly difficult. If you want to know tidal heights look at tide tables. If you want to know tidal streams look at tidal diamonds. It looks to me as if the tidal diamond in the sound of Luing is spot on with your experience. You can't look at HW Oban and then by some magical method guess the tidal stream. If you can't be bothered to do the tidal diamond stuff on paper then buy a tiddly bit of software for your phone, tablet or PC that'll do it for you. Almost all my sailing mates have the Navionics on their phone, which will effortlessly give accurate predictions. My UKHO tidal atlas is on the boat, but it will be just as good, and I assume it'll have an arrow somewhere near the diamond at 56˚11.69'N 5 ˚39.87'W.

 

[A1Sailor]

I don't understand why this is even slightly difficult. If you want to know tidal heights look at tide tables. If you want to know tidal streams look at tidal diamonds. It looks to me as if the tidal diamond in the sound of Luing is spot on with your experience. You can't look at HW Oban and then by some magical method guess the tidal stream. If you can't be bothered to do the tidal diamond stuff on paper then buy a tiddly bit of software for your phone, tablet or PC that'll do it for you. Almost all my sailing mates have the Navionics on their phone, which will effortlessly give accurate predictions. My UKHO tidal atlas is on the boat, but it will be just as good, and I assume it'll have an arrow somewhere near the diamond at 56˚11.69'N 5 ˚39.87'W.

That seems to be the problem, though. Some seem to think predictions are fact when they are just an indication of what might happen. I would generally assume "an hour either way", so a two hour window. If it is more that an hour out I'd just grin and bear it.:ambivalence:

 

[agurney]

Just came down from Oban to Crinan this morning, a slow passage but not as slow as Leader who despite full sail of Hampden Park proportions was tacking back and forth in the Sound Of Luing all morning...

Assuming that "yesterday" was Thursday 6th, my corrections (http://www.agurney.com/tides.pdf) suggest that the tide at Fladda wouldn't have been heading south until 13:55 BST. So yes, a full morning of tacking seems about right

 

[Amulet]

That seems to be the problem, though. Some seem to think predictions are fact when they are just an indication of what might happen. I would generally assume "an hour either way", so a two hour window. If it is more that an hour out I'd just grin and bear it.:ambivalence:

Assuming that "yesterday" was Thursday 6th, my corrections (http://www.agurney.com/tides.pdf) suggest that the tide at Fladda wouldn't have been heading south until 13:55 BST. So yes, a full morning of tacking seems about right

Never saw that site before. I just wrote a system to do the same but not as tidily. The site doesn't give details of the source data. I'd be breaking my licence agreement with UKHO if I published my tables. Despite comments here, I find the predictions pretty accurate most of the time. In tiny wee channels pilot books have to be used, and predictability is not so good. I go through Cuan often and find the CCC prediction algorithm pretty accurate with linear interpolation between neaps and springs.