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Sail in Stunning Northumberland

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KWSC News Articles

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PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT FOR OLDER ARTICLES THE INFORMATION MAY NO LONGER BE ACCURATE OR FULLY RELEVANT.

(Article from September 2004)

Wind Link

Thanks to Gary Scott for this interesting link to a web site showing a clickable map of the UK where you can obtain (amongst other things) the wind strength and direction within the last hour and a history over the last few hours. Very useful if you want to know the current weather before travelling. Click below to try it out:

http://www.xcweather.co.uk/

Weather Lore and Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy

You may remember my earlier article on weather 'proverbs'. Well a bit more research, and a salty seadog of a Father in Law, has unearthed some more interesting information on one particular piece of Weather Lore - we may all remember:

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning." This is the English version sometimes relayed as:

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight, red sky in the morning, Sailor's warning." which is the American version.

Red sky at night, Whitby delight - from the Whitby web site.

I have discovered a lot more to this tale than meets the eye but first I will share something about Vice Admiral Robert FizRoy with you.

Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy (yes there is a Capital 'R' in the name) (1805-65) was appointed in 1854 as the first head of the Meteorological Department of, what was then, the Board of Trade. In 1861 he was responsible for the first British Storm Warning Service for Shipping and he introduced the word 'Forecast'. In the UK in February 2002 the sea area 'Finisterre' was renamed in his honour as FitzRoy. Although the name Finisterre continues to be used by the French and Spanish for the Southern part of FitzRoy and they call the northern half 'Pazenn'. This change is a break with tradition in that sea areas are not usually named after a person but after a location - fame indeed. Earlier in his career FitzRoy was Commander of HMS Beagle and participated in the Darwin Expedition from 1834-1836. In 1841 he began his brief parliamentary career as the Tory member for Durham. He was also the creator of 'the Admiral FitzRoy Domestic Barometer' and is accredited with the development of several barometers. To this day you can still buy FitzRoy barometers and weather glasses. (Try a search on google.)

FitzRoy wrote and compiled a set of 'rules' for predicting weather of which most of us remember the 'Red Sky at Night ' line. However, his 'rules' are actually more extensive and the rhyme as originally written was slightly different to how I recall it now - here is as much as I could find - I believe there is more:

A rosy sky at sunset presages fine weather; a red sky in the morning bad weather, or much wind - if not rain.

[Most of us remember the proverb "Red sky at night, sailor's delight/red sky at morning, sailor take warning" as a means to forecast the weather. However, most of us probably do not know of the Biblical origin of that rule of thumb, Matthew 16:3: He answered and said unto them, "When it is evening, ye say, 'It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring.'"]

More FitzRoy 'rules':

A grey sky in the morning, fine weather; a high dawn, wind; a low dawn, fair weather.

A dark, gloomy blue sky is windy; but a light bright blue sky indicates fine weather.

A bright yellow sky at sunset presages wind; a pale yellow sky, wet.

Small inky-looking clouds foretell rain; a light scud driving across heavy clouds presages wind and rain.

Soft-looking or delicate clouds foretell fine weather with moderate or light breezes; hard-edged, oily looking clouds, wind.

Generally speaking natural, quiet delicate tints or colours, with soft undefined forms of clouds, foretell fine weather but gaudy colours or unusual lines, with hard definite outlines presage wind or rain.

More and very interesting information on FitzRoy can be found at the following links:

http://www.juliantrubin.com/fitzroy.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A1075501

http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1F12 (making a reference to FitzRoy as a Governor of New Zealand)

http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/139/ (for a Scientific explanation of 'Red Sky at Night')

Note: It has to be said that FitzRoy's forecasts - he published daily in the Times -were often criticised in his day as being inaccurate! (Nothing changes there then!)

Steve Gibbon and Sam Gill (Poole Yacht Club)

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