Mobile telephones

Whilst I wholeheartedly support Aidan de la Mare in the use and abuse of mobile telephones, I do think that they can also be a useful tool. Apart from the obvious examples quoted of being able to contact others in the event of changes in plan etc., I have also found them very useful in obtaining weather information before setting off, or indeed returning from a day sail.

At very modest cost I use my mobile for obtaining the latest weather forecast for the area where I am sailing. The Met Office has a service which provides SMS (Short Message (written) Service) messages to cover a range of sea areas around the coast. I prefer the “Coastal Reports actual” covering 45 stations around the coast. These reports are normally updated hourly. Whilst I always listen to the local radio forecast before setting off in the morning, it is, as we all know, very difficult to have information regarding the return journey which may be some hours later. Before setting off on the return it is very quick and easy to obtain local and up to date information on the conditions which might be expected on the return.

There is also a less well known service that covers certain parts of the coast. Originally set up for gliding and hang gliding enthusiasts, the service is steadily expanding and covers a number of coastal locations. I am very fortunate in that there are two stations covering the central and eastern Solent. This service comes under the somewhat frivolous name of “Wendy Windblows”, but provides very useful current information, together with past history. For myself there are stations at Calshot and Hayling Island, and a phone call to either will give me current wind strength and direction together with cloud base and precipitation. In addition the same information regarding wind speed and direction is given for the last 30, 60, and 90 minutes, thereby giving a recent trend. A further useful feature of the site is information regarding high and low water tide times.

Knowledge of one’s local area helps to interpret both these different sources of weather information and for the price of a local phone call adds considerably to safety and peace of mind. Details of the Met Office service are contained in their booklet “Marine Weather Services 2002" and is available free of charge; tel: 0845 300 0300, e-mail: HYPERLINK "sales@metoffice.com" sales@metoffice.com Internet: HYPERLINK "http://www.metoffice.com" www.metoffice.com Wendy Windblows can be contacted by telephone on 0114-287-8936, or by e-mail: HYPERLINK "office@wendywindblows.com" office@wendywindblows.com, or by visiting the web site at HYPERLINK "www.wendywindblows.com" www.wendywindblows.com where you will be able to try the service for yourself.

I do hope that this information will be of interest to other members. J. J-p. Atwill