Friday 30 January 2015

Beware the Tides of March!

According to this article in the Daily Telegraph, the 21st of March will apparently be the date of a "Super Tide". There will be an unusually strong spring tide caused by the sun and moon aligning while the latter is at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit.


The high tides produced could potentially raise risks of flooding if they occur during a storm surge. However, the enhanced tidal forces will also result in very low tides. This can grant opportunities to see many ship wrecks and other interesting features off the coast of Llyn that are normally hidden by the waves. One such wreck is the Stewart off Porth Ty Mawr near Llangwnnadl. Better known locally as "the Whiskey Ship", the Stewart ran aground on Easter Sunday 1901. The cargo of whiskey bound for Australia was rapidly rescued from the sea by some of the local residents, who then proceeded to move it for "safe keeping" in farm buildings, haystacks and down rabbit holes, much to the chagrin of H.M. Customs and Excise. The remaining timbers are only 6 - 10 feet below the water and are sometimes exposed at extreme low tide.



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