What causes the tides?

The main cause of the tides is the Moon. The moon exerts an attraction on the Earth. This gravitational attraction
causes a bulge in the water on the Earth's surface at the point nearest to the Moon.

This is because at that point the forces are at the greatest. However, what is not so obvious is why there is a second
bulge in the water-on the opposite side of the Earth to the Moon.

This occurs at the point furthest from the Moon, because the Earth and Moon rotate around each other to some
degree, the centre of rotation being about 1,000 miles below the Earth's surface. Because of this rotation there is a
force similar to that felt if a weight is whirled round on the end of a piece of string, instead of the force holding the
string taut, it is acting to pull the sea in to a bulge on the side of the Earth away from the Moon. This results in a
second high water.

In addition to this the gravitational attraction of the Moon is weakest at the point of the Earth that is furthest from
the Moon.

This is a very simplified explanation of very complex forces but is adequate for practical use.

These bulges in the oceans depth give us high tides and the points in between, where the water level is depressed
gives us the low tides. Because the World rotates in 24 hours, in any 24-hour period most parts or the World will have
two high tides and two low tides.

This is not strictly correct because the Moon rotates round the Earth, this movement causes the time of high water to
become later by approximately 50 minutes each day.

In addition to the Moon, the Earth is affected by the gravity of the Sun. Because of the great distance to the Sun, the
Moon's effect is about 20 times that of the Sun.
The forces from the Sun and Moon can either work together or against each other. They work in concert when they
are more or less in line, this occurs if the when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth or opposite the Sun, in
either of these situations the tides will fall lower and rise higher; this is known a spring tide. If the forces cancel out
because the Sun, Earth and Moon are at right angles to one another, the tides will not rise so high or fall so low; this
is a neap tide.

As it takes the Moon a month to rotate around the Earth, Spring tides occur at two weekly intervals, with a gradual
change over a week to a neap tide. So in 1 month there will be two neap and two spring tides.

When the Earth, Moon and Sun are in line, there will be a full or new moon. That is, you will see all the disc of the
Moon at full moon, and at new moon the dark side will be towards us and not visible. On clear nights you may be
able to see a pale new moon because of the reflection from the Earth shining on the Moon.

This means that spring tides occur at full and new moon, in fact due to friction, there is a delay of 2 days for the tides
to reach the maximum.

In the same manner, at neap tides you will be able to see half the Moon (the first and last quarter).

Knowing this you can take a rough guess at whether it is a spring or neap tide without looking in the tide tables. In
Reed's Almanac the phases of the moon are marked in the tide tables with little outlines of the moon phase. The
approximate dates of spring and neap tides are indicated by date being written in blue or red ink.
Chart datums
The depths and heights in the chart need a plane of reference: the chart datum (CD).
Depths are usually described with respect to low water reference planes (yielding lower charted depths,
which are safer), and heights are shown with respect to high water reference planes (again, yielding
lower vertical clearances on the chart, which are safer). As such, the chance that the observed
depth or vertical clearance beneath a bridge is smaller than the charted depth or height is rather
small. The term clearance height is synonymous with vertical clearance.

Note, planes of reference are not exactly as shown above for all charts. Check for possible notes under
the Chart Title.

The image above also shows that observed depth = charted depth + height of tide, and note that
observed depth is synonymous with depth of water. Furthermore, observed depth = height of tide -
drying height.

Charted depths or soundings are indicated on the charts by contour depths (areas with different colour
denoting a certain depth level), contour lines and spot depths. These soundings are reduced to the CD,
usually Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) in tidal waters.
A sounding or spot depth like 35 indicates 3½ metres of water under LAT, whereas an underlined
sounding like 04 indicates a height of 40 cm above LAT.

Heights above CD on drying areas are given in metres and decimetres, where the metres figure is
underlined.

Depths are given from 0.1 to 20.9 in metres and decimetres, and from 21 to 31 in metres and half
metres.

Greater depths are rounded down to the nearest safest metre, e.g. 32.7 metres is rounded down to 32
metres.

The geographical position of a sounding is the centre of the depth figure.

Symbols in the nautical chart for tidal levels and clearances
CD Chart Datum — Datum for sounding reduction

LAT Lowest Astronomical Tide

HAT Highest Astronomical Tide

MLW Mean Low Water

MHW Mean High Water

MSL Mean Sea Level

MLWS Mean Low Water Springs

MHWS Mean High Water Springs

MLWN Mean Low Water Neaps

MHWN Mean High Water Neaps

MLLW Mean Lower Low Water

MHHW Mean Higher High Water

MHLW Mean Higher Low Water

MLHW Mean Lower High Water

The diagram below shows you the relationship between the tidal levels. All tide heights are measured above Chart
Datum, which is the level below which the tide never normally falls.
If the range of a spring tide is about twice that of a neap tide, and it still takes about 6 hours to go from high to low
tide, the speed of flow of a spring tide will be about twice that of a neap tide.

Tide tables
There are many types of tide tables. Admirality Tide Tables is one of the most popular almanacs available. It is
published annually and covers all the ports of the world.

Lets see the example for Victoria. Always check that you are looking up information for the correct port! Around the
coast there are harbour for which the times and height of high and low water have been calculated for each day.
These are Standard Ports, they may be major harbours such as Portsmouth or minor ones selected for their
importance in the pattern of tidal behaviour like Margate.

Other harbours may not have ready made up tables but the data for these Secondary Ports can be calculated using
the tables in the Almanac.

When you are dealing with tidal information, it is valuable to rewrite the information you will be using, but I suggest
that you start by drawing a box in pencil around the day in question. This will ensure that if you look away, you will
come back to the correct place! (In the real book, cross out each day when it is finished, you will not need the
information again). When you have finished each example remember to erase the box or you could inadvertently use
the wrong data in another question.

Many of the problems people encounter during navigation courses are caused by untidy working, get into the habit
now of laying your work out in a standard manner and keep it tidy. Remember, when you are skippering a boat, the
navigation will be only one of your responsibilities, if you are untidy, and another job intervenes you will lose track of
what the numbers mean when you return to the navigation.
 Example: September 6th; Victoria Summer Time

LW 0423 0.8

HW 1036 5.4

LW 1637 0.9

HW 2249 5.8

To find the range of the tide we subtract the LW height from the HW height.

Range = 5.8m - 0.9m = 4.9m

To decide if this range is a spring or neap tide. Look on the top of page 36. In the mean range box, the figures for a
spring tide range is 4.9m and for a neap is 2.4m (these figures only apply to Victoria! They will be different for each
Standard Port).

Therefore this is a spring tide. Provided the calculated range is close to that given in the mean range box we can call it
a spring or a neap tide depending upon which is closest.

It may seem a lot of work to lay this information out like this for each question that you do, but if you can establish a
thorough method of working from the beginning you will make fewer clerical errors. Most of the errors in navigation
are not caused by a lack of understanding, but by untidy working.

To calculate the height of tide at a specific time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfkwKTyYqeI

Tidal curves
Tide tables give the heights for HW and LW each day, but to calculate the heights of tide between high
and low waters, the standard ports have associated tidal curves published. It is far more likely that
intermediate heights and times are required when entering/leaving a harbour, especially if there is a
bar or sill (cill) to cross.

The tidal curve - together with the tide table - is used to find

1. height of tide at a particular time;

2. the time associated with a particular height of tide.

Alongside the curve is a Mean Ranges box that states the average ranges of spring and neap tides.

The image below shows a typical tidal curve for a standard port with both spring tide and neap tide
drawn. Here the mean range at spring tide is 4,9 m and and neap tide is 2,4 m.
Using the tidal curve to find height of tide
The time used in this example is 15:50 on 3 January of this year (see excerpt of the tide table below).
On this day there are two low waters at 06:45 and 19:20 as well as two high waters at 00:43 and
13:01, all are local times and also no correction is needed for daylight saving time.

The ranges (the differences between the high and low waters) indicate near or at spring tide on this
day: 5,5-1,0=4,5 (near spring) and 4,7-0,8=4,9 (spring).
Follow the six steps, in the filled-in tidal curve below, to learn how to find the tidal height at 15:50 at
this standard port. To fill in a tidal curve either use pen + tracing paper or a soft pencil.
1. Draw the diagonal line between 0,8 and 5,7
The tide table for 3 January shows that it is spring tide, since 5,7 - 0,8 = 4,9 metres range, which is
equal to the spring tide range indicated on the tidal curve. Draw a line from the low water heights (at
the bottom) to the high water heights (at the top). In this example the line is drawn in red to
emphasize spring tide.

2. Fill in the times below the curve, starting with the nearest HW
Since 15:50 is after HW, start with adding 13:01 at HW and fill in the subsequent times for the hours
after HW. At LW the time of 19:20 is added to illustrate that, although the curve uses the 12 hours, the
tidal period is longer. Arguably, the following times should be added to the curve: 13:01 , 14:04 ,
15:07 , 16:10 , 17:13 , 18:16 , 19:20, yet this practice is more complicated and would not make a
significant difference!

3. Plot the time of 15:50

Using the added times after HW, plot the time of 15:50 on the horizontal axis of the curve.

4. Draw a vertical line from 15:50

End drawing the vertical line where it intersects with the red spring tide curve. Often the neap tide
curve (dotted line) has a different shape.

5. Draw a horizontal line

End drawing the horizontal line where it intersects with the drawn diagonal.

6. Draw a vertical line to find the height of tide

From the intersection draw a vertical line (upwards is handier) and find the requested height of tide:
3,5 metres that corresponds with 15:50.
This answer can be verified using by the factor scale show above HW: 0,8 (start point of the range) +
0,56 (factor) * 4,9 (range) = 3,5 height of tide.

Using the tidal curve to find times

The tidal curve can also be used to find the times associated with a particular height of tide, for
instance a 2 metres minimum height of tide that would allow passage across a bar. In the example
below six steps will lead from the desired height to specific times.

1. Draw the diagonal line between 0,8 and 5,7

The tide table for 3 January shows that it is spring tide, since 5,7 - 0,8 = 4,9 metres range. Draw a line
from the low water heights to the high water heights. In this example the line is drawn in red to
emphasize spring tide.

2. Fill in the times below the curve

Start from HW and work towards both LWs.

3. Draw a vertical line from the height of 2 m

Start this line at the top scale at 2 m and end drawing where it intersects the diagonal.

4. Continue from there with a horizontal line

This horizontal line will intersect red spring tide curve twice.

5. Draw two vertical lines downwards from the two intersection points
One of these lines meets the time scale on the left side of HW, the other on the right side of HW.

6. Read off both times on the scale

In this example the height of tide will be 2 m at 08:52 and at 17:05. Between these times the height of
tide will be larger.