Tide tables and me...explanation needed

Hi All,

Checking my tide tables for Belfast I read low tide was at 15:24 today (3 Dec 06). I went to dig worms in Belfast Lough at 14:30 but the tide was nearly fully in and was coming in. I can't imagine the tide-tables are wrong so what am I missing.

Cheers

Ok, your tide tables are correct. Check against this...

http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/Ea ... onLength=7

It's a full moon (near enough) so should be about full springs which should give you the greatest range of tide.

However, wind and air pressure can also have a significant effect on actual tide height at any given time. Very low air pressure will cause the tide to be higher than normal. Similarly, in a bay or inlet, a strong onshore wind can 'heap' the water onto the shore. In fact, in any enclosed body of water like the Irish Channel or North Sea, you can get significant storm surges in really bad weather. Check this out....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953

For digging bait, most people go out an hour or more below low water and follow the tide down to get the most time before the tide rises again.

Just like gambling your life on a weather forecast, never depend on the tides to follow the times or heights in a tide table - paricularly if you are fishing or collecting bait on a bar or spit where you could be cut off by a rising tide.

Tides are not dropping as far at the minute due to the wind direction/air pressure .the tide this morning was reading approx 4.6m ,thats 1.2 higher than predicted ,hence a wee bit of flooding around belfast :lol:
so even though you arrived early the chances of you getting bait were pretty slim . strong s/e ,s , or s/w winds tend to keep the tide in around belfast lough ,maybe worth keeping in mind for the next time you go to get bait .

Thanks for the prompt, interesting and useful replies.

I thought the tide tables were written in stone!

Cheers