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| Post Info | TOPIC: TIDES!!! |
| Posted By: Scott Posted On: Dec 16, 2002 Views: 974 | TIDES!!! Todd, Dude, don't you even surf? How can you list all of those things we're supposed to like about the moon and not even mention the TIDES!?! High tides, low tides, spring tides (new moon and full moon), neap tides (half moon phases)...the whole damn ocean sloppin' back and forth TWICE! every single day! Two highs, two lows. The greatest exchanges between high and low occur very near the solstices. By that I mean that's when we regularly see the highest highs and the lowest lows, coming back to back within the same cycle. Tidal action is a lot less interesting near the equinoxes. Which means, by no small coincidence, that the highest tides of the year are upon us right now. Actually, they happened last week, between Tuesday and Friday, as the 3rd was the full moon. Things are modulating for the quarter moon right now, but look for very high and very low water again starting next Tuesday and running almost through Christmas, as the next full moon is on the 19th. Frankly, I'm not certain whether the extremes we get at the soltices are a function of where the moon happens to line up at the changing of the seasons, or if it's attributable to sympathetic affects associated with the sun and the moon's geometric relationship to it at the points where the trend toward longer or shorter days reverses itself. I suppose I should look that up some day. For most breaks here on California's North Coast, tidal conditions are as big a consideration as the actual swell. You can only surf Patrick's Point when it's pretty big, from 8 to 16 feet of swell...but only the few hours right before a very high tide. Likewise Camel Rock needs at least 6 feet and will hold up to 10 (sometimes 12 if the direction is just right), but only breaks on a low tide, meaning a lot of wonderful WNW swells go unridden for lack of exposure to the sand bars. I've never surfed in warm water so I don't know first hand, but I'm told the tides don't make much difference in Hawaii or other places out in the middle of the ocean or even on the coasts closer to the Equator. But way up here at the 41st latitude, it's all about the tides. Which is why I dig the moon. Thanks for all the laughs. Scott |