Simplified Tidal Calculations

Abstract

The Admiralty Tide Tables give the utmost accuracy in tidal calculations, but at the cost of a number of tedious interpolations. Many seamen, particularly those in small vessels, would be willing to sacrifice some of this accuracy if they could have a simpler form of calculation. In any case meteorological effects, and the uncertainty of the time and height corrections for some of die smaller ports impose uncertainties which upset the apparent accuracy. In fact many yachtsmen do not use the Admiralty Tide Tables, but use tables in commercial almanacs, usually giving the times and heights of high water only.