New technology dramatically improves tide info

9:20 PM Tue 12 Jul 2011 GMT

'3D bathymetric (depth) schematic of St Catherine's Point - Isle of Wight' .

As technology advances, information systems on tidal effects become more and more sophisticated, and greater and greater help to the cruising sailor trying to negotiate areas that are particularly affected by tidal flows.

The Straits of Gibraltar is one example, the waters off Australia's northern coastline is another and the popular racing waters of the Solent is yet another.

A high-resolution tidal model by Tidetech for the Solent and UK south coast, for instance, has revealed a complexity of tidal streams and currents in these waters not previously well understood.

The model details an area including Southampton Water, the entire Solent, the southern sectors of the Isle of Wight and the entrance to Chichester Harbour.

Tidal data of this resolution has previously been the domain of government agencies, oil companies and specialist environmental modelling agencies with access to super computers. Now able to be managed on powerful laptops, the complex calculations required to create the models have been translated into easy-to-view visual tools available to competitive sailors and maritime users.