Abacus on Amphetamine

The met office website is one of those places I pick up weather information before deciding on whether to go paddling or not. The inshore forecast they provide, plus a look at some wind sites that give more localised info, help me make my decision.

Never really thought much about how this stuff was put together, so I was intrigued when on their website the Met Office put an invitation for people to come along to their HQ in Exeter for an open day. I applied for a ticket and without delay one arrived in the post.

A very early morning wake up to the light of the moon

I'm well into England and down the M5 before we rotate into the sun's rays. Coming off at Jn 29 you can't really miss the Met Office's Hadley Centre, not that there are Monty Python like sun rays out of dark clouds pointing you to it, but more like numerous highways agency sign posts. They don't want you to miss this expensive building.


To say the place is impressive would be an understatement. It is super high tech and a super cool open plan environment. Each wing of the building isn't named Block A, B, C etc. No, not cool enough, each are named after a lighthouse around the world that begins with that letter. Eddystone, Fastnet are the only two I remember, the others are from far flung corners of the world. The place is heated by using the heat generated from it's computer system to heat up stone heat sinks in the floors, and then blow air over it to circulate it around the building.

There is a stream running through "the street" inside the building, and there is even a part built lighthouse structure at one end. The place has overtones of a Google Office work environment with think areas, comfy sofas and "intelligent art". Not quite my preconceived idea of an MOD department. Well done I say.

This open day is part of a consultation with the general public to find out what we like/don't about their service and what we would like to see in the future.

One of the newest offerings of their forecasting system will be made available shortly. A huge increase in the number of locations that we can access for weather predictions is going to be made. We will be able get forecasts for some 5000 points in the UK.

You can even ring them up for a localise forecast for your garden party. To help them with their predictions of the weather chaos system they have a computer.

Their current IBM supercomputer

The beast in the basement thing is being fed huge nay colossal amounts of data from satellite and real land based readings. These are fed in to the computer for a complex predictive model to be run which then spits out the weather (sort of).


I often wondered why the inshore forecast was updated in 6hr intervals, well it seems that it takes a while for each of these runs to complete, and then a forecaster to interpret and tweak and add that vital bit of human interpretation override. Can't always take a computers answer for it you know, even one that cost £33 million.

To call HAL's big brother a £33 million pound oversized calculator, would be insulting to its ability to make 137 trillion computations a second. This is a supercomputer, and one of the fastest on the planet.

Oh did I forget to say they have 2 of them. Just in case the main one fails there is a back up that can come on line and take over. This weather stuff is of national importance. The Met provides information to the military, airlines, environment agency, health, and loads of things I didn't appreciate they do.

The subtle irony of this centre, which provides for the UK Government an assessment of both natural and man-made climate change, is that the center itself produces some 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. Presumably it's the amount of carbon dioxide created at the power station to generate the 1.2MW of electricity a year it uses (enough to light a small town). This is used mainly to power the beast in the basement. This is mitigated by an estimated 20 million tons of carbon dioxide a year saved globally due to the use of their aviation forecasts allowing aircraft to save fuel by using the wind direction at different levels of the atmosphere, as well as various economic savings through bad weather warnings (flood, ice, marine) which allow the various authorities and individuals to take appropriate action (or not).

The guys here admit, they do get it wrong sometimes, it is after all only a probability of an event happening within a chaotic system.

As I looked out the window I half expected in pure Kubrick style "Just what do you think you're doing, Eurion?" to pipe out of some hidden tannoy.

"Just checking the weather!"

Taking notes on River Running

The conflict of interpretation and opinion between river anglers and river kayakers gains heat and interest as the Welsh Assembly discusses access to water issues,

It was rather timely, then, that I was invited by Nige to go kayaking on the river Ogmore. My sea boat would be a little out of place here, so he kindly provided me with something small and plastic that floated.

The anglers on this river are gaining or should I say retaining a reputation for their take on who can partake on this (their) waterway.

Chris and self are the numtys on this trip, but looking forward to it. Having gone a short way down the river we pass an angler who shouts something at as and whips out his mobile to begin a conference call. Are we expecting trouble? I think positive vibes.

Chris enjoys the calm and tranquility

Onwards we venture. Chris then realises he has left his keys in the car. Not his car, which is at the get out, no, he has left them in one of the cars at the get in. He and Rhys walk back to fetch them. After what seems like ages they return with the key and a couple of notes that have been left on the windscreens.

Lies, damn lies and interpretation

The signed up for excitement is yet to come.
Paddling down the picturesque river, we go over some small weirs and even do a bit of surfing on a river, how crazy is that! Yayeee.

Nige captured some of our short trip with his Spielberg skills

Rhys counts the number of numptys getting back off the river safely

It was an enjoyable day all round which started a bit of additional topical debate.

Thanks to Nige and Rhys for being our warrior leaders. I hadn’t been on a river and had such entertainment since my early teens. I remember paddling down the Ogmore from Bridgend all the way to the seashore, and recall being followed by a green clad man along the river bank who purported to being a bailiff. It seems I was paddling faster than he could trot and I don’t recall what he was saying. The atmosphere doesn’t seem to have changed in 30 years.

I’m thinking rivers now and am reminiscing of a crazy paddle trip in fiberglass ‘snipes’ down the tiny river called The Thaw from just above Cowbridge to as close as we dared get to the sea, at Aberthaw, before we thought we'd get consumed by the cement plant – I’ve just google earthed it and it looks as if we could make it all the way! Sounds like a plan to me . . .

Wye Canadians can be fun!

The River Wye is long. Being 251 km in length makes it Britain's fifth longest River.

Technically speaking it isn't the sea, at least not until becoming tidal as it spills into the Severn Estuary. Rising (non nautical term for starts off) in Wales, and eventually forms the lower border between the Celts and the English, separating Wales from England with one of the best salmon fishing rivers outside Scotland.

It also has Canadians on it. Canoes that is.

Today I try my hand at a bit of inland paddling for the first time in a Canadian canoe. The weather looks as if it is going to hold out for a full day, the kids are off school, so some of them come too.

A motley crew of all ages from 9 to 70 something

Taliesin wonders what happened to the other end of his paddle

There is lots of room in one of these things, which makes them good fun for the two eldest to come along for a bit of "messing about on the river", as well as space for kit and dogs. (No doubt I see the possibility of some clan camping at some later date).

Jasper the dog gets the treatment

Apparently the person in control sits at the back. I found that being at the front and using bow rudders was probably just as effective a way to point the thing the right way.

Taliesin checks out stability characteristics,
and finds them suitable for water fights

while John checks to see if the water level is appropriate

Llewelyn looks smug as he commandeered Tal's paddle

er . . . Chris gives Kath a go with his red kayak

. . . watched by all the boys

A great way to spend a day

Stand and deliver!

This weekend for Mark Rainsley is the culmination of 18 months hard research, hard paddling, hard organising and no doubt some hard core fun. It is the launch date of his new book South West Sea Kayaking.


Devon bound, a group of kayakers first meet up at AS Watersports in Exeter, where the book is officially unveiled, before heading down to the Pigs Nose Inn for some home cooked victuals, cider, slide show and talk.

Everyone unashamedly (self included) seemed to quickly look through to see how many times their photos were in it and if they could match Heathers picture count. Not a chance!
The book is a great resource for anyone wanting to explore the varied south west pointy out bit of the UK. 50 trips with all the local knowledge you would want to plan a safe and interesting trip for each one, and some great pics (of me) of course!

Slapton Sands

Not able to stay down for a Sunday paddle I teamed up with Andy Levick for a short paddle in the afternoon. We paddled from Strete Gate on Slapton Sands (site of disasterous Operation Tiger) through a bit of a squall to the Dartmouth estuary, had a great Devonshire Cream Tea (what else) at the old castle café before heading back.

Just before the squall passed by

Andy enjoying the sunshine

The American amphibious tank, recovered from the bay, used as a memorial to the 749 lives lost during Operation Tiger 28 April 1944 in preparation to the D-day landings in Normandy.

Quick, sharp! to the pub!

By the time we arrived at the Pigs Nose we were eager for our tucker and many a cider was swiftly sunk, being enlightened by Marks entertainment.

Start Point lighthouse

:)

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi (St Davids Day) and the Pirates of Penzance

March the first is St David's day in Wales, the day on which our patron saint died in 589AD.
One of the ways we celebrate him is to wear one of our national emblems. Traditionally a leek (being St David's own symbol) being worn by men, and the daffodil by women. The Welsh name for both plants are similar Cenin Bedr (Peter's leek - daffodil) and Cenin (leek).

Ready for school

Historically the Welsh and English have not been the best of mates, the invading Saxons in 633 met the Welsh at a battle in Heathfield. The fields here were filled with leeks, we put them in our hats to distinguish ourselves from the Saxons, and we won the battle.
I remember wearing a leek to school and we generally chomped our way through the raw veg all day. Maybe the smell of raw leek was enough to drive the Sasanachs away!
It was rather fitting therefore to arrive in Cornwall and be greeted by fields amass with commercial daffodils.

I digress. I am down in Penzance being a guinea pig for Richard Uren, a change from being a surfing hamster, (check these surfing rodents out). He is running a level 3 assessment and had put out a request for some student volunteers for his candidates to work on. Jim and I did not want to pass on the opportunity to get out on the water somewhere new, and perhaps we might learn something in the bargain.

St Michael's Mount

The first day we play around in general purpose boats in the safety of the harbour going over some personal skills. A visit later to the Dolphin pub for some ale and the search for smugglers passages.

The second day saw us on a short trip along the coast to Mousehole, via Newlyn Harbour.

Tidal Observatory on the south pier at Newlyn

You could pass the above building and not know it's significance. It is the site of Ordnance Datum the datum height for all our Ordnance Survey maps. I was looking for a shiny plaque, but there is nothing here, not even a description of the important work that was carried out here. A tide gauge was sited inside the observatory, where hourly readings of the sea level were recorded from 1 May 1915 to 30 April 1921.

At the foot of the old Penlee Lifeboat slipway. A tragic tale.

Penlee Severn Class Lifeboat, moored at Newlyn Harbour

Jim is generally not an Isolated Danger Buoy!

Jim looks for sunken treasure

We didn't get to see any pirates.

Some like it rough

Looking at the colour of the water you'd be thinking that this is not close to home. You would be correct. Praa Sands in fact, Sydney Bay to be precise, near Penzance. No brown water down here.


A nice bit of wind and some white water (mixed with the blue) and I'm ready to get some tentative practice in boisterous water with the sea kayak.
Even manage to surf the old girl.


It handles like a bus with my driving skills.


I have a very enjoyable time none the less, and feel exceedingly battered after a good workout.
Thanks to Simon for taking the time out to show me the ropes, so to speak, the beach and for taking some pics.