All at sea
For 100 years, many have drifted off to the sound of the Shipping Forecast. Paddy O’Connell, for one, would be sunk without it
Illustration by Mark Frudd
- Paddy Oconnell
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“And now, the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.” This essential BBC radio broadcast will turn 100 next year. Nicknamed “The Ships” by those who deliver it, the Shipping Forecast (and its theme, Sailing By) is hardwired into Britain, along with the ravens in the Tower, the bongs of Big Ben and the pips on the radio.
“There are warnings of gales in Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Dogger…” For years, trawlerman Jimmy Buchan listened from the bridge, fishing for prawns off the north of Scotland. For him, this strong, steady service – in all weathers – became the handshake of a friend. “It was a stark warning of when to get off the sea and home safe with our families. We created our own mental picture of the low [pressure] coming across the Atlantic to the area I fished.”
“Northeasterly 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10 at first…” Stormy seas haven’t just changed Jimmy’s prawn plans, they’ve changed history. The Spanish Armada was blown off course in 1588. In 1944, D-Day was delayed by a crucial 24 hours, thanks to the Scottish weatherman, Group Captain James Stagg. For thousands of years, our coastal towns lived with the horror of shipwrecks, and the first serious efforts to warn sailors followed an appalling tragedy in 1859. The steam clipper Royal Charter was returning from Australia to Liverpool. Hitting massive waves off the coast of Anglesey, the despairing captain weighed anchor. The wind switched direction, the chain snapped and Royal Charter foundered, with the loss of 450 souls. She had made it across the world, but was lost in the perilous, fast-changing seas around the British Isles.
Two years later, Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy created the Storm Warning Service – a series of cones and triangles mounted on coastal poles. This simple code gave mariners conditions ahead. With the invention of radio, regular weather forecasts of life on the ocean waves followed on the airwaves. In October 1925, the BBC aired its first Shipping Forecast. Only interrupted by war, it has continued ever since, now to be heard from its dry dock on Radio 4.
Producer Luke Doran has got hold of the Shipping Forecast from hours before the infamous BBC TV weather bulletin, in which Michael Fish told viewers that no hurricane was on the way (he later said he was misunderstood, as he had been talking about a different storm system). Meanwhile, listeners to the Shipping Forecast were being prepared for the “cyclonic conditions” and “severe gales” of what would become known as the Great Storm of 1987.
“Bailey, Rockall, Shannon…” “It’s amazing the effect it has on people,” says Al Ryan, one of those who reads it on Radio 4. He asked listeners to share where they tune in and has heard from all over the world. “It evokes memories of childhood and it’s a haven from the madness of today’s world – to others, it’s whether it’ll be OK to hang their washing out, especially if they live in the Shetland Isles and it’s a violent storm 11. It’s a very special thing and a great privilege to be allowed to read the 00.48 Shipping Forecast.”
You see, millions of fans who, like me, listen on the radio, have no clipper, no steamer, no schooner, no yacht. The Ships is a pillar of the British temple, an essential slice of home. Admiral Nelson, Wimbledon tennis, pub lock-ins, village cricket, Monarch of the Glen, Tony Blackburn’s jokes, Radio Times, the Spitfire, the Flying Scotsman, cakey tea, the Giant’s Causeway, football chants, rugby songs, Norman churches, canal towpaths, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Burns and… the Shipping Forecast.
“The general synopsis…” Jimmy Buchan tells me, “Modern technology has made life safer at sea.” But if, one day, some bright BBC spark says, “We don’t need it any more – you can get the weather on a smartphone app,” I’m sunk. I’ll hand in my BBC toupee and sail away in the 40ft yacht and floating gin palace of my 85-year-old sailor friend, Robin from Hammersmith.
The Ships. They’re one of radio’s three national treasures, along with the pips and the bongs. They’re the Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo of Radio 4. Here’s to another 100 years. May the Force (9) be with you.
A Poem to Celebrate 100 Years
Roger McGough shares an exclusive first look at his new poem, The Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast by Robert McGough
Here is the Shipping Forecast for today, tomorrow and the foreseeable.
Dover, Portland and Plymouth. Shipping will be heavy, including cargo vessels, ferries with the occasional cruise liner. Good.
Thames estuary, later in the day, a fleet of oil tankers is expected. Bad.
After midnight, overcrowded, inflatable dinghies may be sighted crossing the Channel. Sad.
In and around the Isle of Wight, yachts and sailing boats moving steadily. Fair, mainly good.
Rockall, Bailey, Malin, North Utsire. No idea.
Ferries across the River Mersey will be frequent, and subject to gale-force music.
Further east, trawlers and tug boats on rivers Humber and Tyne. Fair to moderate
On inland waterways, pleasure boats and barges can be expected, with outbreaks of punts on the Cam.
FitzRoy, Dogger, German Bight, South Utsire. No idea.
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And that is the end of the Shipping Forecast. Odd. Mainly silly.
Authors
Paddy Oconnell
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