Tides

If you live anywhere in the UK, you’re never far from tidal waters. Whether you’re walking the dog along the beach, kayaking, windsurfing, kite surfing, dinghy sailing, or heading out in a motorboat, sooner or later you’ll need to understand how the tide works.

For anyone new to boating, learning to work with the tides is one of the first and most important skills to master. Unless you own a very fast boat (and don’t mind burning through fuel) you’ll need to plan your trips around the ebb and flow of the water.

Why tide awareness matters

The tidal factor most relevant to people on the shore is tidal height. Knowing whether the tide is coming in or going out, and how high it’s expected to rise, is essential. Rising tides can cut off isolated parts of the beach or coastline far more quickly than many people expect, and getting caught out can be dangerous.

For boat owners, tidal height is even more critical. Thousands of UK boaters keep their vessels in tidal harbours, estuaries, and rivers. Boats on drying moorings only have a limited window to reach open water. Even boats afloat in tidal marinas may need to lock in or out at specific times.

Tides and coastal living

Living near the shore, or alongside a tidal river or estuary, also means paying attention to the tides. Exceptionally high tides, especially when combined with unusual weather conditions, can lead to flooding. Being aware and prepared can make all the difference.

While tidal height matters to anyone on the shore, tidal streams are the component that truly concerns those who head out to sea. These powerful horizontal movements of water can make the difference between a smooth passage and a dangerous struggle.

With the tide rushing like the example below, the question becomes simple:

What chance would you have of pushing against that in your boat, let alone trying to swim in it?

Building a complete tides resource for boaters

This section of the website is being developed to bring together everything we already know, and a huge amount of new material we’re currently gathering, about tides and tidal behaviour.

When complete, it will include:

• Clear explanations of how tides and tidal streams work

• Tidal flow atlases covering the UK and surrounding waters

• Official tide tables for more than 400 harbours and tide stations across the UK and Ireland

• Unofficial tide tables for nearby continental coasts

• Unique passage‑planning guidance to help you make the best possible use of the tides

Some of the information we’ll be publishing, including official UK tide tables more than a year in advance, has never been available online before.

Using the Most Authoritative Sources

Wherever possible, we will source our data from the UK’s most trusted authority on maritime information: the Admiralty.

Our resources will be based on:

• Official Admiralty tide tables

• Admiralty tidal stream atlases

• The Admiralty Manual of Seamanship

• Admiralty Sailing Directions, including older volumes that contain valuable insights for sailors navigating under sail

This growing section of the site is designed to become a comprehensive, reliable, and practical guide for anyone who goes to sea.