Replies

1. 
   AndyE | Dec 22, 2005 04:07am | #1

   I am just guessing here.

   The distance across the Atlantic is less than the Pacific so maybe the time it take for the water to bounce back from the opposite shore is greater out west. I know there is more to it than that but it seems that would be a part of it. I did a brief look on the web for info and can easily see why it would be too much to explain in the catalog. Do a google search on "tide charts" and you could spend a few days going through all the related info.

   Andy

   "It seemed like a good idea at the time"

1. 
   tinkerer2 | Dec 22, 2005 07:35am | #3

       But the Aleutian Islands are only a few miles from Russia.  That can't be the whole answer.  There must be more.

2. 
   jazzdogg | Dec 22, 2005 06:01am | #2

   Who said "Time and tide wait for no man."?

   -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

1. 
   philip | Dec 22, 2005 11:58am | #6

   Who?(it wasn't Roget's Thesaurus)Philip Marcou

2. 
   AndyE | Dec 22, 2005 06:50pm | #7

   From Answers.comtime and tide wait for no manOne must not procrastinate or delay, as in Let's get on with the voting; time and tide won't wait, you know. This proverbial phrase, alluding to the fact that human events or concerns cannot stop the passage of time or the movement of the tides, first appeared about 1395 in Chaucer's Prologue to the Clerk's Tale. The alliterative beginning, time and tide, was repeated in various contexts over the years but today survives only in the proverb, which is often shortened (as above).Andy"It seemed like a good idea at the time"

1. 
   jazzdogg | Dec 23, 2005 04:36am | #11

   Thanks, Andy!-Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

3. 
   Buster2000 | Dec 22, 2005 09:49am | #4

   Tides are caused by the moons pull on the earth.  There is a lag between the tide and the location of the moon.  This lag is different at different longitudes, so the lags would affect the tide in and tide out...  I can only assume that the lags would be caused by the none spherical nature of the earth.

   This is from... 

   http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/faq2.html

   Q: I am trying to set my clock/watch to predict the tides. The instructions ask for the Lunitidal Interval, how can I find that?

   The Lunitidal Interval is the average time difference between when the moon passes over a time meridian and the following high or low tide. If the time meridian referenced is the local time meridian, then the lunitidal intervals are called the "Local Intervals". If the time meridian referenced is the Greenwich meridian, the lunitidal intervals are called the "Greenwich Intervals". Generally, the manufacturers of such items use the Local Intervals for their calculations. Our office does not track or maintain the Local Intervals, we calculate and track the Greenwich Intervals for various locations. This information can be found in the "Water Level Observations" section of our web site under the Accepted Datums heading.

   The Greenwich Intervals we provide can be converted to the Local Interval using the following formula:

   Local Interval = GI - (0.069 * L)

   • Where L is the longitude for the location in degrees. West longitudes are positive; East longitudes are negative.
     Example: 122 degrees 23.7 minutes West would be 122.395 degrees. (23.7 / 60 = 0.395)
   • Longitude for a station is available from the Accepted Datums page by using the link provided for further station information.
   • Where GI is the Greenwich Interval. To calculate the High Tide Local Interval, use the Greenwich Mean High Water Interval in Hours from the Accepted Datums page. To calculate the Low Tide Local Interval, use the Greenwich Mean Low Water Interval in Hours.
   • Some products will require the Local Interval to be a positive number. You can convert a negative interval to a positive by adding 12.42 to the result.
     For example, if your interval calculated to be -4.11; you could also use 8.31 (-4.11 + 12.42 = 8.31)
4. 
   Malcolm | Dec 22, 2005 11:54am | #5

   Tide tables are location-specific. To accurately predict the tide (times and size) at any location there has to be a tide table made up just for that location. So there can't be a tide clock that would apply everywhere. Factors that apply include the pull of the moon and the configuration of the shoreline and adjacent sea floor.

   It is a fascinating subject. I did a research job in an estuary once where the tide guage began to fall (the water level fell at the wharf) about an hour before the water flow changed direction in the adjacent channel.

   I eventually figured out why, and that introduced me to the arcana of estuarine tidal asymmetries and net sediment budgets!

   Malcolm

   http://www.macpherson.co.nz
5. 
   MarkRoderick | Dec 22, 2005 08:01pm | #8

   We haven't heard from Rob since that little unpleasantness over the patents. I hope he hasn't abandoned the forum.

6. 
   forestgirl | Dec 22, 2005 08:13pm | #9

   "I was looking through the Lee Valley catalog yesterday, and saw the Tide Clock Kit. "  And here I was, imagining a square orange clock with a logo in the center.  ROFL!!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

1. 
   joinerswork | Dec 22, 2005 09:52pm | #10

   FG,

   Do you know why the Eskimos wash their clothes in tide?

   Because it's too cold to wash them out-tide.

   Cheers,

   Ray