Autumn 2010 part 2 - Call the Lifeboat! - monster ground-swell brings trouble....


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It is often said, "never go anywhere without a camera". You never know what might happen!

This past weekend - October 9th-10th - marked my 48th birthday and the family came to stay. Keen walkers, they were eager to get to some high ground but I knew there would be a biting Easterly near-gale over the tops, so I suggested a coastal walk instead, not knowing what drama would unfold. More on that below.

On Wednesday 6th, I went down to Borth for an hour to gather seaweed for my compost-heap. It was a day of fleeting sunshine and some heavy, squally showers, but I checked the radar and it looked like I had a dryish window in which I could pick up the weed and be away home before I got a drenching. On arrival, it was blustery but bright, and a couple of people were busy fishing....


Fishermen at Borth


After some time, the skies to the south-west darkened as the next squall moved in...


Squall approaching Borth Beach


I hung about, thinking I might get an interesting photo - possibly even a decent gust-front. That was not forthcoming: instead the beach was raked by torrential rain and small hail. Careful positioning of the jeep allowed me to shoot from the window without getting the lens soaked and this was the result:



Fishermen caught in squall


Gotta feel sorry for them, though they are clearly well-equipped against foul weather!



The remainder of the week saw a large blocking high pressure system build over Scandinavia, impeding the progress of a major Atlantic low out to the SW, between the UK and the Azores. Fair weather - once low cloud had broken up - began to be a feature over Wales, despite the biting wind....


GFS chart, 00z October 09 2010


On the 9th I suggested to my parents that we take the Cambrian Coast train up to Tywyn, walk the beach at low tide to Aberdyfi, have a pint in the Penhelig and get another train home. This is a great walk in all weathers, about 4 miles on firm sand - unless you don't consult your tide-tables and arrive at high water, when it becomes a trudge along the shingle at the top of the storm-beach - not recommended!

One thing that can result from a major Atlantic low out to the south-west is a huge ground-swell. This consists of long-wavelength surface waves, relatively stable in their direction and frequency compared to normal wind-driven waves. Because they are formed by storm-force winds so far away, they can trundle along regardless of the surface wind at the coast: in this case the winds over Wales were easterly - in the opposite direction to the swell. Tywyn itself is fairly sheltered from easterlies but further along the beach I reckoned it would come blasting down the small valleys cutting the hills behind the coast, with interesting results should the swell be a monster one. Worth a punt, I reckoned - always good to plan a walk with a bit of extra interest. We arrived at Tywyn station at half past one and 10 minutes later we were wandering along the beach. The forecast proved a good one:


Surfers at Tywyn


The surfers were having a field day - swells are often much better than wind-driven waves as they are "cleaner" - better defined - and regular. We walked on down the beach to a point opposite the aforementioned valleys, and the wind fair blasted across the sands. It was time for some serious photography:


Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


One could spend all day marvelling at these walls of water with the spray being torn from their crests, but of course we had a train to catch and there was a Guinness with my name on it waiting at the Penhelig!

Closer to Aberdyfi, the wind again blasted the spray seawards....


Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


The buoy in this image (near the horizon, L) is one of the markers that lead boat-users along the Main Channel of the Dyfi Estuary out over Aberdyfi Bar and safely into deep water. To stray either side of this route is to invite trouble, as the channel is flanked by great expanses of sandbar-ridden shallows - a death-trap for the unwary, especially at low tide and especially when a big swell is running...



Huge swell hitting the beach between Tywyn and Aberdyfi


Sat up in the shelter of the sand-dunes before turning east into the Estuary - and the blasting wind - I noticed the Aberdyfi Lifeboat heading out. I then became aware of a small boat in trouble - L and behind the lifeboat - it was caught in the shallows and getting hammered by the surf...


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


The lifeboat headed out along the Main Channel - the surf in the foreground is over the shallows to its north....


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


The Bar itself is shallow at low tide and is a serious hazard then. Here the lifeboat is crossing this short band of treacherous surf....



Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


Punching its way over the biggest and final breaker - these RNLI lads know what they are doing. I liked this shot especially... the courting couple in the foreground and all hell breaking loose beyond!


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


Now in the deeper water outside, it turns south to rendezvous with the stricken vessel...


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


Getting as close as it can, a rope is thrown and the two boats are tied together....


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


...thus allowing the boat to be towed to safer, deeper water and back into the harbour.


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


Taking it carefully over the Bar - it is far more dangerous coming in than going out, as coming in the waves hit the boat astern - a large one can turn the boat, risking a broaching, when the boat suddenly finds itself beam-on to the next wave, which can tip it over in an instant....


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


But no problems - both boats have made it into the Main Channel...



Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


The rescued vessel L, awaiting collection, and the lifeboat R.


Aberdyfi Lifeboat on an emergency call-out


The Aberdyfi Lifeboat has its own website - well worth a look -  http://www.aberdoveylifeboat.org.uk/

It is a busy boat with 20-30 launches a year typically. The calm inside the Estuary - except in the severest of storms - belies the often furious surf that exists over the shallows of Aberdyfi Bar and the treacherous rip-tides that are present - especially on the ebb: this combined with the popularity of the area for watersports, drawing the experienced and the inexperienced alike, guarantees that there will be a "shout" at least twice a month. It was an interesting experience to witness an actual incident that, thankfully, ended well.

High pressure has now pushed over the UK, the East wind is slowly dropping and, at the coast, the swell should ease away through the week. A brief Indian Summer - most welcome!


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