Wind

Dear Editor

Tell it to the marines

For 100 years the shipping forecast has been a much respected warning of storms at sea. Indeed, the name of the sea area north-west of Portugal has been changed from Finisterre to Fitzroy to honour First-Admiral Robert FitzRoy, who founded the forecasts. To be sure, that before satellites and internet forecast, the radio long-wave forecast was very important to not only small craft and inshore fishing boats, but ships out at sea that would head for port and safe havens.

   This raises the question of where will the proposed floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea head for when threatened by the same storm force winds and waves. It is utterly unbelievable that such people as Dr Jonathan Dean, Director of the charity, Campaign for Rural Wales (CPRW), should champion the nonsense of the UK being fully dependent on offshore wind generation. He obviously has little understanding of the marine environment and the forces that tall towers and large blades will have to withstand in the face of Atlantic storms. This is not to overlook, and most importantly, that during high winds, or when the sea is becalmed these monstrosities, or any other offshore installations, will NOT be generating any electricity. Dr Jonathan Dean should acquaint himself with Sir Walter Scott’s (1824) phrase ‘Tell it to the Marines – the sailors won’t believe it’!

Dave Haskell