Tide Clocks - Fashion your own - A guided workshop

A tide clock is a specially designed clock that keeps track of the Moon's apparent motion around the Earth. Along many coastlines, the Moon contributes the major part (67%) of the combined lunar and solar tides. The exact interval between tides is influenced by the position of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth, as well as the specific location on Earth where the tide is being measured. Due to the Moon's orbital prograde motion, it takes a particular point on the Earth (on average) 24 hours and 50.5 minutes to rotate under the Moon, so the time between high lunar tides fluctuates between 12 and 13 hours. A tide clock is divided into two roughly 6 hour tidal periods that shows the average length of time between high and low tides in a semi-diurnal tide region, such as most areas of the Atlantic Ocean.

When reading a tide clock, try to picture a timeframe of 12 hours and 25 minutes (or thereabouts). This timeframe corresponds to the tidal cycle of a lunar day. On most tide clocks, you can see the markings for high tide at the top of the dial and low tide at the bottom of the dial. There are also “mid-tide” markings where the 15-minute and 45-minute points would be on a traditional timepiece.  This clock doesn't tell you the exact times of high and low tide, but the state of the tide on any given day, with a little practice, you will be reading the tides as easily as you read time.

The good news here is that when learning how to read a tide clock, you only have to pay attention to a single hand (there’s usually only one hand to look at anyway). The time between high tide and low tide is approximately six hours and 12 minutes. When the hand is at the noon or midnight position, it’s high tide. The 6 o’clock position indicates low tide. The "numerals" in between the high and low tide markings gauge the hours between high tide, mid tide and low tide. Knowing how many hours remain before a tide comes in or goes out lets mariners prepare for the movement of the oceans accordingly.   The difference between tide clock workings and regular time clock workings is that 25 minutes added to a tide clock.

Have your GPS take you to 101 West Rodney French Blvd. in New Bedford.  Once there, please park on the end of the building AWAY from the main entrance.  You'll see an ORANGE door that says Mattress Handup...enter there and go up the stairs.  At the top of the stairs...follow small yellow signs for NBACE.  We're right around the corner behind the mural  !!