Foghorns are to be switched off
Thursday 17th March 2011, 1:00PM GMT.
The foghorn at St Martin's Point is one of those that is due to fall silent.
FOGHORNS are a safety necessity, according to the harbour master.
Captain Peter Gill was surprised by reports last week that in addition to lighthouse ranges being reduced around the Bailiwick, a review of aids to navigation could see foghorns switched off.
The review by Trinity House, which is responsible for all Channel Island lighthouses, began at the end of 2009. The report came out in May 2010 and, according to Capt. Gill, did not include any mention of terminating the use of foghorns.
Trinity House director of navigational requirements Capt. Roger Barker said: ‘Fog signals … are no longer regarded as a means for mariners to identify their position and to navigate from place to place.’
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Not being a “nautical cove” I don’t know anything about the ramifications of this but hearing fog horns is one of those things that remind me I’m in Guernsey.
It’s not a big deal but in a strange kind of way I will be sad to see them go. Not sad enough to start a petition and Facebook group though!
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At least there’ll be more wrecks for scuba divers to explore!
Seriously though, where do these people get off? Are they all seriously morons or just pretending?
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P Le P – I’m with you on that!
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With the introduction of GPS and its uptake by all boat users it’s no surprise this is under review.
……isn’t this the bit where someone starts a “Save our Fog Horn Facebook Group”
Come on GP, surely you can find a salty sea dog with a face like a fiddle for the follow up.
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How about we stick Mr Trott down st martins point instead??!!
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Cor Lummey its going to be quiet in the states meetings la!!
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GPS failures only ever occur in good visibility. Any fool knows that.
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i’m a mournful fellow as you may know. i love the sound of foghorns, especially having always lived so near the sea. there is a sweet melancholy to a half-decent foghorn and that small, but insistent, grey and formless pleasure, will never more greet my waking on those occasional still and smoky mornings. RIP strange noise.
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Neil – they will need to be wearing a hi-viz with hands on hips or arms crossed and a general look of contempt. I think a headline such as “ For Fog’s Sake!” would work…
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son of blah – your post reminds me of the movie Apocalypse Now….”I love the smell of foghorns in the morning!”
Perhaps we should make a Guernsey version, with a fleet of trislanders coming over the horizon to the tune of Ride of the Valkyries…
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First air raid sirens, now Foghorns? Are the states just getting rid of every warning system they can?!
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Starscream – I think it was sensible to get rid of the sirens (as no-one knew what they were there to alert people of) but do not approve of removing the fog-horns (as they fulfil a specific and necessary function)
There have been concerns raised in the UK about the level of reliance on GPS and how basic services (such as sending ambulances to the right place) would collapse in the event of a disaster that knocked out the infrastructure. Just as no-one should go walking in the mountains with a GPS but no map, or go out on the water with just a mobile and no radio, the authorities should not rely on boats having working GPS systems at all times.
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@Starscream
All local lighthouses are administered by Trinity House in the UK. Local authorities seem to have made efforts to get them to change their mind but we’re in a different world from the one on which these navigational aids were built.
IMO the Hanois foghorn was ruined a few years back as part of the automation process, at which point, it became a pathetic squeak. It was designed that way so that the noise is directed away from land but I miss the drone – it was far more tolerable than the drone of the politicians mentioned above and at least it did it’s job.
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I wonder if the Mare de Carteret neighbours had an influence on Trinity House…..
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The ghostly call of the fog horn is also one of my favourite sounds… Beautiful on a still, misty morning.
Perhaps a local CD (or digital download!) of all the local foghorns could be released before their sad demise…
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Paul Ged
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=+fog+horns&aq=f
There are pages on many there. It’s easy to loop the ones you like & make a tune.
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plp – the smell of foghorns – i like that. good name for a band? and truly possible maybe if you experience synaesthesia.
paul ged – actually there are specialist sound artists who have made works on CD consisting of seascape sounds (waves on pebble beaches etc) but i don’t know if there are any featured foghorns. i could see a guern foghorn cd listed thus: track one – ‘st peter port foghorn (dawn version)’, track two – st martin’s foghorn’, track three ‘ st martin’s foghorn (dub version), track four – foghorn leghorn, etc etc ….
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Living now in Australia I seriously miss the sound of foghorns and would be the first to buy a CD if produced. I would also be interested in a DVD showing the foghorn in good weather ( it would be no good filming it in the fog )then add the sound afterwards. The only drawback I see is that some clown could be out at sea in his boat, either stationary or moving, and playing his CD and we all know how far that low frequency sound travels through damp air.I play a didgeridoo and that sound travels miles in the fog. Alan.
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GPS can not always be relied to be ‘real time’. In fact during periods of low pressure they can lag for up to ten seconds. When turning a a boat this is a long time waiting for an update. The lag is often at its greatest during fog…
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I miss the sonic boom of Concorde so much every night at 9.15 I smash my windows.
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While bigger ships/boats always have back up gps systems and radar the smaller craft often have gps but many do not have radar.
When boating inshore esp in the summer when their are lots of small craft about a fog horn does`nt really help anywhere near as much as radar. The foghorn will tell you land is near which you already know but it wont tell you what else is around you i.e. other boats.
Still a shame to ged rid of them though
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Terry Langlois
the sirens were there for an emergency, and a bit of common sense would of made you listen to radio or phone an emergency service for an answer, so you tel me now how we will know of an emergency if it happened.
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Got to admit, when I was a young lad living near the Beaucette Marina, I spent many an evening sitting on my window sill in my bedroom listening to either, the cables of yachts hitting their masts, the wind coming off the Little Russell or the re-assuring sound of the fog horn.
It is always going to be a brave person that decides to turn them off for ever, because there will be that chance that it can bite them on the ass.
long live the re-assuring sound of the Fog horn!
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isit – philistine!
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If a 10 sec lag on the plotter is all that’s between you and the arriving on top of the Platte Fougiere, that’s the least of your worries.
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Last couple of visits to Guernsey I have been unlucky in that it was not foggy and hence no foghorn…. and now no more ???
:-(
Very sad… a sound that I shall really miss.
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I love the sound of the fog horn – will miss it if it goes. It’s a very Guernsey sound! I also love the warning siren – I always associated it with Liberation day – it’s the sound of freedom. However, my dog is very glad it’s gone – drove him bonkers!!! lol
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The Royal Academy of Engineers say we are over-reliant on GPS. Surely the fog-horns provide at least some safety function in the case of GPS failure?
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GPS failure – is that all you are worried about – I am always more concerned that the Yanks will switch the flippin’ thing off!
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Id like to thank our think tank for pushing this through,silent foot soldiers working for the exodus
You know who you are,next meeting at maison landry saturday 3pm
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Eh – if it’s as accurate as their missile guidance systems best to stick with the foghorns I reckon! ;-)
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re the sirens, if you watch the japan incident everyone’s phone activated to note that an earthquake had happended this was an automated system whcih also broadcast onto TV. Nevertheless they still had sirens going to warn of pending danger. A couple of years a go we went to go to herm on our boat, had GPS, maps etc on board left the QE2, the fog was that thick that the GPS would not lock on, so out came the maps. It was more reasuring to hear the foghorn so we knew where we were in relation to St Martins point and headed straight into Fermain. Along with about 75 other boats all of whom had the same problems. The whole idea of foghorns is to warn people that they are nearing danger. Whilst yes i appreciate larger vessel now have the all singing and dancing equipment the small everyday person, whilst the should, still does not.
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The Hanois foghorn was NOT operating on saturday evening when I passed it 1/4 mile off. Visibility was <50m. All the east coast horns were working fine when I passed them shortly after even though the visibility was much better.
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Ali M
Why did you attempt a trip to Herm in thick fog? and how on earth did you end up in fermain bay from the QE2.
So you could`nt see anything but you and 75 other boats all ended up in that bay? how on earth did you all miss eachother when you could`nt even see st Martins point?.
You say your GPS would`nt lock on? so i would assume you did`nt know your location? why get out the maps then?.
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Fisherman: If that happens again give Guernsey Coastguard a call direct on VHF Ch20, they will contact Trinity House and get them to switch Les Hanois foghorn on manually. ;)
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Bcb, we did not realise exactly how bad the fog was until we left the QE2 and as we were on our way to Herm realised that the GPS was not responding or locking our location, hence the reason for the maps. Unfortunately we could not go back to the QE2 as we had left just as the sill was due to lift. so we decided to head for the harbour area. Then Fermain. As I said there were loads of boat and quite a few that we spoke to commented on having problems with their systems so tucked into fermain as well. Once you entered Fermain it was fine hardly any fog. It was quite a few years back now. Take it you have never gone out in a boat then all of a sudden fog comes down. We never went anywhere without maps just in case.
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Hello,
I miss the comforting sound of the foghorns on
the River Mersey, as few ships occupy the river now. If anyone does find out about a cd of “Foghorn Sounds” or makes one, please let me know, as I would like to buy one, and could help make them available on Merseyside. Thanks,
Chris Carvell
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Hello again,
My email address, if anyone has any news about a “Foghorn cd”, is chris.carvell300@gmail.com. I do not understand why anyone should criticise those who enjoy the sound of the foghorns – it is similar to liking the sound of church bells, about which there are plenty of cds.
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Chris Carvell
There is many pages to be found at the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Fi9QQYM-Q
Another link you may find helpful is a site that gives you numerous so you can create whatever it is you are looking for.
Sample out & loop the ones you like.
Type FOGHORNS in the search for bar.
http://www.findsounds.com/ISAPI/search.dll
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