Good News for Users in the British Isles: |
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45 locations in the U.K. have been restored to Tide Tool in the latest beta version of the program. Unfortunately, the other locations worldwide that were removed at the demand of U.K.H.O. have not been restored. |
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Please read this entire page, including the FAQ below, before emailing me. You will save us both some time. I have no further information beyond what is here. | ||
The U.K. Hydrographic Office
has taken the position that our use of their tidal
information "infringes the intellectual property of
the Crown". Fortunately, in late 2003, tidal measurement data has
been made available, from another agency of the British government,
which has allowed 45 U.K. locations to be restored.
Unfortunately, 42 other locations throughout the
world remain omitted (see list below). The U.K.H.O. asserts ownership of tidal data at a long list of locations worldwide. Initially they claimed data for such locations as Hawaii, but after discussion their list has been somewhat reduced. However, it is no longer useful to argue with them. If you are interested in restoring a location, read on. If you are a resident of one of the affected countries and wish your location restored, you can help. Contact the authorities in your country who are responsible for tides. Ask them if they can provide harmonic tidal constituents and offsets for locations in your country, for use in a free tide prediction program. Alternatively, ask if they will grant permission for the use of tidal constituents for your country which appeared in the out-of-print publication Table des Marees des Grands Ports du Monde, published by the French Hydrographic Office (S.H.O.M.) based on data from the International Hydrographic Organization database. If you are able to obtain that permission, email me and I will see that the locations are entered into Tide Tool. The attitude of the U.K.H.O. is inconsistent with that of many other governments. The U.S. government makes all its harmonic constants available freely on the N.O.A.A. web site. The Dutch government recently cooperated with us to make their data sites in the North Sea available. This action by the U.K.H.O. also affects on-line tide prediction sites using the XTide program, which is the source of the data used in Tide Tool. For details of the correspondence with U.K.H.O. see Dean Pentcheff's tide prediction site. Will the data files from earlier versions of
Tide Tool work with the current version? U.K.H.O. offers to license their harmonic data. Why don't
you negotiate a license? NEW: But
that's all changed. The new, friendly U.K.H.O. now offers royalty-free
licenses to reproduce their stuff. Can I generate my own database
to work with Tide Tool? Can you send me a copy of one of the earlier
versions of Tide Tool? Can you secretly send me a copy of one of the earlier
versions of Tide Tool? I will pay. I promise not to tell anyone. (Yes, this is a frequently asked question. Sigh.) Can you tell me where to find an earlier
version of Tide Tool that covers the missing countries? Why are you so grumpy about all this? Back to Tide Tool home page. Page last modified February 3, 2004 |
Locations outside the British Isles claimed by the U.K.H.O:
Ad Dawhah, Qatar
Aden, Yemen
Akassa, Nigeria
Bandar Abbas, Iran
Bandar-e Lengeh, Iran
Banjul, Gambia
Berbera, Somalia
Calabar, Nigeria
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Cochin, India
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Davao, Philippines
Dubayy, U.A.E.
Gibraltar (U.K.)
Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas
Hillsborough, Carriacou, The Grenadines
Jazirat Das, U.A.E.
Jazirat Halul, Qatar
Karachi, Pakistan
Kilindini Harbour, Kenya
Ko Si Chang, Thailand
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Kuantan, Malaysia
Legaspi, Philippines
Little Inagua Island, Bahamas
Malindi, Kenya
Manila, Philippines
Mina Al Ahmadi, Kuwait
Mina Salman, Bahrain
Mina Zayed, U.A.E.
Miri, Malaysia
Neiafu, Vava`u Group, Tonga
Pinang, Malaysia
Pointe des Galets, Reunion
San Carlos, Equatorial Guinea
Steventon, Great Exuma Island, Bahamas
Surabaya, Java, Indonesia
Tailevu, Fiji Islands
Takoradi, Ghana
Umm al Hatab, U.A.E.
Zanzibar, Tanzania