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The Shipping Forecast is a regular feature of BBC Radio 4 and is provided by the UK Meteorological Office. Because of its unique and distinctive sound, it has an appeal far wider than those solely interested in nautical weather, and is regarded with affection by many listeners. It is broadcast several times a day and consists of nothing more than reports and forecasts of weather for the seas around Britain's coast.
These are divided into "sea areas": Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight (Heligoland until 1956), Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, Biscay, FitzRoy (Finisterre until Feb 2002), Sole, Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey, Fair Isle, Faeroes, Southeast Iceland.
Following a general synopsis, each area's forecast is read out. Several areas may be combined into a single forecast. For example:
- Humber, Thames. Southeast veering Southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 later. Thundery showers. Moderate or good, occasionally poor.
- Southeast Iceland. Northeast 3 or 4. Occasional rain. Moderate or good.
Other maritime countries also use sea area maps but with local variations. For instance, the area that the British forecasts call Dover is referred to by the French as Pas-de-Calais.
The reason for choosing BBC Radio 4 for the Shipping Forecast is not simply because it is a speech-based channel, but also because it broadcasts via longwave as well as FM, and the longwave signal can be received clearly at sea all around the British Isles.
Broadcasts of the shipping forecast are always preceeded by the playing of the same song, a mellow string arrangement named "Sailing By". This is done to assist recognition of the correct station by mariners who retune their radio to the appropriate frequency in anticipation of the forecast's broadcast.
Part of the shipping forecast's charm is that it is read at dictation speed by a Radio 4 announcer such as Charlotte Green. These ladies and gentlemen have some of the most delightful English speaking voices to be heard anywhere.
The evocation is enhanced by the fact that stormy weather is always announced first, with the introduction "The Met Office issues the following storm warnings in sea areas ..." directing the listener's thoughts to the ships in those areas, and the people whose lives might depend on the following words.
Due to its set rhythm, calm annunciation, and list of characteristic names from around Britain, the shipping forecast can sound quite poetic when broadcast.
It is perhaps not surprising that it has featured in songs and poetry as a result.
"This Is a Low" on Blur's album Parklife includes the lyrics:
- On the Tyne, Forth and Cromarty
- There's a low in the high Forties
- And Saturday's locked away on the pier
- Not fast enough, dear
- Darkness outside. Inside, the radio's prayer -
- Rockall. Malin. Dogger. Finisterre.
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