The Sea

[0bserver]

5 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

 

Great Whites - The IOM, Hebrides, etc would provide ideal conditions for them.  I quite suprised they've not been seen already. 

I think we're gonna need a bigger boat.

[GreyWolf]

Maybe if one does appear it can reduce some of those pesky seals, Basking sharks come and go, some years there’s loads other years there’s hardly any always been the way also if the plankton is slightly lower in the water you’d never see any anyway.

[Andy Onchan]

If you have the time and patience to wade through some of the reports this is an interesting website: https://www.severe-weather.eu/

According to one contributor the aftermath of the Hunga-Tonga event in January is still being felt around the globe and is having an effect on the weather systems on the west and east coasts of North America, which in turn affects the Atlantic weather system. It's all interesting stuff.

[The Phantom]

40 minutes ago, GreyWolf said:

Basking sharks come and go, some years there’s loads other years there’s hardly any always been the way 

The sightings below look like a downward spiral to me.  Last year there were literally a handful of sightings.  This year it looks better, but only about a 100 or so (at the moment).  Ties in with my initial comment that 10-15 years ago there were loads. 

From 2018 paper.

https://www.gov.im/media/1363401/ch-35-basking-sharks.pdf

Edited September 6, 2022 by The Phantom

[The Phantom]

"We've done literally nothing to the sewage system and are pleased that the wind was blowing the wrong way when the samples were taken".

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/water-in-peel-bay-has-improved/

 

[AOR]

Considering we have so much water (and so much weather too - wind and/or sun) I am surprised the Isle of Man is not a world contender for leading the way in alternative energy sources.

Well I suppose we have Crogga wanting to drill the sea bed for gas. I wonder if we and Crogga might be better off looking at other energy sources? We have 2 tides a day whether we like it or not, and that power is mighty. I wonder could someone give Crogga and our Government even a back of fag packet estimate of all that energy that is available on our doorstep. Maybe let Orkney sort it all out first regarding tidal stream energy (ie the Calf, possibly Point of Ayre too) and maybe even a tidal lagoon (Port Erin?) such as Swansea, although it has not been without problems

Edited September 28, 2022 by AOR

[The Phantom]

1 minute ago, AOR said:

Considering we have so much water (and so much weather, - wind and/or sun) I am surprised the Isle of Man is not a world leader in alternative energy sources.

Well I suppose we have Crogga wanting to drill the sea bed for gas. I wonder if we and Crogga might be better off looking at other energy sources? We have 2 tides a day whether we like it or not, and that power is mighty. I wonder could someone give Crogga and our Government even a back of fag packet estimate of all that energy that is available on our doorstep. Maybe let Orkney sort it all out first regarding tidal stream energy (ie the Calf, possibly Point of Ayre too) and maybe even a tidal lagoon (Port Erin?)

Windmills are much more cost effective and well tested.   Tidal and wave are still a bit alternative alternative.  

The Port Erin as a tidal lagoon is an awful idea. 

However, I suspect that Govt will fully investigate such alternatives with years and millions of pounds spent to say, we should have just got some windmills. 

[AOR]

2 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Windmills are much more cost effective and well tested.   Tidal and wave are still a bit alternative alternative.  

The Port Erin as a tidal lagoon is an awful idea. 

However, I suspect that Govt will fully investigate such alternatives with years and millions of pounds spent to say, we should have just got some windmills. 

Orkney and Shetland were one of the first places in the world to have large scale wind turbines but the schemes were seen as mad cap and a waste of time in the late 1980s. UK sea and land are now 'littered' with the damn things. Orkney is going big with the tidal stream technology after losing out on the race with wind turbines.

Port Erin? Yeah, fair enough, it was just a thought, but  it does have a ruined breakwater and I'm sure it must have settled by now and would make a good foundation for a lagoon wall. 

 

[The Phantom]

9 minutes ago, AOR said:

Orkney and Shetland were one of the first places in the world to have large scale wind turbines but the schemes were seen as mad cap and a waste of time in the late 1980s. UK sea and land are now 'littered' with the damn things. Orkney is going big with the tidal stream technology after losing out on the race with wind turbines.

 

Yeah they've done really well.  That could have been us if there we had ever had some forward looking or effective politicos. 

Orkney actually now has too much power from the wind.   Tidal and wave are still 'experimental'. 

 

[Manx Resident]

On 27/09/22 (3.30pm) Radio 4 ran a programme about energy costs. A reporter explained how some renewables schemes are producing cheap electric, but it is the highest market price which determines the price electric  is sold to consumers. It was interesting to hear how expensive electricity was in Orkney despite their myriad of wind turbines. It seems that by the time the electric is fed into the grid and the way it is supplied to people living in Orkney means their standing charge and unit price rockets up.

[The Bastard]

1 hour ago, Manx Resident said:

On 27/09/22 (3.30pm) Radio 4 ran a programme about energy costs. A reporter explained how some renewables schemes are producing cheap electric, but it is the highest market price which determines the price electric  is sold to consumers. It was interesting to hear how expensive electricity was in Orkney despite their myriad of wind turbines. It seems that by the time the electric is fed into the grid and the way it is supplied to people living in Orkney means their standing charge and unit price rockets up.

Problem there is that the offshore Scottish schemes generate more electricity than they need locally, and the interconnectors, even over comparatively short distances, cost tens of millions of pounds that isn't possible to fund for a small offshore community. The schemes themselves need lots of expensive maintenance. Some areas with lots of wind turbines can't run all the time because there's nothing to do with the power they generate, and have to divert power into things like hydrogen generation, because there's no interconnector to sell into the national grid.

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by The Bastard

[The Phantom]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:55 PM, The Phantom said:

There has been a notable increase of Tuna off Cornwall and Ireland in the last couple of years, so they’ll be here too and just a matter of time before someone catches one.  

Like I said. 

Although it was caught on drone not hook. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjDuoKPg0Ev/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[quilp]

There was a video on fb featuring a seal (more likely a Sea Lion) with a large fish in its mouth, people saying it was a Tope. My first thought was Tuna, judging by the pectoral fin and only found the Tope suggestion after reading the text. Pretty sure it was Tuna and not Tope. 

[The Phantom]

10 minutes ago, quilp said:

There was a video on fb featuring a seal (more likely a Sea Lion) with a large fish in its mouth, people saying it was a Tope. My first thought was Tuna, judging by the pectoral fin and only found the Tope suggestion after reading the text. Pretty sure it was Tuna and not Tope. 

Here?

We've got common and grey seals here. No sealions 

[quilp]

Thanks for the correction. I'll try and find the image and post it, see what you think.