When Sir Francis Beaufort set out to sea on board HMS Woolwich in 1806, sailors did not have an accurate scale to describe the strength and impact of winds while at sea.
The Beaufort Scale, which he developed, is still used today and is a morning ritual on BBC Radio 4 during the Shipping Forecast as the names of coastal regions are intoned with a reverence normally given to a solemn prayer.
Beaufort wrote his scale in his ship logs which are now in the archive of the Met Office. The scale gave sailors and those on the shore a chance to assess the strength of wind by the effect it has on the sea.
The relatively simple scale allowed captains to assess the risk presented by a storm. His scale was later illustrated with line drawings, but it was not until 1959 that a full set of photographs, showing conditions at sea through Force 1 to Force 12, was produced...
On the quest of a wave: How it took 150 years to photograph a weather scale developed in 1806 by Sir Francis Beaufort and still used by sailors today
Sir Francis Beaufort developed his revolutionary wind scale while commanding HMS Woolwich in 1806
He described the state of the wind at sea from flat calm to a hurricane and the impact it has on a ship
Yet, by the 1950s, nobody had photographed the state of the sea using all 12 points of Beaufort's scale
The Beaufort Scale is still used by sailors today and can be heard every morning on the Shipping Forecast
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
10 March 2018
When Sir Francis Beaufort set out to sea on board HMS Woolwich in 1806, sailors did not have an accurate scale to describe the strength and impact of winds while at sea.
The Beaufort Scale, which he developed, is still used today and is a morning ritual on BBC Radio 4 during the Shipping Forecast as the names of coastal regions are intoned with a reverence normally given to a solemn prayer.
Beaufort wrote his scale in his ship logs which are now in the archive of the Met Office. The scale gave sailors and those on the shore a chance to assess the strength of wind by the effect it has on the sea.
Yet it took more than 150 years to photograph the various sea states. This picture taken in 1959 by R Palmer on board SS Heldia shows Force 1 - which has winds between 2 knots and smoke drifts in the wind's direction although a weather vane will not move
R R Baxter onboard the SS Clan Chattan recorded these Force 2 conditions with wind speeds of between 5 knots described as a light breeze producing waves of six inches and 'smooth' seas
R Palmer photographed Force 3 again onboard the SS Heldia, with winds of 9 knots described as a gentle breeze producing waves of up to three feet described as 'slight' conditions
The relatively simple scale allowed captains to assess the risk presented by a storm. His scale was later illustrated with line drawings, but it was not until 1959 that a full set of photographs, showing conditions at sea through Force 1 to Force 12, was produced.
In January 1958, the Marine Observer magazine asked its readers to photograph sea conditions so they could, for the first time, document the entire Beaufort Scale.
Yet, it took more than a year for each of the sea conditions to be photographed. Unsurprisingly, it was the heavy seas and storm force winds towards the end of the scale which presented the greatest problem.
According to researchers at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency: 'In January 1958 the Marine Observer invited readers to send in photos of the sea under the influence of each of the Beaufort Forces.
'They asked that the photographs should be taken in the open sea after the wind had been blowing long enough to raise the appropriate sea, and that the date and time, the latitude and longitude of the ship, the direction and force of the wind and the height of the photographer above the sea, should all be stated.'
The correspondents managed to secure appropriate photographs for Force 1 to Force 10 by April 1959. However, they had to wait for the HMTS Monarch - which was laying a trans-Atlantic telephone cable - to capture images of Force 11 and Force 12.
Force 4 on board the MV Sydney Star was captured by PJ Weaver with 13knot winds and a moderate breeze causing 4ft six inches waves in conditions described as 'slight-moderate'
PJ Weaver on board the MV Sydney Star photographed Force 5 with its 19knot winds described as a 'fresh breeze' causing waves up to seven feet in what are called 'moderate seas'
RR Baxter on board the Clan Chattan photographed Force Six, with 24-knot winds and 12-foot waves whipped up by the strong breeze in what have become 'rough' seas
As a result, the entire series of photographs was first published in 'The Coastguard' magazine in 1959.
The Met Office also produced a 'State of the Sea' card to help mariners identify conditions they faced.
Beaufort himself was born in Navan, Co Meath, in Ireland in 1774 and first went to sea aged 14 with the British East India Company. He later served with the Royal Navy.
However, aged 15, he was shipwrecked due to a faulty maritime chart and became obsessed with making life at sea safer.
RR Baxter on the SS Clan Chattan also photographed Force 7, where he faced near gale 30 knot winds with seas reaching 18 feet in conditions described as 'rough-very rough'
RR Baxter continued with his camera as the winds hit Gale Force 8 and 37knot winds with 'very rough-high' seas producing waves of up to 25 feet
PJ Weaver on board the MV Sydney Star stood on the rail facing strong gale Force 9 winds of 44 knots and 33-feet seas described simply as 'high'
He collaborated with Admiral Robert FitzRoy - who later founded the Met Office.
FitzRoy commanded HMS Beagle which voyaged to South America and the Galapagos Islands in order to produce charts for use by the Royal Navy.
Beaufort recommended a gentleman by the name of Charles Darwin to join FitzRoy on the voyage.
As well as accurate charts, Beaufort understood the necessity of being able to record sea and wind conditions in the ship's log in order to navigate.
J Hodkinson on the OWS Weather Explorer stood out in 52-knot Storm Force 10 winds and 'Very High' 41-foot seas
It is not known who photographed the Force 11 winds on the HMTS Monarch, although they faced a violent storm with winds of up to 60-knots and 54-foot 'very high seas'
The last point on the scale, Force 12, has hurricane winds in excess of 64knots and seas in excess of 54 feet. The conditions are officially described as 'phenomenal'
According to Beaufort's diary held by the Met Office, he introduced his scale in 1806. He wrote: 'Hereafter I shall estimate the force of the wind according to the following scale, as nothing can carry a more uncertain idea of wind and weather than the old expressions of moderate and cloudy etc. etc.'
Initially, he described 13 forces and a host of 'weather letters' to describe the sky.
Later in 1807 he cut that back to 12 forces and got rid of the weather letters.
By 1810, he further refined the scale and described the impact of the conditions on a Royal Navy frigate.
The Admiralty were so impressed by the updated scale that they adopted its use across the Royal Navy.
Sir Francis Beaufort devised the Beaufort Scale in 1806 which is still used in marine weather updates such as the Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4 every morning
Beaufort first wrote down his scale in this log while commanding HMS Woolwich in 1806. It used 13 forces and weather letters to describe the sky
In 1807 he revised his scale from 'light air' at Force 1 to a 'hurricane' at Force 12, reducing the scale from having 13 forces
By 1810 he revised his scale further which is still used in weather forecasts to this day. The Admiralty were so impressed by the updated scale that they adopted its use across the Royal Navy
The Beaufort Scale, which he developed, is still used today and is a morning ritual on BBC Radio 4 during the Shipping Forecast as the names of coastal regions are intoned with a reverence normally given to a solemn prayer.
Beaufort wrote his scale in his ship logs which are now in the archive of the Met Office. The scale gave sailors and those on the shore a chance to assess the strength of wind by the effect it has on the sea.
The relatively simple scale allowed captains to assess the risk presented by a storm. His scale was later illustrated with line drawings, but it was not until 1959 that a full set of photographs, showing conditions at sea through Force 1 to Force 12, was produced...
On the quest of a wave: How it took 150 years to photograph a weather scale developed in 1806 by Sir Francis Beaufort and still used by sailors today
Sir Francis Beaufort developed his revolutionary wind scale while commanding HMS Woolwich in 1806
He described the state of the wind at sea from flat calm to a hurricane and the impact it has on a ship
Yet, by the 1950s, nobody had photographed the state of the sea using all 12 points of Beaufort's scale
The Beaufort Scale is still used by sailors today and can be heard every morning on the Shipping Forecast
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
10 March 2018
When Sir Francis Beaufort set out to sea on board HMS Woolwich in 1806, sailors did not have an accurate scale to describe the strength and impact of winds while at sea.
The Beaufort Scale, which he developed, is still used today and is a morning ritual on BBC Radio 4 during the Shipping Forecast as the names of coastal regions are intoned with a reverence normally given to a solemn prayer.
Beaufort wrote his scale in his ship logs which are now in the archive of the Met Office. The scale gave sailors and those on the shore a chance to assess the strength of wind by the effect it has on the sea.
The relatively simple scale allowed captains to assess the risk presented by a storm. His scale was later illustrated with line drawings, but it was not until 1959 that a full set of photographs, showing conditions at sea through Force 1 to Force 12, was produced.
In January 1958, the Marine Observer magazine asked its readers to photograph sea conditions so they could, for the first time, document the entire Beaufort Scale.
Yet, it took more than a year for each of the sea conditions to be photographed. Unsurprisingly, it was the heavy seas and storm force winds towards the end of the scale which presented the greatest problem.
According to researchers at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency: 'In January 1958 the Marine Observer invited readers to send in photos of the sea under the influence of each of the Beaufort Forces.
'They asked that the photographs should be taken in the open sea after the wind had been blowing long enough to raise the appropriate sea, and that the date and time, the latitude and longitude of the ship, the direction and force of the wind and the height of the photographer above the sea, should all be stated.'
The correspondents managed to secure appropriate photographs for Force 1 to Force 10 by April 1959. However, they had to wait for the HMTS Monarch - which was laying a trans-Atlantic telephone cable - to capture images of Force 11 and Force 12.
As a result, the entire series of photographs was first published in 'The Coastguard' magazine in 1959.
The Met Office also produced a 'State of the Sea' card to help mariners identify conditions they faced.
Beaufort himself was born in Navan, Co Meath, in Ireland in 1774 and first went to sea aged 14 with the British East India Company. He later served with the Royal Navy.
However, aged 15, he was shipwrecked due to a faulty maritime chart and became obsessed with making life at sea safer.
He collaborated with Admiral Robert FitzRoy - who later founded the Met Office.
FitzRoy commanded HMS Beagle which voyaged to South America and the Galapagos Islands in order to produce charts for use by the Royal Navy.
Beaufort recommended a gentleman by the name of Charles Darwin to join FitzRoy on the voyage.
As well as accurate charts, Beaufort understood the necessity of being able to record sea and wind conditions in the ship's log in order to navigate.
According to Beaufort's diary held by the Met Office, he introduced his scale in 1806. He wrote: 'Hereafter I shall estimate the force of the wind according to the following scale, as nothing can carry a more uncertain idea of wind and weather than the old expressions of moderate and cloudy etc. etc.'
Initially, he described 13 forces and a host of 'weather letters' to describe the sky.
Later in 1807 he cut that back to 12 forces and got rid of the weather letters.
By 1810, he further refined the scale and described the impact of the conditions on a Royal Navy frigate.
The Admiralty were so impressed by the updated scale that they adopted its use across the Royal Navy.
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