Tides and Deadlines
We keep imposing these artificial deadlines on ourselves. For example, we have to get there by 4:15PM because of the tide. There are a several things wrong with this deadline. You might consider leaving a few hours or even a day earlier. Then there is the accuracy of the tide forecast. Tide forecasts, unless you get a tailored forecast, such as in a local newspaper, do not take into account local tide conditions. For example the tide tables say high tide will occur at 4:15PM. However, if there is any kind of restriction in the movement of the water such as shallows or another restriction, which slows down the flow in or out of a pool, the high tide may be delayed by several hours. The other thing wrong with this type of deadline is that the tide does not suddenly stop flowing in at 3k at 4:15PM and then suddenly start flowing out at 3k. The tide gradually stops flowing in and then gradually starts flowing out. The tide will probably be less than a knot for several hours. How many knots can you tolerate, and where is that in the tide tables?When traveling to Panama City, Florida we sometimes take a small catamaran, which we keep in a bayou. There is a restriction in the flow in and out of that bayou. The tide runs very rapidly through that restriction. The local newspaper have tailored tide forecasts for a half dozen locations in the Panama City area. The times vary from each other by several hours. In spite of that, none of the forecasts adequately describe the flow through that restriction.