Why the BBC's Shipping Forecast still entrances people after 100 years
2 days ago
- #BBC Radio 4
- #Maritime Safety
- #British Culture
- The Shipping Forecast is a twice-daily (three times on weekends) broadcast on BBC Radio 4, providing essential weather information for safe sailing.
- It includes gale warnings, synopses of sea conditions, and forecasts for 31 weather areas around the British Isles, each with unique names.
- The forecast celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, making it one of the longest-running radio programs globally.
- Its soothing theme tune, 'Sailing By,' composed by Ronald Binge in 1963, adds to its national treasure status.
- The forecast is produced by the Met Office for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and takes nine minutes to read.
- The Shipping Forecast has inspired a BBC podcast, 'The Sleeping Forecast,' blending music with bulletin excerpts for relaxation.
- It has influenced popular culture, inspiring songs, novels, films, and artworks, including Seamus Heaney's sonnet 'The Shipping Forecast.'
- Notable fans like Stephen Fry, John Prescott, and Michael Palin have celebrated or parodied the forecast.
- The forecast originated from tragedy, inspired by the 1859 sinking of the Royal Charter, leading to the first public weather forecast in 1861.
- Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy pioneered storm warnings, reducing shipwrecks and saving lives, with a weather area renamed in his honor in 2002.
- Despite advanced technologies, the Shipping Forecast remains vital for mariners, supplemented by global initiatives like 10,000 Ships for the Ocean.