legends · 3 min read ·
Sea Area Hollow
A shipping forecast begins to include a sea area that is not on any chart.
**Coastguard Operations — Broadcast Monitoring Log, 0520 Shipping Forecast**
*Monitor: D. Ainsley. Record any discrepancy between broadcast and issued bulletin.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 7 October)**
"And now the shipping forecast issued by the Weather Service on behalf of the Coastal Safety Agency at 0515. There are warnings of gales in Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromarty...
The general synopsis at midnight: low, Iceland, 988, moving slowly east, expected Norway 990 by midnight tonight.
The area forecasts for the next 24 hours. Viking, North Utsire: southwest 7 to severe gale 9. Rain. Moderate or good. Forties: southwesterly 6 to gale 8. Showers. Good. Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger: ..."
*Monitor's note: broadcast matches bulletin.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 14 October)**
"...Fisher, German Bight: southerly 5 to 7. Showers. Moderate. Humber, Thames, Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth: variable 3 or less. Fog patches. Moderate or poor.
Biscay, Trafalgar, FitzRoy, Sole, Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea, **Hollow**, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides..."
*Monitor's note: the broadcast reads "Hollow" between Irish Sea and Shannon. Hollow is not a sea area. The bulletin issued by the Weather Service does not contain it. Reported to the duty officer. The duty officer says it was a slip.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 15 October)**
"...Irish Sea: southwest 4 or 5. Slight or moderate. Fair. Good.
**Hollow:** variable 1 or 2. Still. Rising. Visibility nil.
Shannon: southwesterly 6 to gale 8..."
*Monitor's note: second broadcast of Hollow. The bulletin, again, does not contain it. The announcer is the usual announcer. When I rang him at home, he said he had read exactly what was on his sheet.*
*The sheet, when examined, had the entry. In pencil, between Irish Sea and Shannon, in a neat hand. The sheet is a printout. It does not contain pencil.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 20 October)**
"...Irish Sea: ...
**Hollow:** variable 1. Still. Rising. Visibility nil. Sea state: breathing.
Shannon..."
*Monitor's note: "Sea state: breathing" is not in any standard vocabulary. The forecast terms for sea state are smooth, slight, moderate, rough, very rough, high, very high, phenomenal. Four mariners have telephoned asking about Hollow. One said his chart shows a gap.*
· · ·
**Coastguard notice to mariners (22 October)**
*There is no sea area called Hollow. Mariners are advised that the area name in recent shipping forecasts is an error. Please disregard.*
*Mariners should note that three vessels have reported fog banks in the position between the Irish Sea and Shannon areas, approximately 52° N, 7° W. Position is on the Irish coast. It is inland.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 28 October)**
"...Irish Sea: ...
**Hollow:** variable 1. Still. Rising. Visibility nil. Sea state: breathing. **Wind: audible.**
**Reports from coastal stations at 0500. Valentia: northwesterly 4, 1011, rising slowly. Hollow: calm, 1013, breathing slowly. Ronaldsway: ...**
Shannon..."
*Monitor's note: a coastal station called Hollow now reports. No such station. Nobody on the staff has taken the call. The broadcast is live. The announcer does not remember the line. He asks to be relieved.*
· · ·
**Transcript (0520, 3 November)**
"...Irish Sea: ...
**Hollow:** no forecast available. Please do not go there.
Shannon..."
*Monitor's note: the announcer on duty is a relief, who has not heard the earlier ones. He read it flatly, as written. After the item there was a pause of about three seconds. Then, very quietly, before the words "Shannon: southwesterly," the line carried a sound that is not in the script. A long breath, drawn in and let out.*
*We have taken the broadcast off air for two minutes and put on music. When we came back it was the 0529 news. Nobody knows who read it.*