The Shipping Forecast is broadcast in many different ways, most famously, on the radio. Sailing By was written by Ronald Binge, in 1962 a light music composer.

There was an outcry when it was temporarily taken off air for two years in 1993. This gives the Radio 4 controllers leeway if the programming of Radio 4 is running late. It acts as a buffer between the news bulletin and the Shipping Forecast, in order to make the Shipping Forecast play at exactly the same time each day. Sailing By Īn instrumental piece of music, Sailing By, is played before the 00:45 broadcast of the Shipping Forecast. There are lots of other jargon used in the Shipping Forecast. Imminent means within 6 hours, soon between 6 and 12, and later meaning after 12 hours. The numbers refer to the Beaufort Scale of wind strength.

People listening to the forecast who know the protocol can understand it as 'In the English Channel, there are strong winds, followed by a stronger wind in less than twelve hours time with some light rain, but good visibility'. For example:ĭover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, four or five, increasing six soon, rain or slight drizzle, good. The language of the forecast is hard to understand unless the listener understands how the rules work. It is always said in the same way and is around 9 minutes long. There is a strict set of rules (a protocol) on how the forecast is written, and it has a limit of 370 words. It is one of the first items on Radio 4 each day, and has been referenced in many poems and songs, including a poem by Seamus Heaney and a song by the British band, Blur ( This is a Low). Sometimes the names are changed to keep them the same as in other countries. The forecast talks about lots of places, starting with 'Viking' in the northeast and going clockwise around the British coastline until it reaches 'Southeast Iceland' in the northwest.

The Met Office, the UK meteorological centre, produces it for the Maritime Coastguard Agency. It has been broadcast four times a day on BBC Radio 4 since the 1920s. The Shipping Forecast is a weather forecast covering the sea around the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Download bbc radio 4 shipping forecast