High Water: sharing our connections to the sea and the tides

Tuesday March 30, from 08.30 BST/UTC+1      

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We invited people to share with us your story about the sea and in particular high tide.  It might be a reading, some factual information, an image or a recording. It might be something you’ve found on the beach (brought there by the tide), it might be a story from today or last week or many years ago. The response was phenomenal – far more than we can squeeze into 12 hours!

We have now published the video record of this mammoth event and will be adding supplementary material soon.

Tides are the constant ebb and flow of the planet, the stuff of myth and legend, artwork, folklore and personal history, scientific study and monitoring.  Spring tides occur twice each lunar month, around full moon and new moon. The height of the spring tide varies throughout the month (and year), depending on the distance between Earth and the Moon (and the Sun).  On March 30, in Exmouth, UK  we will experience our highest spring tide of 2021. Art.earth, Tidelines and Low Carbon Devon invite you to mark this equinoctial tide by sharing your tide story with us. You might be an expert or you might just visit the sea once a year – whatever your relationship to the sea we want to hear from you.

We asked: Do you visit a particular place to observe the tides? Do you have a seasonal connection to the tides? Does the tide directly affect you where you live? Have you observed wildlife behaviour relating to the tides? Are you aware of an emotional response to high tides? Have you noticed changes in the tides and do you believe they might be linked to climate change?  Does our knowledge of the tides, and our awareness of them become more important as the climate and sea levels change? 

The High Water event starts at 08.30 BST on March 30 and continues to low tide, six hours later, and perhaps beyond. Join us at any time between 08.30 BST to 21:30 BST.

Who is it for?

Anyone moved by or concerned about the tide!  We welcome a variety of experiences and perceptions of the tidal movement of the oceans in order to better understand and define its meaning and effect on us. You may be a sailor, a coast watcher, a climate scientist, a poet, a marine biologist, a lunar shaman, a seaweed harvester, an ocean researcher, a fisherman, an artist or a paddle-boarder or you may just visit the sea occasionally. The tides affect many of us incidentally or habitually. We would love to hear all these stories.

…and why are we doing it?

Tides connect us all to the oceans which make up 70% of our planet. High Water is a gathering of people from different backgrounds and places to draw attention to the tides and their importance in all our lives – in particular in the lives of people who live near and by coastlines – and to celebrate our timeless connection to the tides as an impressively awesome power on the planet. Our coasts are changing, as witnessed by the effects on wildlife, plantlife and disappearing coastlines. High tides are the moments that we notice the power of the oceans and, when combined with rising sea levels and temperatures and more frequent and unpredictable weather events, these tides can be devastating.  By becoming more aware and bringing together different forms of knowledge  and sharing stories we can learn more about our world, how to live with it, and how to adapt and respond to changes.

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Post-event news