A tidal mystery, well to me anyway

Hi
On Geoff's tackle and bait website I found tide times for Rhyl, and very pleased with myself so I was. I accomplished something without having to ask on here! It gives high water, low water am/pm times, great!
Then the stumbling block - height (ft) wot the....for instance today am high water is 26' 1" and am low water is 8'5".
I've had a little look on the internet but not fathomed (pun intended ) it out.
Any kind soul like to enlighten me, as simple as poss please!, thanks.

You might prefers me on the links via here

https://sunnyrhyl.forumotion.com/t6270-tide-time-table


The bigger the negative the further out it goes

The bigger the positive the more it comes in over your head

Watch out for the old spring forward fall back hour unless you pick one already adjusted

Not sure I've explained anything there really!

There's some simple maths behind it all ...

http://mb-soft.com/public/tides.html

Thanks Notbad, sort of got it, but i'll just cast out and enjoy fishing! Musselman? I think you are aka Sheldon Cooper and I much prefer fun with flags!

Don't get me started on vexillology...

What flag with four letters might you see if you get the tides wrong?

I had never heard that word before, had to google it, you should go up against the Eggheads!
I hope the flag your thinking of would have RNLI on it!!

Typical Welshmen, only confusing the issue. Let me see if I can simplify it.
ORDNANCE DATUM This is what all tide heights and lows are based on, it is the lowest possible water level at Newlyn, Cornwall, caused by the sun and moon without taking the weather in to account

CHART DATUM Is the difference between Newlyn and the place the tide tables you are looking at are for, eg. Rhyl. (Llandudno seems to be the reference point for N. Wales) and will be nearly the same.
The chart datum for Llandudno is -3.85M or 12.5 feet less than Newlyn.

For the Rhyl tides you were looking at , take the Llandudno chart datum, The high tide is 26.1 above this, and the low is 8.5 above. If you take the low from the high, 26.1 minus 8.5 this gives 17.8 feet which is the height the water will rise above low tide.
You can use this to give an idea of the tidal current in estuaries and around the coast. The larger the difference between low and high, the stronger the currents will be.
They are quite small at present but much larger on the 23rd Feb. High and low tides alternate roughly every week, so what you have today will be similar in 2 weeks.
From the tide tables for Rhyl, an 11 am or 11 pm tide will be a large tide and 5 am or 5 pm will be small. (very similar to our New Zealand west coast at Auckland)
And to throw a spanner into the works, a big low pressure weather system (storm) can raise the high tide level by 6 feet, and an onshore wind add more to this.
I hope this explains a complex subject, the first 2 definitions are the basis it all works from. Rhod

That's a bit clearer.

Thanks Rhod
That is some great information and very informative. Does the recent discovery of gravitational waves be a factor?
On a lighter note. More recommended reading:
How to catch a dab by Albert Einstein......

What do you mean "a bit clearer" that took me 2 hours!

OK a lot clearer but don't forget you are talking New Zealand and it takes a bit of understanding in the UK.

and I thought my BBC English would impress you all, along with my deep knowledge of things nautical