A WARM WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE!

Site last updated on September 2nd 2010 @ 2200 UTC


The site has been up and running since June 2005, and the prime purpose is to provide comprehensive 'Near Real Time' weather data for the village of Portpatrick in SW Scotland. 

I have added some useful links to sites of local interest, and links that provide Tidal information for Portpatrick, the 'live' monitoring of shipping in the North Channel and beyond!

There is a MOUNTAIN of archived local weather information available to those who may be interested on pages 1 to 5.

Travel information is available on pages 10 & 12.

Some snaps of our Crandchildren and pets can be viewed on page 14

Site statistics [updated each month] can be viewed on page 15.

The annual running costs for the site [assuming no equipment failures] is approximately £222, which is made up from the Internet costs of £144 p.a, £57 p.a for Domain Name on  the Internet, depreciation of equipment costs [dedicated PC and Modem] £100. A recent transmitter failure cost me just under £200, and sensor failures have cost another £200 since the site was established in June 2005.

There are two LARGE Ferry Companies operating locally, and BOTH access this site MANY times daily  for up to the minute information on  weather conditions in the North Channel, or the latest position of their vessels enroute to Larne/Cairnryan or Stranraer/Belfast, and vice versa!

To date, NEITHER  Company has responded to my request for some sponsorship of this site, and I work  for one of them! 

So, if any of you feel that you have benefited from using the site, and would like to contribute to its upkeep, then PLEASE CONTACT ME!    [Just  like TESCO ... Every little helps!] 

I particularly wish to thank Joe & Margo Farrell,  Graeme Young [Electrical Services], Portpatrick [Dunskey] Golf Club & Gavin and Angie Morrison for their very generous donations to help with the running costs of this site, which is currently around £222 a year [as long as everything keeps working!]

The system is a Davis Instruments  Wireless 'Vantage Pro2' weather station, with all sensors wirelessly connected to the main console. This in turn transfers data to a dedicated Dell laptop 'Inspiron' PC, which archives all data at 1 minute intervals, then uploads the data to several sites via the Internet.

These include :-

NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] in the USA,

Weather Underground, also based in the USA, but is where the data from this station {and countless others!} can be accessed & downloaded.

Detailed Historical data for this station is available on this site from June 2005, when this station started uploading via a 'dial up' connection! Things improved somewhat in October 2005, when a reliable 'broadband' connection was established here!

MADIS [Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System] ... also based in the USA!

CWOP [The Citizen's Weather Observers Programme] and....

APRS [Automatic Packet Reporting System], used by the World's Radio Amateurs]

Other interests, and past 'life-forms' are...

THE RNLI

AMATEUR RADIO

My personal history is somewhat varied!

When I left school, I got involved in hotel work during the summer holidays before I started at Radio College.

After qualifying as a Ships' Radio Officer, I continued  with my work in Hotel Management, becoming Assistant Manager initially of the Beach Hotel in Trearddur Bay, Anglesey, then after a break involving Yacht Deliveries in Europe  & the Caribbean,  I  became Assistant Manager of the Northern Hotel in Aberdeen, and later, 'Relief Manager' for Usher/Vaux hotels in the NE of Scotland, including the Palace Hotel in Peterhead, the Station Hotel in Fraserburgh, The Staging Post in Bucksburn, and others in the City centre of Aberdeen that I'd rather forget!

In 1967, shortly after meeting Patricia, [now my wife for the last 42+ years!] I moved from Aberdeen to London [and Bournemouth], to train in Air Traffic Control.

After several courses in the ATC College at Hurn Airport, I worked at both London's Heathrow Airport and the London Air Traffic Control Centre [which in  those days was located at West Drayton in Middlesex]

I married PAT in October 1968 up in Aberdeen , and  later in 1969 moved from ATC to a career in the British Coast Radio Station Service.

After induction training at Portishead Radio/GKA, I was posted to Portpatrick/GPK, where I served  initially as a Radio Officer .

I am privileged to have visited [and worked] at several of the other UK Coast Radio Stations during my time with BT's  'Aeronautical & Maritime Services', including GNF/North Foreland in Kent, GNI /Niton on the Isle of Wight, GLV / Anglesey, N. Wales, GND / Stonehaven and GCC/ Cullercoats, Near Newcastle on Tyne, Humber Radio/GKZ, and the Long Range Station GKA /Portishead Radio in Highbridge, Somerset.

In 1972 I attended College in Southampton, for a 'Crash Course' to upgrade my  Maritime Radio Qualifications.

Then from 1980 I was the Acting Station Manager, at Portpatrick/GPK, until the closure of this station on 31st March 1999, and for the last 18 months until closure, I was the only person left.

After  a brief spell between April 1999 and September '99 when I worked voluntarily  at the Citizen's Advice Bureau in Stranraer, I managed to secure another full time job in P & O's busy Freight Department in Cairnryan, and despite all odds [Senility, deafness etc.] .... I'm still there!