Weather

Every day on BBC Guernsey we read out the Coastal Stations including the report from the Channel Lightship. But what is it? Where is it? What does it look like?

Harbourmaster Peter Gill stepped in to help us out. He provided this picture of a lightship. In this case it is the Channel Lightship's sister ship from the 'Bar' outside Liverpool - complete with solar panels and authentic bird droppings.

Captain Peter Gill also provided the following information about the Channel Lightship.

The vessel is predominantly painted red, to be conspicuous in daylight. It has no engines and is not designed to travel anywhere.

The 'Channel' has a light which flashes white every 15 seconds, visible  for 25 miles. The fog signal is a horn which sends out one blast every 20 seconds.

It also has what is known as a RACON – a radar transponder which ensures that the lightship is readily identifiable on a ship's radar set. 

For completeness, the Channel lightship is fully automated and controlled from the Trinity House Central Planning Unit in Harwich. She is one of ten around the coast of the UK for which Trinity House is responsible.

The lightship is moored in 65 metres of water. It is 27 miles from Guernsey (Lihou to be precise), 23 miles from the Casquets and 34 miles from Start Point in Devon. It marks the centre line of the separation zone at the Western end of the Casquets Traffic Separation Scheme for shipping travelling  up and down channel.

These days it is the first visible evidence of having arrived in the English Channel. Historically, such first signs for a homecoming deep sea ship after a long voyage, were psychologically important and led to the phrase 'He's got the channels' – alluding to a person whose mind was no longer entirely on the job in hand and the individual had a preoccupation with the desire to get off the ship and go home.