Whitby & District Astronomical Society

It would seem irrespective of when Whitby Regatta is scheduled in August, weather conditions always appear to conjure up issues, foreseen or otherwise. Having basked under sun drenched skies and enjoyed clear evenings for most of the week pre-Regatta, the heat wave enjoyed by much of England over the weekend of Aug 13th/14th ensured large crowds flocked to our coastline, determined to watch the Red Arrows aerobatic display team, Lancaster fly-by, rowing races, or perhaps pop along to the odd Star Party or two. Surely there would be no flies in the ointment this year?  Well if the Regatta had been held 1 km inland away from the coast this would have been the case, however Mother nature had other ideas, playing a joker card; sea mist, which at crucial times over the weekend cruelly affected events in a manner no-one had really foreseen.   

To digress a little, I recall a scene in the war film - A Bridge Too Far, in which an exasperated Polish commander eager to get his brigade into the air and parachuted into the action, had to wait and wait due to the vagaries of fog and mist. "you see you never know for sure where it's going to move from and to where" a British officer informed him. Well, we can sympathise with how they felt. The mist that clung over the cliffs and across Whitby Regatta at the most inopportune times certainly was frustrating to say the least, especially with clear skies just inland.  

How then did we fair. Well on the whole, better than certain highlight events reliant on the weather conditions. The Red Arrows, came and went (unseen by the thousands on the cliffs) Likewise the Lancaster flight made it to Sleights, before turning back. Other aeronautical displays never made it that far - informed already of the lack of visibility. An inspection of the Regatta rowing course; i.e - the Sea, failed to locate said course, and races were postponed, and yet at times the Sun was eerily visible, a ghostly orb, taunting everyone with a vested interest in it being fully radiant. Nevertheless, it was very warm.

On the Saturday Mark and Keith (as requested) had joined our Regatta colleague Marcus at the Grover Optics stand - which had been seriously upgraded to a huge new display trailer come portable shop, very impressive! Having laid out our solar observation 'camp;' and set up our solar observing equipment - the Tal 100, Helios 100 and Keith's 70mm Coronado Solar scope, we waited for the mist to clear. Some intermittent Solar observations were possible and from these it was evident that numerous Sunspot groups were present. It then became a waiting game. The mist thickened, the Red Arrows arrived ...and departed into the mists of time. Then barely an hour after the Red Arrows had gone, the mist rolled back out to sea, skies above were blue and the Sun was laid bare.

Solar observations were the best for many years, not only sunspot groups, but solar flares and prominences were visible in Keith's Solar scope. As Keith said-wow!  People were curious and then astounded to safely view our nearest star in this type of detail. As the temperature increased, WDAS member Richard Randle joined us for the afternoon, before Phil and Elaine did likewise later on. All made purchases from Grovers, tempted into trying their hands at solar imaging. Shortly before decamping Barbara and Mark G arrived to lend a hand and after checking Keith's 12" Dobsonian would fit in their car in readiness for the evening, our marathon solar observing session was over. We headed home hoping skies would remain clear for the evening star party event.

Skies remained blue until after 19:30 hrs, when on cue ragged wisps of cloud began to claw away the clear sky and our hopes for the evening. We ventured up to the West Cliff to confirm what we already knew in our hearts - the low cloud looked permanent and no observations would be possible that night. A number of society members (Keith, Richard, Mark G and Brian) and some punters did optimistically wait around a while ...and if Mark D did briefly spot Vega, technically it was star party!

Regatta Sunday; inland fine, on the West Cliff - thick mist, but it was forecast to clear by the early afternoon. We pitched up at the location allotted to us that day and deciding to make a show of it erected the gazebo (first time in 3 years) and then fitted it out with inflatable planets, poster boards, scopes and an information desk. Keith and Mark were joined by Lee for the afternoon. The mist was even more reluctant to budge, only doing so as thoughts turned to packing up. Solar observations were then acceptable. Mark was still optimistic skies would clear for the evening event.

Sunday evening was the reverse of Saturday, in that skies did clear somewhat; not transparent, but decent enough for a Star party and intended observations. Joining Keith and Mark on the Pitch and Putt greens were Barbara and Mark, Lee, Brian, John L and Richard R, and more importantly, a sizable audience, some with their own scopes. Crowd participation helped along the scale solar system demo Mark carried out, biding time whilst dusk fell. Stars appeared and a plethora of scopes were called into action. This line up included 12" 10" & 8" dobsonians, a 6" reflector, 100mm and 60mm refractors, as well as a 70mm refractor and 125mm SCT. Vega and Arcturus were targeted; Saturn remained elusive, but then appeared, flitting in and out of cloud low in southeast. The image through the eyepiece was surprisingly steady given the low altitude, even Titan was evident. People were thrilled to view it.

Elsewhere in the sky, high, wispy cloud came and went, not allowing sustained observations. A washed-out, blurry Moon rose over the rooftops, but wasn't a viable target. Meanwhile a few meteors were spotted to the delight of all - perhaps late Perseids. Jupiter flashed into view, very low and unsteady, some of the Galilean moons just about visible. People were still fascinated to view the largest planet in the solar system. By 22:30hrs we started to pack away equipment surplus to requirements. Saturn was now quite respectable in the eyepiece, Jupiter less so. At 23:00 it was time to depart, not quite the observing event we had hoped for, but viable, the first Regatta evening star party in four years!

Monday dawned cloudy rather than misty, but by the early afternoon breaks began to appear with Mark and Keith once again ensconced alongside the Grovers Optics pitch. Solar observations were again possible, though of a more intermittent nature than Saturday, but pleasing nevertheless.

And so our involvement in Regatta for 2022 was over - successful in parts, but hopefully enjoyed by all, we had certainly enjoyed our time with Marcus and family once again. Thanks to WDAS members Keith, Richard, Lee, Barbara and Mark, John and Brian, Phil and Elaine, who were on hand, hands on, or gave moral support for the events hosted. It wasn't quite the end of Mark's involvement with Regatta, who always collects for the Regatta on the Monday night before and after the fireworks display. Mother Nature had one last trick to play. Just when everyone thought we'd get by with a totally dry Regatta, dark and ominous clouds finally signalled the end of the heat wave, deluging all in rain just before the fuses were lit. Fortunately the rain relented for the duration of what was a superb fireworks display. Regatta...never a dull moment!