The Super Moon over Glastonbury Tor, Somerset

We posted a few days ago about Saturday’s “Super Full Moon” the first time in almost twenty years that full moon coincided with perigee, the passing of the moon’s orbit closest to the earth.   Now the “Super Moon” is being blamed for causing five ships to run aground.  We are a bit skeptical of the claims.

‘Blame it on the super moon!’ Five ships run aground off British coast as lunar phenomenon lowers tide

The super moon was today blamed for causing five ships to run aground within hours in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Vessels hit sandbanks that are not normally exposed in the Solent, between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire coast, as the phenomenon led to lower tides.

The moon was at its closest to the earth for 19 years and some believe it may also have triggered Japan’s tsunami, although astronomers have dismissed the claims as pure nonsense.

The pull of the moon is known to affect tides, however.

Yesterday, coastguards at the Needles, on the western side of the Isle of Wight, dealt with five ships in distress at the same time.

Among them was the 2,900 tonne cargo ship Paula-C, on its way to Cowes with a crew of nine. They were forced to wait for a high tide to lift them clear of a shingle bank.

A coastguard spokesman said a 25 foot yacht had also run aground and three other vessels were also marooned by the unexpected turn of events.

He said: ‘We checked them all and there were no injuries, just some surprise at being caught out like this. Blame it on the Moon.’

Thanks to Phil Leon for passing the article along.