Storms, Gales and High Tides
At the maximum (full moon) spring tide on the 24th of January, the gale which prevailed at the time caused the sea to flow over all the parade walls of Hastings and St. Leonards, but the Channel water being less high than might have been had the moon been at perigee instead of near her apogee, no damage was reported.
Disastrous Storm and Tide
Very different was the effect of wind and sea on the 20th and 21st of August, when a violent storm accompanied a perigee instead of (as in the previous case) an apogeal spring tide. A south-west gale which had been threatening from the south-east, came in with almost hurricane force, accompanied by heavy rain. With the roaring and strengthening of the wind, the tide flowed to an unusual height, and as the boatmen and fishermen were to a large extent unprepared for such a visitation, much trouble and damage was the result. After the Thursday's midnight tide, the fishmarket presented a scene of great confusion; boats, tubs, fish-baskets, fish-stalls and other things being piled up in promiscuous heaps. The Custom-house was undermined and the stade in front of the Cutter inn was much broken down. The eastern end of the East parade was greatly damaged, the coping and paving stones being torn up and some of them washed away. The parades and parallel roads were covered with beach, and the lower windows of many houses were blockaded by the same material. Cobby's bathing machines, although half buried did not appear to be greatly damaged. At the Pelham place slipway several boats had their sides knocked in, a little further westward, the Beach terrace houses suffered by inundation, and the sea wall thereat was considerably broken down. At the east end of Caroline place the sea came round into Castle street, as it has often done on similar occasions, and here also was found the stern of a boat that had been washed away from St. Leonards and broken up. In front of Carlisle Villas and Denmark place, the road was greatly torn away. Further westward, Dunn's machines were in an awkward predicament. At Eversfield place John Oliver's pleasure boats were saved by the timely assistance of a preventiveman. From the Warrior square slipway Wratten's pleasure boat was broken up and the wreckage of near the Victoria Library was very serious. The Queen sailing boat belonging to "Alec" Taylor was a complete wreck and the Bethel row-boat owned by "Zuck" (Henry) French, was swept away. French had also great difficulty in saving his bathing mac hines. The capstans, bars and all other gear at that spot were carried away by a tide, the like of which, many of the inhabitants had not before witnessed.
{{{1}}}Another boat, with seine nets was entirely lost. About 25 boats were out at sea with their nets down and were consequently overtaken by the storm, and nearly all of them lost some of fishing gear. Eight men were drowned at Brighton and men were lost on other parts of the coast. As before stated this was a perigeal tide, and its probable dangerous effects were pointed out in Brett's Almanack for that period, as well as in Brett's St Leonards Gazette. There }}-
