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‘Persian Gulf pilot comprising the Persian Gulf and its approaches from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east.’ [‎35v] (75/404)

The record is made up of 199 folios. It was created in 1932. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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26
CURRENTS
[Chap. I.
Charts 2939—2950.
CURRENTS—TIDES—TIDAL STREAMS.— The informa
tion available on these subjects is meagre. It would appear that
the surface drift, due to the winds, is sometimes so great that the
5 tidal stream, when opposed to it, fails to overcome it, and the
resultant stream continues in one direction, merely changing in
velocity. See also remarks on currents, page 296.
In the summer, the south-west monsoon of the Indian ocean is
said to drive the water into the Persian gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and to raise the general
20 level by about one foot (0 m 3).
The swell of the south-west monsoon rolls round Ras al Hadd,
and is felt off Muscat, and even near the entrance of the Persian
gulf, though there only slightly. Sometimes there is a heavy swell
in the entrance of the Persian gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. for several hours, without any
15 wind either preceding or following it; such a swell is usually,
however, the forerunner of a gale.
From June to September, a heavy swell, caused by the south
west monsoon, rolls in on the Makran coast. The swell comes from
west-south-west or south-west at Karachi, from south-south-west
20 at Gwadar, from about south at Chahbar, and from south-east at
Cape Jask. It decreases gradually from Gwadar to Cape Jask,
at which latter it is a light ground swell. The swell is usually
much heavier than that which would be due to the strength of the
wind on the coast, but it varies much, and during a break in the
25 monsoon is often light; sometimes it disappears in early September,
at other times it continues heavy during the greater part of that
month, though by the end it has always ceased.
On the occurrence of a cyclone or storm in the Arabian sea, con
siderable swell rolls up from the south, or a heavy ground swell with
30 surf on the coast may be experienced.
In the Persian gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the sea gets up quickly, and is short and
hollow. At the entrance, when the tidal stream opposes strongly
a heavy shamal, it is particularly distressing, breaking very heavily;
it is often out of all proportion to the amount of wind, but quickly
35 subsides after a gale. During a heavy shamal, there is a very high
sea off Muscat, and also on the Makran coast.
Currents. —Along the south-western shore of the Gulf of 'Oman,
there is, usually, during the south-west monsoon, a north-westerly
current, which attains a rate of from 10 to 35 miles a day. From
October to February, when the shamal prevails in the Gulf, the
current usually sets south-eastward; between Muscat and Ras al
Hadd, it attains a rate of from 10 to 45 miles a day.
On the Makran coast, the currents depend on the prevailing winds,
and, though variable in strength, are least irregular during the
45 south-west monsoon, when they usually set eastward along the
coast, at a rate of from 10 to 30 miles a day. During the north
east monsoon, and in the periods between the monsoons, the current
is quite uncertain, though it sometimes sets westward, at a rate
of from 10 to 35 miles a day.
50 At the south-eastern end of the Persian gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , observations con
tinued for eight days during April, 1930, showed a current running
into the Gulf, at an average rate of 6 miles a day. It is probable
that this rate is considerably increased in summer, when evaporation
is greatest and south-easterly winds occur, and that the rate is
65 very small, or the direction of the current reversed, in winter, when

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Content

Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. pilot comprising the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and its approaches, from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east. Published for the Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1932. Eighth edition.

The pilot begins with a number of introductory sections:

  • Notice of caution when approaching British ports, including the closure of ports and examination of vessels entering ports (folio 1v, inside front cover);
  • Notations of supplements and annual summaries of notices to mariners relating to this book (folio 2);
  • Cautionary notes on the measurements, including those for (bearings, longitude, latitude, depth) given in the pilot, and the different methods of shading used to indicate colours of flags, tidal light signals and beacons in the pilot (folio 5);
  • Advertisement to the eighth edition (folio 6) providing an outline history of the pilot, and updates to the latest edition;
  • Contents page (folios 7v-8), referring to the pilot’s pagination;
  • A list of views (illustrations), with reference to the pilot’s pagination (folio 8v);
  • A glossary of terms (folio 9), organised alphabetically, and with an indication of their origin (Arabic, Baluchi, Hindustani, Persian);
  • Notes on the system of orthography (folios 10-11);
  • Information relating to Admiralty charts and other hydrographic publications and general navigation (folios 12-19), with sections on the correction of Admiralty charts, and their degree of reliance, navigational publications, including the Admiralty lists of lights and wireless signals, tide tables, and general remarks relating to practical navigation;
  • A map of the head of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , dated July 1932, indicating those areas covered by Admiralty charts (folio 20v);
  • A map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Gulf of Oman, dated July 1932, with an indication of those areas covered by Admiralty charts mentioned in the pilot (folio 21v);
  • An insert (folio 22) detailing those elements not included in the present volume.

The main body of the pilot is arranged in chapters and appendices as follows:

Throughout the main chapters there are illustrations of the parts of the coastline being discussed by the accompanying text. These illustrations, which are a mix of line drawing and reproductions of watercolours, indicate the profile of the land, and highlight distinctive topographical features such as trees and forts.

Extent and format
199 folios
Arrangement

The pilot is arranged into eight chapters (I-VIII) and five appendices (I-V). The arrangement of chapters is geographical, moving from the easternmost point of the Gulf in chapter II to the westermost point in chapter VIII. The contents page (ff 7-8) and alphabetically ascending index (ff 182-93) refer to the pilot’s pagination system.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 199.

Pagination: There are two printed pagination systems, which generally situate numbers in the top-left corner of versos and the top-right corner of rectos. The first, which uses Roman numerals, runs through the pilot’s introductory pages (ff 6-19). The second pagination system uses Arabic numerals, and runs through the remainder of the pilot (ff 23-197).

The number of each chapter is indicated throughout the chapter (expressed as ‘Chap.’ and the chapter number as a Roman numeral) in the top-left corner of rectos and the top-right corner of versos. The lines of text on each page in each chapter are numbered in intervals of five (i.e. 5, 10, etc.)

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English in Latin script
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‘Persian Gulf pilot comprising the Persian Gulf and its approaches from Ras al Hadd, in the south-west, to Cape Monze, in the east.’ [‎35v] (75/404), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C251, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023623198.0x00004c> [accessed 11 March 2025]

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