Internet Surfing Down on the Beach

Last week I was on an assignment in Bude, in North Cornwall, after the shoot, I thought being so close to the sea, I will grab some lunch in the local Morrisons and take it down to the beach to eat it. I arrived at the surfing hotspot of Widemouth Bay, where to my delight I spotted two Hitachi excavators heading out onto the beach, so after stuffing my face, I went down to find out more.

On further investigation it transpired that local contractors Michael Vanstone Plant Hire were supplying the two Hitachi Zaxis 130LCN’s to bury in the latest transatlantic cables to land on the beach.

The cable is originally towed into shore by a boat, then dragged up the beach by the machines, and is gradually being put to bed by the excavation team working out towards the sea.

At around 1pm the tide had gone out far enough to allow the team to track out and start excavation work to put the cable, which is encased on a strong steel covering, deep under the beach, with the tides as they are at the moment, the team only get a short window of opportunity to get the work done, as according to the operator I spoke too, the tide starts to come in once more around 5pm in the afternoon.

Apparently due to Widemouth Bay’s location, the beach is ideal for bringing these transatlantic cables ashore. Such cables have been being installed at this beach since as far back as 1963, that cable was a telephone line to Tuckerton, New Jersey that covers a distance of around 3,518 nautical miles and is still operational to this day!

There are around seven cables buried on the beach already and this one is number eight. One of the most famous cables is the so-called TAT-14 cable which carries up to three terabits of internet data, IT experts suggest that’s around the equivalent of 250 million phone books every second, they also say that Widemouth now carries a quarter of the world’s internet traffic!

There is a long-standing rumour or it maybe an urban myth, that one of these cables carries the telephone hotline between Downing Street in London and the White House in America, and I have no reason to disbelieve that.

For the team doing the work, I’m sure this is an interesting job to be a part of, and certainly something a bit different for sure.

And to the machine operator who came across and asked me if I was “That digger guy from Instagram!” It was a pleasure to meet you and I’m sorry I never got your name on the day, maybe a site visit to Michael Vanstone Plant Hire for Earthmovers Magazine can be arranged at a later date.

Checkout some video footage taken on the day.