Tag Archives: boat

A Detailed Tour of a Clipper Race Boat

In a previous post I discussed the arrival of the Clipper Round the World boats in Seattle. In that post, I mentioned that I got it wrong about being able to go on the boats to have a look around. However, I did end up having a second go at looking at the boats and this time, it was a success. The boat that was open for visitors was named Qingdao. One of the crew showed us around both up on deck and down below.

When looking at these boats from the outside, they look like pretty sizable craft. However, when you get down below, it is instantly apparent how limited the space is. There is a lot of space taken up by the sail locker and the engine room. Then you have a small galley area and the navigation station. There are two small heads – no showers, though. The remainder of the space is for the crew of 22 to squeeze in to. This is not a luxurious excursion. (We were told that, had we been on a couple of days before, the odor would still have been pretty ripe. A long time at sea does not make for great hygiene!)

I had decided to take my widest zoom for the visit and I was glad I did that. Everything was so confined, it really needed a wide angle to get any shots. Even maneuvering through the hull while docked required a bit of effort. I can’t imagine what it would be like when heeled over at 45 degrees while punching through a Southern Ocean storm. They say you learn a lot about yourself in these races and I don’t doubt it. I’d probably learn I am not cut out for serious adventures!

The galley was interesting. Aside from the stabilized hob, all of the cans were stripped of labels and marked up with their contents. Everything gets wet so labels fall off rapidly. You need to prep to make sure you can identify the food. The cans do corrode in the salt water. Apparently, it’s not unknown to open a can and find nothing inside it because it has already leaked away from a corrosion hole!

The boats were really interesting to see. The crews spend a lot to be on this voyage and they are definitely getting an adventure. I hope they have fun ultimately and I like to see what they have done but I won’t be signing up anytime soon.

The Ferry to Gabriola

Leave a Reply

Take me to a place by the sea and I will be checking out the ferries. BC Ferries provides the services in British Columbia and there is a short crossing between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island that has a pretty frequent service. I understand the Island Class ferries are the ones that operate this service and they come into Nanaimo alongside the waterfront where we were walking after arriving.

During the peak times, there were two ferries running back and forth but, in the evening, I assume the demand is lower and one of the ferries was moored up. We got a good look at it as we came back from our dinner on a little ferry. I think these ferries have been designed for incorporation of electrical propulsion in due course.

Container Ships Arriving in the Bay Area

Leave a Reply

Another selection of old images from a trip to Alcatraz with the family before we actually moved to the Bay Area. We were on the ferry coming back from the island and there were some large container ships entering the bay heading, presumably, to Oakland to offload. The Bay Area got some sizable container ships having the capability to handle the largest of the ships in use. These were not that large, but they were still chunky beasts. Seeing them from the water helps you to appreciate their size a little more.

What is This Boat About?

Leave a Reply

Nancy and I were having lunch at a great pub on Spice Island called The Still and West. I would certainly recommend it if you are in the area. We were watching the many different boats as they came in and out of the Harbour entrance. One boat was heading out which seemed curious. It was a low profile vessel, looked like it was designed to look suspicious and, when you look closer, it has a FLIR installation on the bridge. Since this is Portsmouth, it could well be a military vessel but that doesn’t preclude it being one for an overseas customer or just a company or individual with rather specialized interests. I wonder which it is.

Repurposed Boats in Bristol Docks

Leave a Reply

When you look around harbors, you will often come across some unusual boats that have found a second life. Just the other day, I saw a trimaran that had been modified with a new cabin which looked very out of keeping with the rest of the hull! Walking around the docks in Bristol, I was surprised to see a variety of boats that had clearly started life somewhere different.

One of them bore all the hallmarks of an Amsterdam tour boat. I don’t know whether the boats there still look like this, but they certainly did in years gone by. Plenty of window space for the tourists to get a good look at the city as they went along the canals. Another one fits into the category of what I remember things looking like but no idea whether they still do! That was an ex-Hoseasons boat from the Norfolk Broads. I remember having a boat just like this one for a vacation there when I was a teenager.

The type of boat that regularly finds a second life is a lifeboat. The ex-RNLI boats are popular, presumably because they are built very tough so will provide years of service and it probably doesn’t hurt that they are seaworthy in the worst of conditions. Modifying them to live on might change some of their characteristics but I suspect they are still better than average. There were a couple of these in the docks too. Keep your eyes peeled when walking amongst boats and see if you can spot anything unusual. When I was a small boy, Bembridge Harbour had a houseboat that was a converted Motor Torpedo Boat from the Second World War!

A View of a Ferry You Don’t Normally Get

Leave a Reply

When I visit Anacortes, I almost always take a trip to the shipyard to see what sort of interesting things are up on the area near the road. Normally it is tugs or support vessels, but a recent trip provided something a little different. The Washington State Ferries vessel Chetzemoka was in for some work. Seeing a vessel of this size up close and from below is rather cool. The props had been removed and there were supports welded to the hull for the duration of the work. It was a slightly gloomy day, but I had my phone, so I got some shots. I wonder how long it will be before she is back in service.

Seabus

Leave a Reply

While in Vancouver in November, we made a trip to North Van to see some friends. That meant a trip on the Seabus. The tricky thing about getting images of the Seabus is that you can’t really do anything if you are traveling on it. The dock is enclosed and the views are restricted so you don’t really have any options (or at least I haven’t worked out what they might be). However, I did go to the heliport which is very close by and this does provide a better view of the comings and goings of these ferries.

It’s not the most elegant of vessels but it does the job effectively. Back and forth without turning since it is a bi-directional vessel. It’s all about shuttling across the harbor as efficiently as possible. I did also shoot some video of it but it is safe to say that there is nothing terribly dynamic about it that makes for an exciting video!

Take Your Car With You

Leave a Reply

I have seen countless RVs on the highway with a small vehicle hooked on the back. Having something more usable when you get to your destination makes a lot of sense. What about if you have a boat? How are you going to get around when you reach your next port? Why, bring a car with you of course! This ship was in the harbour at Bristol while we were visiting. The car was sitting on the deck, ready for use whenever it was needed!

SS Great Britain

Leave a Reply

Bristol Docks are the home of the SS Great Britain. The first iron hulled ship with screw propulsion, the Great Britain ended up in Port Stanley. It was rescued in the 80s and brought to Bristol where it was restored over many years. Now it is in something like its original condition. It was not open to the public on the day we were there but it was visible from the opposite side of the docks as we walked down and then, as we came back up the other side, I could get a quick glimpse through the fence.

Forklift for the Boats

Leave a Reply

The marina at Edmonds is a regular source of interest for me. They have racks on which the boats get stored in multiple levels. This requires a method for moving and lifting the boats and this is a bunch of specialist fork lifts. They have very long arms to support the boats and a high extension to get the boats to the upper levels and also provide clearance over the racks when maneuvering the loads in tight spaces. They must be pretty heavy to provide sufficient balance when picking up the boats. Watching them wobble around is a little strange but entrancing.