Whenever I go to Anacortes, I always swing by the shipyard to see what they are working on. This was a quick visit but there was a large vessel up on the yard with a crew of people steam cleaning it. I don’t know whether this was the precursor to some work or the end of some. I did like the shaping of the screws on this vessel though. They looked pretty sweet.
Nancy and I were walking along the shore in Stanley Park in Vancouver during our visit over the Thanksgiving weekend. As we got closer to the lighthouse, I saw the prow of a ship start to come into view. A quick switch to video and I recorded the arrival of a container ship to the harbor. Large vessels like that coming through a narrow entrance to a harbor look cool to me. Once the harbor opens out a bit, it is just another large ship in open water so the scale is lost. In that phase when it comes into view, though, it looks as substantial as it really is. Get close and you are left in no doubt about these ships.
During the pandemic, I got to take photos of a lot of ferries. One of the ferries I checked out was the Guemes Island ferry in Anacortes. After I had finished my visit up in Anacortes, I had my lunch with me and was looking for a spot to eat it. I figured I would go to the parking lot by the ferry and see if it was in use. It certainly was and seemed to be operating more regularly than I expected. I did get a few photos and videos of it coming and going. The ferry looked a little scruffier than I recall from previous visits. I wonder whether it is due to be dry docked soon for a repaint!
Having grown up by the sea, I always like looking at passing ships. However, there are some that are just a little bit harder to like. Car transporters are that type of ship. While on the Isle of Wight, I saw this one passing by. I was going to take a shot of it because when don’t I take a photo but this is a prime example of just how lacking in grace this type of ship is.
The car ferry terminus at Portsmouth has moved locations over the years. The current Gunwharf location is tucked in quite a tight spot and the ferries are getting ever larger. It requires some skill to get a boat that big in to the berth frequently and quickly. I had multiple opportunities to watch them do this when in Portsmouth and when waiting to board so I got stills and video. A little video of them working is below.
We also were close to the terminus when we had our lunch on Spice Island. The ferries actually come around Spice Island and in to dock and the view along the shore looks almost continuous so, when the ferry goes in or comes out, it looks like it is emerging from the land. For some reason, I don’t tire of watching this happen.
The Thames is a busy waterway for commercial shipping and has plenty of docks and wharves along its shores. Seeing boats tied up is no surprise but seeing one that is sinking is not what I would have expected. That is exactly what I found, though. This old ferry was sitting at an awkward angle and looking very unwell. I came upon it from the stern and then had to go inshore as the path deviated away from the river but it was soon back on the water and I was able to look back at the sad vessel. A little research when I got home told me it is the MV Royal Iris, once a Mersey ferry. She is not looking at her prime now!
When you look at something like a ferry that can hold 180 cars and a thousand passengers, you don’t immediately think of agility and maneuverability. However, the Wightlink ferries that run between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight have surprising capabilities. The entry to Portsmouth Harbour is followed by a rapid change of direction to get to the terminal at Gunwharf. From the Spinnaker Tower, you get a great view of how rapidly the ferry can be thrown around. The St Clare is a bi-directional ship so it doesn’t back in like Victoria of Wight. Instead, it looks like it is doing a handbrake turn. The wake ends up almost combing out of the side of the boat!
A variety of ferry operators have made their way on to the blog over time. Today I get to add a new one for me. I was taking a WSF ferry to Bainbridge Island and, as we were departing Seattle’s Colman Dock, some Kitsap Ferries services were also arriving and departing. The light angles weren’t ideal but I figured I would add to my collection of ferry shots anyway. Maybe I will go back deliberately at some point in the future to get some better shots.
I am known to take the occasional photos of ferries. I have even been known to search them out from time to time. However, I recently got a photo of one purely by accident. We were on Whidbey Island and in the town of Langley. We drove down a side road to a dock area to see what was down there and we came across a retired Washington State ferry. The MV Evergreen State was in the WSF fleet for decades but was finally retired from service in 2015. Apparently her disposal did not go smoothly and she was in Olympia for a while before a new owner bought her and moved her to Langley.
Supposedly, the new owner is in the process of converting her to electric power. Working on a vessel as old as she is sounds hard enough as it is but converting it to new technology seems like a major undertaking. Maybe it will all work out well but I have a feeling that another troubling time could be ahead. Meanwhile, she is moored in Langley and this is where I shot her.
I have had some previous posts about San Juan Ferry and Barge as we saw a lot of them while vacationing in the San Juans. On our trip to Friday Harbor while mum was visiting, I hadn’t figured on seeing them unless they were moored in the harbor. However, as our ferry was getting ready to depart Anacortes, the Henry Island, one of their two boats, came towards us from the main harbor at Anacortes.
It passed behind us but I figured that we would catch it up as we headed to Friday Harbor and that proved to be the case. It was transporting a tanker truck with a trailer so the deck of the boat was full. As we chased it down, a couple of kayakers were coming the opposite direction. I wonder which of our two vessels they were more interested in.
