Tag Archives: ship

Second Go At Old Ship Hulls

In this previous post, I had some shots of a ship hull in Anacortes that had become part of a harbor wall. When I showed this to a colleague of mine, he looked at Google Maps and thought there might be one or two more hulls making up the harbor. Once I saw what he was looking at, I could see what he was thinking. I also couldn’t work out why I didn’t go down to take a closer look when I had been there. A return journey seemed in order.

First I checked out the original hull and the one that is in the best condition. It looked more impressive when down on its level. I didn’t see any sign of a name which was a shame. Then I went to see what the other areas were. Sure enough, behind the first hull is a second one. This one is much more broken down but the timbers are still there making up another part of the harbor wall. I then realized that a third hull was part of the harbor which we hadn’t seen from Google. That is because it is a barge hull and so square which meant it wasn’t conspicuous from the aerial photos.

The last hull was located within a shipyard and, since I didn’t have permission to enter their premises, I didn’t go closer to check it out. A look from the access road above it did seem to confirm that it was indeed another hull. I guess whoever created the harbor figured the easiest way to do so was to sink a few derelict hulls and then build up the land around them (or let nature do that for you). I imagine that has been done elsewhere. Not quite the D-Day Mulberries but something similar.

Fauntleroy Terminal

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Continuing my lockdown hobby of checking out ferry services, I took a trip to West Seattle to see the terminal for Washington State Ferries at Fauntleroy. The service here goes to Vashon Island and Southworth – trips that I have yet to make but I would like to go cycling on Vashon at some point so I might get to use it then. I chose a pretty unpleasant day to make my trip there. Winter doesn’t provide reliable weather but the weekend is the only free time so you get what you are given.

The terminal is right next to Lincoln Park. I walked through the park to the water and strolled along the shore. A ferry was heading out at this time and, since the schedule was quite infrequent at that time of day, that was all I got to see move. I walked along the water and back to the road heading down to the terminal itself. It is not much of a terminal to be honest. Some holding lanes for the cars and not a lot else. Compared to the new Mukilteo terminal it is very low key. There is a little public park and beach just below the terminal which I briefly checked out but the increasing intensity of the rain meant I didn’t stay around too long!

Guemes Island Ferry

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Since aviation photography has been limited over the last year, I am finding myself photographing passenger ferries a lot. Having photographed some, I now am finding out about different ferry operations in the area and checking them out too. Anacortes is well known for the Washington State Ferries terminal that serves the San Juan Islands and Victoria (when the border is open) but it also has another ferry service. Just across the water from Anacortes is Guemes Island. The only way to get there is via a ferry.

The crossing is not a long one and you can see across to the other terminal with ease. The ferry is a basic boat with a car deck for vehicles and a small structure for the operators. I assume there is some shelter for foot passengers too but I didn’t spot it immediately. With such a short crossing, there are no special facilities.

As you come down the hill, you look along the loading ramp and straight at the other terminal. I saw a bunch of cars lined up to cross. It didn’t appear that they would all get on so I guess they shuttle back and further pretty regularly. It appeared to be half hourly. As they made the crossing, the boat seemed to roll quite a bit. It didn’t look like the smoothest of crossings. I guess the boat is designed to be sufficient for the sheltered waters but I wouldn’t like to be on it in rough weather. Then again, the crossing is short so you could suck it up if it was rolling about. Maybe I will take a trip across some time and explore the island.

It’s Not an Island – It’s a Wreck

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On the road from Anacortes to the ferry terminal, you have the water off to your right. As I glanced over, I realized that, what I thought was a spur of the land, was actually the wreck of a ship. The prow of the hull was the thing that first caught my attention so, when I came back, I stopped off to take a closer look.

The ship is a decent size – it reminded me of the old clipper hulls. It is a wooden hull and the shape of the bow is clearly very dated. It has been there so long that there are trees and plants that are well established on it. That was why I almost missed it. It just looks like part of the land. You could easily miss that it was a ship as I had done every time that I previously came this way. Now it is just part of the harbor wall. More to come on this.

QE2 Sails to the Falklands – A Crappy 110 Shot

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My negative scanning exploits have been covered a fair bit on this blog. Up to now, this has been focused on my 35mm films. However, when I was a kid, I had a 110 film camera. This was not what you would consider the pinnacle of photographic technology. It was a small, plastic camera with a lens that I doubt was up to much. 110 film came in a cartridge and was tiny so you were making an image on a small frame with a dodgy lens and nothing much you could control.

I didn’t know what I was doing so we were destined for great results! I didn’t understand how much light would be available so would take shots indoors without a flash and be shocked that nothing came out or that it was very blurry. The viewfinder was offset so you had parallax issues which became apparent when you tried to photograph something up close. All in all, not great. However, for general shots, it would give you a result. Not a good result but a result.

I dug out some of these 110 negatives to see what I could find. Some of the shots, while not of any quality, are historically significant. In 1982, we were living in a flat on the waterfront in Cowes. We had a lovely view across the Solent. We could see from directly north off to the east. Part of the building obscured our view to the west but our bathroom had a small window that looked across the roof and could give a less obscured view to the west. It was from here I photographed the QE2 as she sailed for the Falklands.

She had been requisitioned for the war and went into Southampton to be modified. The rear decks were cut back and the swimming pools plated over to make helicopter landing pads. All the nice stuff was taken out and she sailed with 5 Brigade aboard heading for an uncertain future. She came out Southampton Water, negotiated around Brambles Bank and then came past us and on her way. At one point a pair of Sea Kings flew over the top.

Canberra’s departure and return were bigger events for us when they happened and I remember them both vividly. QE2 came back on a school day and I could see her coming up the Solent from the tower building in the center of the school but it was a distant return. Canberra came back at the weekend and was part of an amazing flotilla as everyone seemed to be out to greet her. I have no shots of that!

Ferries in the Mist

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The misty mornings at Orcas were not only pretty atmospheric to wake up to but they also could make for interesting shots of the ferries. As the banks of fog rolled in and out, the boats could disappear and reappear. As they backed out and spun around, they could be right on the edge of disappearing. Since we were facing south, the whole scene was backlit which made it look even more interesting.

San Juan Ferry and Barge

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The Washington State Ferries service is the main way of getting between the San Juan Islands but it isn’t the only one. On a previous trip to the islands, I had posted about an operator of a small ferry. That post is here. The operator is San Juan Ferry and Barge. The boat in the original post is the Henry Island but they have a second, similar boat. This is the Nordland II.

The Nordland II came past us while we were staying in Orcas a couple of times. It had a truck with what looked like propane on board. I imagine moving from place to place with a hazardous cargo is easier when you charter the boat yourself. The front ramp means they can load and unload at any number of launching ramps around the islands which makes them super flexible.

They are based at Friday Harbor and, while we were walking around the waterfront, I saw them in the marina. The Nordland II was making a trip out so I got a shot as they pulled out (along with a friendly wave from the crew!). The Henry Island was still moored up so I grabbed some shots of it while I could.

Woods Hole Boat in the Yard at Anacortes

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Previous visits to Anacortes have included pictures from the shipyard in the town. They seem to always be working on some substantial vessel or other that has been lifted out of the water and moved up the yard to allow access to work on it. When heading to the ferry, we had a little spare time so took a swing through the town. Sure enough, another large vessel was parked next to the road. This one was registered to Woods Hole. It was a long way from home!

Port Townsend Ferry

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The Washington State Ferry from Port Townsend comes into the Keystone Harbor. I figured I would await its arrival. The shallow harbor means that they have smaller ferries for this route. They were actually in the process of dredging the harbor at the time of my visit to maintain access for the ferry. Even though it is a smaller ferry, when you are standing at the water’s edge, it is definitely more imposing. They turned the ferry pretty quickly since the vehicle traffic didn’t look too heavy. I think the rougher crossing might have slowed them down so a quick turn helped keep the schedule.

Winter Light on the Ferries

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I spent some time early one morning waiting for the return of a warship as covered in this post. It was dark and rainy when I first got there but then the sun snuck under the clouds and the result was some very pleasing light. I was down in Mukilteo which is the departure point for the ferry to Whidbey Island. They leave every half hour and I was able to get a few departures while I waited and after the ship has passed through. The white superstructure of the ferries glowed in the morning light with the dark background of the island behind them.