Sunday 21 August 2016

The Little Things

Last week we watched all 194,849 tons of the Maren Maersk being pushed and pulled into her space at Felixstowe by three sturdy little tugs.  For a moment, it looked as if she was heading straight for us.



The power of those little boats has always amazed me. They have names like Svitzer Sky, Svitzer Deben and Svitzer Shotley.



So wrapped up in watching a tug push the Maren Maersk into position from the side, I forgot to take a photo of it!

I did get more crabbing photos though - you must be fed up with them! Probably the last, although the holidays aren’t over yet.





Some time ago I posted a link to a flight tracker website. You can find it here. When planes go over, I sometimes look them up to see where they’re headed or where they’ve come from. As I write this a plane going from Bristol to Amsterdam has just gone over. As well as flight information you can find out more about the planes too.

There is a marine equivalent Vessel Finder here. It’s very handy for identifying ships all over the world. It even shows our little harbour ferry. I find these types of websites very useful for someone as nosy as me.

We finally got our trip over to Felixstowe on the little yellow Harbour Ferry which was a lifeboat on the SS Canberra in a previous life. It has replaced the Rotork Sea Truck which was a type of landing craft designed partially by James Dyson. The little yellow spot on the photo below is the ferry.



It was drizzling so my photos of over here from over there weren’t great. We couldn’t even see Walton.



It was lovely to be out on the water for a short while and the kids enjoyed picking a few blackberries at the edge of the nature reserve.




It was quiet and peaceful. We didn't see any wildlife, but we weren't there for long enough to explore properly. Maybe next time.



When we got home, I asked what they liked best – the ferry ride or lunch out. “Picking blackberries,” they said!


11 comments:

  1. I've just discovered flightradar24.com which does the same thing. It's fascinating. Glad to see you are still having fun with the little ones. I wonder if there were enough blackberries left to end up in a pie!

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    1. It is, isn't it! I love those sort of websites.
      They didn't pick many blackberries, just a few to eat there and then. Would be nice to get a few for a blackberry and apple crumble though - mmmm :-) xx

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  2. I'll check out those websites, Teresa. Thanks. And how typical of kids to place blackberry picking above all else! Can't disagree with their thinking though.

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    1. I thought it was rather lovely when they said that :-) xx

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    2. They've got their priorities spot on.

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  3. I love the little tugs pulling away so hard there, and what a huge monster and forbidding sight the Maren Maersk is! It's so lovely that your grandchildren rated blackberry picking above everything else. I'm sure it's always the purest pleasures that stay with us. xxx

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    1. That's very true, Joanna - those are the memories we cherish xx

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  4. What an interesting time you're having, Teresa - great photos of the boats and the days out!

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary - it's been a busy few weeks :-) xx

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  5. Aw, picking blackberries is great fun. I'd always reach for the biggest best one and then fall flat onto the brambles and drop the ones I'd already picked.

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    1. Oh bless you - the perils of blackberrying :-) xx

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