Southampton Water, 30th June 2013

Had to go to the mainland today, via Southampton with the car, so I took the opportunity to grab a few photos, too. It was a nice warm sunny day, with clearing fog.

LS Anne, passing Cowes on her way in to Fawley. She was on a parallel course with us as we entered Southampton Water.

Other tankers at Fawley were Aframax River...

...and Baltic Mariner

This moronic yacht got right between us and Red Eagle this morning. We had to slow to a dead stop in order to give him the opportunity to get out the way. This is the type who gives WAFIs their name, he really was a Wind Assisted F**king Idiot.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen's Toreador was looking rather pale, her once bright red paint now faded to a washed-out pink.

The docks were busy with car carriers, as they always seem to be at weekends. Undine and Virgo Leader were at berths 39/40.

While Queen Victoria was in 46, which is the Ocean Cruise Terminal these days, with Höegh Shanghai in the opposite berth.

On the way home, NYK Orion was ahead of us, out in the Solent

And June is finally over. Good riddance to it!

Southampton Water, 30th May 2013

We - my aunt and myself - did a quick trip to the mainland yesterday, to see my sister in Newbury and then go and see some puppies in Basingstoke (we're getting another dog :-) ) so I grabbed a few photos on the way back down Southampton Water late yesterday afternoon. The weather in the morning had been atrocious, with outbreaks of rain, so I'd just stayed inside the ferry on the way over but there wasn't much about, in any case.

A few days ago I bought a second DSLR body to go with my 6D although, this time, it's a cheap 600D, as I don't need another full frame body and couldn't justify the cost of a more expensive camera, as I am a hobbyist and not a professional. So far, I am pleased with it, although it is very basic indeed, and it is a lightweight body which produces good results.

The following are a mix of photos from the 6D, with the 100-400mm lens fitted to it, and the 600D with the 24-105mm on it.

Heritage Leader at Southampton - I think the NYK car carriers would win any silly names competition...

Tankers at Fawley, L-R: Nansen Spirit, Patagonia and Bro Anna

I resorted to photos of the ferries, given that it was a little sparse on the shipping front!

While coastal cargo vessel Huelin Dispatch was on her way out to the Channel Islands, on her usual run. The lower photo was taken with the 600D and 24-105mm.

Some video of Huelin Dispatch, also taken on the 600D (the rattling you can hear is the Red Eagle; those ferries have vibrated something awful since their conversion ten years ago).

<whinge>What the hell have Yahoo done to Flickr? What was an easy-to-use photo sharing site has been turned into a user-unfriendly mess. It's now hard to keep track of comments, likes and uploads from your contacts, is so busy-looking that it's now very hard to navigate, it's hard to edit photo settings, the photo-stream is infinite scrolling which I hate and - worse - as a paying subscriber I now find that those with free accounts are getting the same deal, the only difference is that they have a (small and unobtrusive) advert at the bottom of the page.
I'll give it a chance, of course, and see if it grows on me but so far, ten days after the change, it hasn't; to me, it's software geeks rebuilding things for other software geeks and is a triumph of design over function. If it ain't broke don't fix it...but they did  - and their forum announcing the changes has attracted 30,000 comments, overwhelmingly negative.</whinge>

Spring cancelled

What the bloody hell has happened to spring?? This grey, cold, damp gloom is more reminiscent of January than late March. It's soul destroying, depressing and downright unpleasant. Early spring can be variable but this is just horrific; the sky is grey, it's cold, the trees look dead, birds aren't singing, flowers aren't out, apart from snowdrops and a few sad-looking daffodils, and the light levels are atrocious. The only bright spot is that we haven't got any more snow down here (yet) just biblical amounts of rain and sleet, leaden skies and temperatures in single digits Celsius. I sincerely hope we get a decent summer after this...we certainly deserve one, particularly after last year's dismal effort.

I decided, despite the atrocious weather, to go over to Southampton to see the new AIDAstella which was making her first call at the port. I got the 1030 car ferry across, that decision influenced by the fact that AIDAstella was starboard side to in berth 46, therefore facing outwards, and would make a good photo from the ferry. I also wanted to avoid Newport traffic and the chaos brought by the ongoing gas main work.

CMA CGM Musca was on her way in, passing Cowes as I boarded the ferry but, in the murk, it wasn't worth getting the camera out. One that got away. But at least the sodding rain had finally stopped.

Braving the elements I went on deck as we approached Fawley. A few more hardy souls, most with shivering dogs in tow, were on deck, as was another ship photographer.
I am not overly happy with the processing on these, but it was challenging because of the dark conditions.

There was a dead bee on deck, probably a victim of the vile weather. I wonder how many more tiny tragedies there are, thanks to the cold and wet early spring?

The laid up container ship Qingdao Tower was still at berth 40 and she's expected to be there another few weeks to months.

And here is the 'star' of today's show, AIDAstella, which is on her maiden voyage. It's a shame the weather wasn't better for her (and me!) but, despite that, she still added a splash of colour (and a dodgy paint job - those eyes and lips) to the docks, brightening up the scene somewhat.

I went round to Mayflower Park to photograph general cargo ship Sudkap which was at berth 101.

Back to the ferry and home, via the city centre for food and to look at the new 'Oceans' shop which has opened. They sell a range of nautical (liner-related) items and also have some nice models on display.

Car carrier Grand Phoenix was also in port today.

Jaynee-W was the only ship on the move as we got back to the Solent, apart from Energy Champion but she was too far away.

Southampton Water 14/10/2012

Ships on Southampton Water today. Note sunshine. Rare conditions indeed. This wasn't a ship spotting trip, but a visit to Newbury to visit my sister as it is her 40th birthday.

Torm Almena

With the Southampton Harbour Master ahead of her

Stena Alexita

King Ernest

And Queen Mary 2, later in the day, as we were going home; it was a pity she was in the 'wrong way round', so I couldn't get a better photo from the ferry as we went past, and also a pity about the annoying furled umbrella in the foreground. All being well, I am going on a short trip on her next month, a four-night 'party cruise' to Le Havre and Zeebrugge. I am looking forward to seeing her from the inside but not looking forward to paying for it!

Southampton, 5th October 2012

I was returning from a few days away and there were a few ships in a rainy Southampton. Most interestingly Red Jet 4 was being towed into her berth. I thought she'd broken down but an enquiry on Facebook revealed that she was returning from an overhaul at Marchwood.
One of the boats assisting her was the pun-tastically named Wyedawake.

Glorious Hibiscus and Grand Princess, in the western docks:

Discovery and Ventura:

Ventura:

Eships Dana:

Cielo Di Parigi:

SKS Saluda: