This morning was one of those walks where the rewards kept coming. It started when I spotted this bush outside St Mary’s church. I think it’s a Gladioli, I quite like this picture. I’m going to keep an eye on the bush. I may come back to it.
Having arrived at the water front, my first reward was to see the Mon St Michell come in to the harbour. In this picture she is accompanied by a Pilot boat. That’s not to say that the Brittany Ferry has a pilot on board – it doesn’t need one. Why not? You might ask There’s a thing called a PEC or Pilot Exemption Certificate. To get a PEC, a ship’s captain has to prove they have the capability to navigate the stretch of water to which the PEC applies. I quite often see the pilot boat scooting around the harbour, presumably to pick up pilots starting their duty.
Only a few minutes after the Mon St Michell, the Commodore Clipper came in. It’s more unusual to see her, she is normally quite a bit earlier than when I arrive at the waterfront. It was lovely to see her come in. It was not a bad day for it, only a slight wind, and not that cold at 7C. I was wrapped up warm though. And then, there was this;
OK, perhaps not so brilliant, but this is closer than I’ve ever got to it. I think it is because I’m being a bit sneaky and trying to keep out of it’s sight as I move to the end of the Haslar Marina Pier Wall. Not bad, but could be better. How about this then?
Almost directly overhead. It was not in the least bit fazed by me this time. This time, it did fly away. I would like to get a picture of that, but wasn’t quite fast enough today. An excellent point in a lovely walk.
Bills Posts 