Seeking maritime history in Ireland
On Friday we were in Cobh (pronounce Cove) – the port of Cork, looking at “the statue of Annie Moore and her two brothers. Annie Moore became the first ever emigrant to be processed in Ellis Island in...
View ArticleA visit to Appledore 1: the Maritime Museum
Over the years I have mentioned the trading ketch, Ceres, which belonged in turn to my great-great-grandfather, my great-grandfather and finally my grandfather. I promised myself that, when I finished...
View ArticleA visit to Appledore 2: Richmond Dry Dock
From my grandfather, via my mother, we had inherited a box of flood-affected old photographs of sailing vessels, including a large number of my grandfather’s trading ketch Ceres. Among these were...
View ArticleA visit to Appledore 3: Bideford Bar
I have never crossed Bideford Bar but it seems that I have known it all my life. I thought I would check it out. Who knows? I may yet get the chance. Many sailors have crossed this Bar, and many still...
View ArticleA coincidence I could not ignore
I was intrigued to see, downstream from Blue Mistress, two masts of a large schooner towering over the normal view. Sadly, her hull was hidden behind a barge and I had no time to investigate. However,...
View ArticleAlong the Teign – in black and white – and colour
We walked from Drewsteignton to Chagford on a rare hot, sunny day. I was being introduced to the walk – “It’s a great walk. Not too difficult.” It is and it wasn’t. I took the camera with no particular...
View ArticlePost it again differently
My last post was a try-it-an-see effort – could I upload an image from my camera onto my mobile then post it on the blog – from my boat? Evidently I can. With a little practice, I can improve on it...
View ArticleThree images from yesterday – Knightshayes
We were invited to visit Knightshayes accompanied by the former head gardener who had been involved in designing and planting the gardens for over forty years from the early sixties. He was talking...
View ArticleReflecting on my approach to photography
When I was a dentist, I took photographs all the time – mostly macro settings of small objects and areas. These were essential records of what I was seeing. In my private life, my photographs have...
View ArticleA few days away – to Dartmouth and back
I’ve been away for a while – first a week on the boat then a trip to London for a ’45-year’ reunion. In the latter we met up as fellow students, still recognisable as the young people we used to be –...
View ArticleA mooring in Salcombe
Ever curious, I have been asking myself about single-handed sailing and why I enjoy it so much. The fact that I am reflecting on this at all is a clue in itself. I will enlarge on this later. What...
View ArticleA lot of sail and very little wind
On the Monday, I set off early towards Salcombe planning to get to Bolt Head before the tide turned against me. There was no wind so, under motor, a chance to note the effect of the tide and the...
View ArticleA small space – a lot possible
How would you spend all day in a space about six feet across from back rest to back rest, and approximately ten foot long with no headroom to stand upright? By ‘all day’ I mean I opened the hatch...
View ArticleA brief moment on a passage home.
I had plenty of time to reflect on single-handed sailing during the week away. I passed many yachts, some with large sociable crews, more with large racing crews. They are the norm. So what about...
View ArticlePhotographing sea
I am back from a week’s ‘cruise’ – west to Falmouth then up the River Fal, before the weather brought an end to it. I had originally planned to sail back to Plymouth today as we have a longstanding...
View ArticlePhotographing sea 2
During a passage west, I have been thinking about the difficulty of taking photographs of the sea that reflect the actual sea state, particularly the more exhilarating sea states. In the previous...
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