Comments (Newest First):

 

Post 4190

  Mike J., Dover

Cutting the Cut, Thursday - work is well underway for the new channel between Wellington Dock, across the road & beach & into the Outer Harbour & the site of the new marina.

A large hole is being dug in the beach, protected by a rock wall with a sort of membrane in it, presumably to reduce water leakage.

On the other side of the road Vic’s clutch piles are being installed along the line of the cut.

None of the expected pile-driving thumps [so far] but more of a low vibration which can be felt nearby.
I imagine that this could be quite unpleasant for swimmers, particularly when the swimmers head is underwater & is probably the reason for DHB discouraging swimmers when the work is going on.

I think there is a technique for ‘vibrating’ piles into position if the ground is soft enough rather than hammering them in, maybe this is what is going on.
Perhaps a ‘Sea News’ reader knows a little more about these operations & can explain what’s going on.

The historic Fairbairn crane, already braced, has received additional bracing, presumably to counter the vibration.

Not much dredging going on today, MP40 & the two WADDELS were tied up together between the Prince of Wales & the Ad.Pier & ‘Contractors Corner’ was busy, presumably with maintenance going on.

Finally, just for Sarah [we need a few more lifeboat photos !]the Dover lifeboat was on the boat lift, presumably receiving a bit of maintenance herself.



Thursday, 27 April 2017 - 23:41

 

Post 4189

  Sarah, Ramsgate

Good to see an old friend Border Force - Seeker arrive this morning.





HMS Explorer & HMS Example were also in the harbour.



Thursday, 27 April 2017 - 22:34

 

Post 4188

  Sea News, Dover

The top shot there is a close crop from the pic below it..pic no 2. Sometimes its hard to single out the heavy metalware, there's a lot of it out there, so yours truly has tried to show the Waddens up close and personal as they received the spoil from MP40 a few days ago. The interesting development for the moment is that the dredging appears to be suspended in the Exclusion Zone...all quiet on the western front as they say. You can see AIDAsol in the background there and she is back in with us again today.

Great contributions from all the team in the past few days.
Great work Ed showing the huge ship in Dunkerque. Brilliant stuff! also the ones from the eatern end previous to that are also very enjoyable too.

Sarah, our roving correspondent extraordinaire has been very busy and showing some great great pictures from the thick of the action.

And who could resist Mike's fab pic at the tip top of page.

Vic you are dead right - the site goes all around the world. We've had global correspondence to show that. Of course that is normal in this day and age but it is being noted and hopefully for all the right reasons.

Brian yes that Later-Life Event in Pencester could be a good one (see 3702)- would be useful to know what time the P&O Choir is scheduled to perform.
Also don't miss that story and pic of the kidz with P&O at Temple Ewell School 3701.

Good to hear from you over there in Broadstairs Dave.

A thumbzzzzup to all
PaulB.
PS: Ed got some very nice pix of the Elsebeth below...will have some shots of her departing following along soon.

Thursday, 27 April 2017 - 14:48

 

Post 4187

  vic matcham , DOVOR

SOME GREAT SHOTS OF A VERY BIG SHIP and the rest are very good keep the good work up.They are going all round the world.

Thursday, 27 April 2017 - 05:27

 

Post 4186

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Big boxboat CMA CGM Alexander von Humboldt berthing in Dunkerque West on wednesday afternoon with the assistance of several tugs.






Thursday, 27 April 2017 - 00:07

 

Post 4185

  Sarah, Ramsgate

Margate's Relief Lifeboat - Margaret Jean 12-21 on exercise tonight.





Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 21:25

 

Post 4184

  brian, dover

I will have to pop down to pencester on the 11th of may to have a chat to my brother who is a member of the p&o choir,.

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 13:36

 

Post 4183

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Elsebeth at the DCT today.



Causeway on the Eastern Arm today.


Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 12:23

 

Post 4182

  Sarah, Ramsgate

Thanks Dave for the info, I had never spotted her before.

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 12:06

 

Post 4181

  Dave, Broadstairs (dcn2472@gmail.com)

Sarah - The Fisheries vessel Nerissa is based at Ramsgate, she moors up over by the Pilot Boats but she doesn't venture out very often (budget restraints I would guess). The guys do mainly shore patrols!
Ps. I'm the one driving the Estuary Elan in your latest post.

Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 12:02

 

Post 4180

  Sarah, Ramsgate

Finally two regulars, THV Alert popped over from Dover for a re-fuel before returning to Dover







HMS Archer - P264 seen here often with her Royal Navy sisters



Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 09:51

 

Post 4179

  Sarah, Ramsgate

The old Broadstairs Lifeboat - Frances Forbes Barton is still in our Boat Park awaiting restoration by the Friends of the Frances Forbes Barton.



The Pilot Boat - Estuary Elite has been taken out of the water for some TLC



Meanwhile Pilot Boat - Estuary Elan is doing the work having recently gone through the TLC process



Fisheries Patrol - FPV Nerissa, a new one for me, I had not seen her here in Ramsgate before



Regular visitor Mannin dredging the harbour



Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 09:43

 

Post 4178

  Sarah, Ramsgate

Both Ramsgate Lifeboats were on exercise in the early evening.

All Weather Lifeboat - Esme Anderson 14-02





Inshore Lifeboat - Claire & David Delves B-878





Margate's All Weather Lifeboat - Leonard Kent 12-20 is still at Ramsgate awaiting repair.




Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 09:30

 

Post 4177

  Sarah, Ramsgate

It was a very active day in Ramsgate Royal Harbour yesterday firstly a few Wind Farm vessels.

Typhoon Tow



MPI Sampson



Windcat 1



Windcat 39 with Ramsgate Inshore Lifeboat in the background



TMS Bittern



Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 09:22

 

Post 4176

  Sea News, Dover

A Later Life Celebration Event is being held in Pencester Gardens in Dover on Thursday 11 May from 10am to 3pm.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
The event is being organised by Dover District Council, supported by the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, and aims to help people of all ages celebrate and love later life. The event will launch the new ‘Later Life Address Book’, and will feature a range of live entertainment, refreshments, taster sessions, and a range of information on local activities and services.

The event will include:

Musical entertainment - including performances from the P&O Choir, The Moments and Chantilly Lace
Later life activities - including walking football, poem reading, yoga, a cooking exhibition, and a range of information from Your Leisure
Vintage vehicles – a range of vintage vehicles will be on display from the Friends of East Kent Buses and the Dover Transport Museum
Vintage game stalls – including Hook The Duck, Bat The Rat, and Coconut Shy stalls, and many more.

The event marks the launch of the Later Life Address Book. This is a vintage-style address book, designed to be easy to read, containing details of local businesses and services that have come forward as Dementia Friends, and attended special training sessions. The project has been run by DDC working with Dementia Friends, part of the Alzheimer’s Society.

Following the launch, the Later Life Address Book will be available at a range of locations, including DDC offices and Age Concern centres in the district.

As part of our Later Life project, DDC’s Community Services team has been working hard to make the district more dementia friendly. DDC has been officially recognised by Dementia Friendly Kent as a ‘working to become dementia friendly’ organisation.

Ends

Note that the P&O Choir is performing above there on the day. Great stuff!
Also those vintage vehicles always worth a look and of course the message itself is very worthwhile.

The Fleet's In: Just finally below..well there are camper vans and camper vans, but these whoppers stayed with us on the seafront yesterday. They are clearly 'Winnebago type things' that's the technical term for them, but I have never seen anything bigger. You could house a family of six in each one for life. So big were they that they had difficulty getting out from the seafront through the exit by the Premier Inn. They needed both sides of the seafront road in order to get out onto the main road. Of course the traffic was heavy out there as per usual, so the 'Winnebago type things' blocked both sides of the seafront road...at that moment the last vehicle the winnebago drivers wanted to turn up was a police car and of course you've guessed it, along came a police car to turn in to the seafront at that very moment and it was suitably blocked for an age...while the beasts endeavoured to get out...but the police took it in good spiirts...I think.
PB


Wednesday, 26 April 2017 - 06:44

 

Post 4175

  Sea News, Dover

TEMPLE EWELL SCHOOLCHILDREN TREATED TO SNEAK PREVIEW OF P&O FERRIES' NEW KIDS MENU
___________________________________________________________________________________

NINETEEN lucky children from Temple Ewell Church of England Primary School had a sneak preview of P&O Ferries' new summer kids menu at a specially organised food tasting last week (Wednesday 19th April).

The pupils, aged between seven and 11 years old, are all members of an after-school Masterchef group which teaches them how to cook. The team at P&O Ferries was keen to hear their views on new dishes including kids' chicken curry, alphabet bites, fish fingers and tomato pasta melt.

What they said will help the Dover-based ferry company fine tune the children's menu in advance of its launch on their English Channel ships next month.

The food was cooked by Mac Mackay, a chef on the Pride of Canterbury, a former policeman who was worked at P&O Ferries for 17 years. He said: "It was a pleasure to cook for a group who already have a keen interest in food and they gave us some very interesting feedback on what tasted good and what we might be able to make taste even better."

"The children awarded top marks to the chicken bites and alphabites. But unfortunately two of the healthiest options - the vegetable fingers and oven-cooked fish fingers - weren't quite as popular."

"I was happy to answer their questions afterwards and explained that I am part of a team of nine people on board who sometimes cook for 2,000 people in an hour and a half."

All the pupils who attended the tasting at the company's HQ at Channel House, Dover, were presented with a P&O Ferries' children's pack, a pen and sweets.

Nicola Church, School Business Manager at Temple Ewell, said: "The children had a great time. They learned a lot and especially enjoyed questioning the chef."

P&O Ferries' wider stakeholder programme offers visits to schools, colleges and businesses within the local community. This is a totally free initiative. The visit is tailored to school requirements and their current projects. It can be a talk, with learning materials and other artefacts, judging a competition or providing an insight into the world of ferries and logistics.

ENDS


Well done P&O above. Great community involvement above there.

* *

And now a couple of pictures of the special cruise ship MV Hamburg yesterday. The weather was slate grey for the arrival so difficult to get an interesting picture at that time. The top shot here is from a tad later while shot two was taken at arrival time.



Well done Mike with those car plunge pictures below - what a shocker!!
Don't miss those
Nice pix all round further below.

PaulB.



Tuesday, 25 April 2017 - 05:55

 

Post 4174

  Mike J., Dover

While walking along along the clifftops waiting for the MEANDER’s arrival I noticed a car where no car should be.

I arrived while the police were waiting for the recovery teams & they were a little coy as to the circumstances - there have since been media reports that a 30-year man had been taken to hospital with minor injuries. A very lucky man indeed.






Monday, 24 April 2017 - 21:07

 

Post 4173

  Mike J., Dover

Monday arrivals - HAMBURG arriving 0700 from Falmouth.



The MEANDER had arrived off the port earlier with two DWDR barges from Rotterdam.
She came in at 0900 with one of the barges, assisted by LLANDDWYN ISLAND.
The second barge was brought in later by the AFON GOCH.


The MEANDER didn’t stay long & at noon she sailed for Portsmouth.


Monday, 24 April 2017 - 21:01

 

Post 4172

  Sea News, Dover

Work has now begun to prepare the harbour for the piling and land reclamation phase of the Port of Dover's flagship Dover Western Docks Revival (DWDR) development.

Currently, dredging activity is in operation to remove soft sediments in the harbour prior to the piling commencing on or around the 24th April.

As with all such construction works, this activity will generate both air-driven and waterborne noise caused by the impact of the hammer on the pile.

We have been working hard to deliver a programme that manages the essential piling activity required for DWDR whilst still safely retaining as much use of the harbour for leisure users as possible.

A marine safety exclusion zone was established to ensure that all leisure users, both on the water and the beach, remain outside the recommended 100m action-level area to ensure their safety from exposure to air-driven noise.

A sub-acoustic investigation has been conducted to assess the anticipated noise and sound waves created by this process and has thoroughly evaluated the risk to swimmers from underwater noise.

As a result, there is a recommendation that swimmers, especially those swimming partially submerged and for sustained periods of time, refrain from swimming in the harbour while piling is in progress.

Those using surface craft and wearing properly fitting buoyancy aids at all times may continue to use the harbour as long as they remain outside the safety exclusion zone.

Piling will be limited to the following times:
Monday to Friday: 8am to 6pm
Saturday: 8am to 2pm
There will be NO piling on Sundays and bank holidays
 
Signage will be displayed in prominent locations along the seafront promenade advising visitors of the changes to the leisure activities.

Jack Goodhew, General Manager – Special Projects, Port of Dover said: "This is very much a partnership with the local community and Port community stakeholders to ensure we deliver the prize of the longed-for regeneration of Dover whilst providing as much harbour leisure use as possible as we carry out these essential construction works in the short term."

This initial piling stage will run through to the latter part of 2017.

ENDS

* *

The Luzon Strait came in yesterday and here she is below...but instead of coming across the bay as they normally do, she took a sharp right turn into the Cargo Terminal area or the far eastern part of the harbour. The picture just catches her side-on as she disappears behind the Spirit of Britain. Time was around 06.30.


Also coming in at the ungodly early hour yesterday Sunday was the Aidasol and here she is below. It was very busy very early.

Finally below another pic of the Aidadiva prior to departure the evening before, that would be...lets see..yes Saturday.


So far Del my dozing pattern hasn't been disrupted...but wait til the piling starts ,,yikes!

Great postcard Ed...you don't see much rowing like that now, other than from..well ermm rowers! Yes indeed all that disappearing.

Well done with the Cruise List again Colette. Keeps yours truly and everyone up to speed. Busy week coming.
(to see the latest always type Cruise Visits in the Search Engine)


PaulB.



Monday, 24 April 2017 - 06:22

 

Post 4171

  Del Styan, Norwich

Hope those floodlights don't interrupt your dozing- if you do relax between taking photos that is!

Sunday, 23 April 2017 - 23:22