Baaaaack! 2

Someone emailed me to say thanks for recent fotos of Giulio Verne and now Blue Marlin redux.  But Blue Marlin, of my “summer haze” Groundhog series, is currently off China (see her environment at the end of this post) and this is the older, smaller sister Mighty Servant 1.

You can find the exact dimensions here, but basically, compared with Blue Marlin,  Mighty Servant 1 is 115′ shorter, 43′ narrower.  These fotos were taken from Fort Wadsworth;  if you’ve never been, this is a great time to visit the Fort, both for its own sake and for watching this loading job.  Given the time of year and stretched-thin funding of everything including the NPS, check out their gift shop.

It was interesting how many of the crew were visible as it entered the Narrows.

I sincerely hope lessons were learned and this loading happens quickly.  These cradles seem more robust than the ones on Blue Marlin.

If you didn’t follow my Groundhog Day series, this machinery ties the floated-on units in place when the vessel is

submerged for loading.

This is dangerous work;  a quick read here about Mighty Servant 2 and 3 provides ample evidence.

Seriously, if you have needed a nudge to get down to the water, these

next few days of crisp clear air are ideal.

Wear your woolies.

Click here for a “speedy” float-on involving Rowan Gorilla VII and Mighty Servant 1.  Be advised that the actual-time “deballasting” is, as Rod says, “like watching slow-drying paint dry.”

Below is a screen grab off AIS.  Blue Marlin is in there somewhere.  But what ARE all these other vessels!@!#$!, especially the purple ones?

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.