My Photography 2011

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12th December 2011 - Dover Seaways and the Norman Spirit

On Monday 12th December myself and Paul Cloke embarked on a day trip to Dunkerque with DFDS Seaways on board the Dover Seaways and returning later on in the day on the chartered Norman Spirit.

I would like this opportunity of thanking Paul Cloke for the driving, Steve Mackenzie for his help in arranging the trip and of course the crews of both the Dover Seaways and the Norman Spirit.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

28th November 2011 - European Seaway & Spirit of Britain

On the 28th November Paul Cloke and myself embarked on a trip to Calais on board P&O Ferries newly reintroduced freight vessel "European Seaway". We returned home later on in the day on the "Spirit of Britain".

Having been taken off the run and laid up at the end of September many of us thought that the Seaway may not return but owing to the ongoing issues at Seafrance she was reactivated and returned to Dover on the 16th November to offer additional sailings to Calais.

Overall impressions of the Seaway are a great ship with a very friendly crew and awesome food. The ship was very clean and tidy throughout and had everything a truck driver needs for a 90 min crossing to Calais.

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking Captain Phillpot, his officers and his crew for making us feel most welcome on his vessel. It's good to have the Seaway back in her home port.

After an hour on Calais pier photographing the movements of the Canterbury, Kent and Calais we were soon heading back to the Port of Calais to catch the Spirit of Britain's 17:15 departure back to Dover. Once again an enjoyable crossing on a nice vessel.

Once again a big thank you to everybody at P&O Ferries for making our journey possible.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

24th October 2011 - Pride of Canterbury

On Sunday 23rd of October the Pride of Calais had a bit of a mishap in the port of Calais which resulted in her making heavy contact with her berth. As a consequence of this incident she was taken off the run for a few days to undergo repairs. I had originally been booked on one of the Calais' sailings on Monday the 24th October but as a consequence sailed on the Canterbury instead. Here a few pictures taken departing Dover in the late evening.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

20th October 2011 - 5 Ports, 4 Ferries, 3 Routes in 1 Day

In September 2011 we announced on our Blog, Forum and Facebook page that we were planning on travelling on all four short sea operators in one day.

Some clearly asked us why? As a respected shipping site it's amazing how much communication we receive asking what the vessels and the services are like. Sometimes it's hard to give an honest assessment when you have not travelled with a certain operator for a while.

With this in mind our purpose was not only to enjoy a day at sea but to compare the four short sea operators and see how they are doing and what sort of service is on offer to the travelling public. In effect we were endeavouring to capture a snapshot of the competing operations.

Although not that much photography was undertaken during these voyages, the weather and the time of day helped capture some of the most beautiful sunrises/sunsets I have seen at sea for a number of years.

The voyage report of our journey is now available here

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

18th October 2011 - Autumn Sunshine

With a bit of time to myself and good weather I thought I would go out and get a bit of photographic practice in before our long voyage on Thursday.

Having not monitored AIS before leaving home I was surprised to see the Seafrance Berlioz back on the run following her recent absence due to strike action.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

12th September 2011 - A little bit Windy

One the 12th of September force 9 South Westerly winds lashed the South Coast of the UK during the morning.

Please find below a selection of photographs taken from the seafront and Langdon Cliffs.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

7th August 2011 - Coastguard Awareness Day

Today was Coastguard awareness day and the coastguard station at Langdon battery was open to the general public. As well as the station being open to the public there were also displays from the South Coast Ambulance Service, Kent Police, Port of Dover Police, Kent Search and Rescue, British Divers Marine Life Rescue and the RNLI. The weather was a little inclement with a near gale blowing but thankfully the sun stayed out during the afternoon.

As a part of the open day the Dover Lifeboat along with Walmer lifeboat carried a demonstration in the seas of Langdon Bay. This was followed the Sea King `RS-04' of the Belgian Airforce (based at Koksijde near Ostend) carrying out a winch demonstration on the White Cliffs.

All in all it was a great afternoon out and I would like to thank all the agencies involved for putting on this very informative event.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

29th July 2011 - Evening on the Spirit of Britain

Paul Cloke and myself decided to go on a `Car Park Shopper' to Calais with P&O Ferries onboard the Spirit of Britain's 17.20 departure from Dover.

The Port of Dover seemed fairly busy with tourist traffic departing for the continent. With the weather set fair it was a very nice departure from Dover followed by a tour of the ships bridge. Upon arrival in Calais more photography was undertaken before retiring to `The Brasserie' for a hearty dinner. I have to say the steak I had in the Brasserie is one of the best steaks I have ever had and the Strawberry and White Chocolate cheesecake was awesome.

I would just like to take the opportunity of thanking the officers and crew of the Spirit of Britain for there hospitality.

Please find below a selection of photographs from our journey.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

26th July 2011 - Dunkerque with DFDS Seaways

On the 26th July the Moderators met up for a trip to Dunkerque on board the DFDS Seaways vessel "Dover Seaways".

This was actually my first trip to Dunkerque West on one of the `D' class vessels and I have to say I was impressed with both the vessel and the service and I look forward to travelling with them again in the future. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the crew for there hospitality and for making us feel most welcome on board.

Upon arrival we headed for Dunkerque East to get a few photographs of the ex Cezanne and ex Renoir before heading to Calais. Both the Renoir and the Cezanne were in the process of having there Seafrance logos removed and both vessels were noted to be running on there own generators. I don't think it will be long until both vessels depart Dunkerque to face there eventual fate.

I would also like to thank my fellow Moderators for a very enjoyable day out in France.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

8th-9th July 2011 - Solent Sojourn

I have just returned from a couple of days on the South coast taking in the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth and for the first time, a trip to Ryde on the Isle of Wight.

Our trip didn't start off to well thanks to the wonderful British Summer with heavy rain and strong winds affecting the Solent. As a consequence it was a quick photograph of the stern of the Balmoral and Queen Victoria before returning to the hotel and watching there departures from the comfort of the hotel bar

It was then up early on Saturday to quickly capture a few shots of the Independence of the Seas, Oceana and Crown Princess in Southampton before heading to Portsmouth and a sailing to Ryde on the Isle of Wight. After a nice walk around the town of Ryde it was back to the pier head terminal to find that our return crossing had been cancelled due to `technical problems', this turned out to be a generator problem. With time pushing on we decided to head back down Ryde pier and take the hovercraft back to the mainland.

I have to say it was great to be travelling by hovercraft once more, even though not planned it was thoroughly enjoyed. From the hoverport at Clarence Pier we headed for the Round Tower at the entrance of Portsmouth to witness the arrival of Brittany Ferries Mont St Michel. From here we then walked to Gunwharf quays and then spent half an hour up the Spinnaker tower before heading back to the car and then home.

All in all it was a bit of a whirlwind weekend but it was very enjoyable and I look forward to heading back to the Solent very soon.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

28th May 2011 - Bank Holiday = Windy & Wet

Following the death of my father in March I have taken a long period out from the website and photography. All of a sudden a hobby which had been a friend to me for many a year didn't seem important anymore.

I am happy to report after a hellish few months things are starting to get back to normality and today I proudly present these photographs to you.

With a Bank Holiday weekend off I met up with a colleague for a walk to the lighthouse at South Foreland. It being a Bank Holiday meant the port was fairly busy and the weather was, well, wet and windy (typical really).

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

10th January 2011 - The Best of the Rest

As stated in the previous entry please find below a selection of some of the other photographs I took on the 9th January whilst awaiting the arrival of the `Spirit'. Due to the special occasion the P&O fleet and the DHB fleet were `dressed overall'.

The vessels featured are: Dover Seaways, Seafrance Moliere, Pride of Burgundy, Dover Lifeboat (departing on exercise), The Harbour Patrol Launch, DHB Doughty, DHB Dauntless, Pride of Kent, Seafrance Rodin, Coralwater, European Seaway and just in case you haven't seen enough pictures already, the Spirit of Britain :)

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

9th January 2011 - Spirit of Britain

As I am sure you all aware, P&O Ferries brand new state of the art vessel "Spirit of Britain" made her maiden call in Dover shortly after 11am this morning. I think P&O must have friends in high places as for the first time in ages the sun finally made an appearance : )

Please find below a few shots of her arrival plus one of her on berth one showing just how wide she is!

A further update will be posted later on featuring some of the other photographs taken today.

You can comment on this post on our forum here.

All these photographs were taken with a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 and are subject to copyright.

2nd January 2011 - Welcome to a New Year

Firstly may I take this opportunity of wishing you all a Happy New Year. I hope you had a good time celebrating, I know I certainly did, the hangover was testament to that!

As in previous years their are a number of tasks undertaken by your webmaster at the turn of the year. Firstly the websites copyrighting has to be updated to read 2011 and not 2010 and secondly the `Yearly' pages of the site have to be archived as in the the case of "My Photography 2010"

As you can see I haven't taken any photographs so far in 2011 but rest assured they will be added to this page as and when.

To enable you better access to previous years photographic postings I have added a menu on the left of the screen which gives direct access to the desired year.

I am envisaging my first photographic post to be on the 9th January 2011, apparently there is a new ferry arriving that I may have to go and see :-)

Wishing you all the best

Ray.