Most of this week the harbour has been home to two German battleships, great dark grey things, the larger of which is more massive than any US one I’ve seen (and I’ve been in San Diego and other battleship-heavy ports). The radar features made for massive superstructure along the “skyline” and the German flags at the bow were…well, Germanic. There is something about seeing a German battleship–however postmodern–that is just unsettling to me.
They cruised away this morning, with crew in full dress. And in their wake appeared a strange submarine. It wasn’t one of the British anchovie cans, but longer and with a prow that turned up more sharply than a cartoon snub nose. There were folks on its deck–of course the thing was mostly afloat rather than submerged or who would have known from a third story window at harbourside that it was there at all?–and they, most unlike the Germans, were in a state of beach dress: shorts, tanktops, reds and yellows.
And all the while that this traffic was underway, the harbour’s also sprouted two new platform, in addition to the small one that sailed in about two weeks ago. These rigs look mighty peculiar as they arrive, just a bit more ship-shaped than a barge and sporting high towers. The towers go down like legs and the “ship” folds up to a platform well above the waterline, with shortened towers still rising on each corner.
One of the wonders of this harbour, to me, is that with all this activity of large, important craft, one can see kayakers and even dories from time to time, threading among the tugs and speedboats. Richard Scarry would swoon.
To Halifax and Gone 
May 23, 2009 at 9:35 am |
I went looking for the book you linked – Richard Scarry’s cars, boats, trains & planes. At the place you linked (Open Library) the title listed as “work” is the wrong one; BPL doesn’t own it, nor does any Link+ library. The closest library listed in Worldcat as having it is Napa. The one available copy listed in Amazon is offered for $116. As BPL just stopped ILL it seems I shall have to travel to Napa if I want to read it.
May 24, 2009 at 2:37 pm |
Oh, almost any R Scarry will do for you to get the idea: busy harbour, busy river, busy whatever he draws. The characters are always anthropomorphic cats, pigs, dogs and so forth, generally wearing such national costumes as lederhosen or uniforms commensurate with piloting whatever craft is at hand.
Stopped ILL???