River Boats!

 River Ferries?

The role of the ferryman is not yet in demise, as many people in London, U.K. want to travel the river Thames for work, cutting out the car and all the costs that now go with it, as well as fines!

There are many places were the building of a bridge is not suitable, but there is a demand for traffic to go from A to B/Z and thus not much has changed over the years with the craft, except the introduction of GPS and more comforts for the passengers?

Journeys will vary from fifteen to forty-five minutes and the weather can play havoc, but despite all this there remains a demand across many parts of the world, were safety standards are not kept, ranging from Greece to W-Africa, and the far-east with occasional great loss!

Fire Engines. Part-Three.

Aviation and at Sea.

Every airport across the world has employed specialist fire engines to deal with burning aviation fuel. We generally see this as foam being sprayed from powerful jets, it from years of gathered experience that this method has become a standard. 

Meanwhile fires at sea are extremely dangerous and can be fatal on most types of shipping, if they are not brought under control very quickly. It is the good old faithful Tugboat that has become the mainstay of the sea fire man. These vessels handle much more than towing and assisting shipping, they are fitted with extremely powerful jets and carry large tanks of sea water, than can be continually refilled.

Both in aviation and sea fire, much was learned from the Battle of Britain and the bombing by Nazi-Germany's Luftwaffe of the Port of London docks during World-War-II (1939-45). Tugboat on the river Thames were the most vital piece of sophisticated equipment at the time in fire fighting.

Sail Ships. Part-One.

Knowing the basics.

Living by the sea one see's loads of yachts and boats, including the odd sail ship. Over the years I have missed quite a few of them either in Swansea Bay, and the Bristol Channel and many other parts of the UK and Ireland.

There are a few films on classic yachts and some of them may be original trawlers, since the trawler started life in this part of the world anyway. Sail ship deign is strange enough still improving, but it was in the early 19th Century, that the Clipper came to its fore. Ships like the 'Cutty Sark, which has now been restored and is at Greenwich in London by the River Thames.

She was built in Dumbarton Scotland in 1869, weighing 921 tons and was 212 feet long. Her hey day was in carrying tea from China to the Port of London in 100 days and at a speed of about average 16 knots. 

The basic sail layout of these ships had developed from one main sail and a few smaller one to the three-four mast tall riggers. Ships like the Cutty Sark ended their days in the wool industry from Australia and the introduction of steam power and the opening of the Suez canal in Egypt.