Fishing boat registration codes

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Fishing boat registration codes are the letters and numbers displayed prominently on the side of European (including UK) fishing boats. The letters are derived from the first letter plus one or two more letters of the home port name followed by an identifying number. When we were on Portland Bill we saw the fishing boat WH296 cutting through the glittering sea, heading towards WeymoutH, its home port. Later we saw the boat moored at the harbourside and noted that it was, very appropriately, called "Portland Isle".

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Painting the lighthouse

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Portland Bill's largest lighthouse was built in1903-05 and began its working life in 1906. It remains a working lighthouse and has been modernised down the years, most recently in 2019-2020, when a non-rotating LED and a new omnidirectional fog signal were installed.

 

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On our recent visit to the lighthouse it was being painted, a daunting task for many, but just another day's work for the two men tasked with the job.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Sea Mark, Portland Bill

A sea mark is an aid to navigation, usually to warn of a hazard and sometimes to mark a channel. They can feature a light, an easily seen prominence, a foghorn or be painted in a prominent colour. This sea mark in the form of an obelisk is at the tip of Portland Bill, an island that projects into the English Channel. The initials T.H. denote Trinity House who had it erected here in 1844 as an addition to two old lighthouses that were later replaced.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Red Crane, Portland Bill, Dorset

Red Crane is a hoist on a disused stone loading quay on Portland Bill, Dorset. The quay was used to serve the nearby Bill Quarries. This was active in the nineteenth century and the last loads of stone were hoisted onto ships by Red Crane in 1893. Fishermen took over the crane as a convenient means of launching and recovering their boats on the rocky shore. Steel cranes replaced the wooden structures in the late 1970s. On the day of our visit the only visible fisherman was using a rod and didn't seem to be having much luck.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Portland Bill lighthouse

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Portland Bill is a tip of land at the south end of the Isle of Portland. It sticks out into the English Channel and is the southermost point of the county of Dorset. Portland Bill's low, rocky limestone cliffs have long been a danger to shipping and the Romans used beacons to warn vessels of their presence. The first permanent lighthouses built there date from the early 1700s. In 1844 an obelisk daymark was erected and is still there. The tall red and white painted lighthouse we see today shone its light for the first time in 1906. It remains active today, though is fully automatic rather than permanently manned.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5