Yachts blue and white

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Over the years I've photographed quite a few harbours with their working and pleasure boats, and wherever I've been - certainly in the UK and probably elsewhere - the dominant colours of the vessels has been white and blue. So it is in these photographs of Weymouth and Lyme Regis. It can't always have been so: the natural colours of wood must have prevailed at one time. So why and when did white and blue come to dominate?

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photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Yachts big and small

I noticed the diminutive "Freda" moored at the quayside in Wymouth harbour, the pristine paintwork, masts and ropes drawn sharply against the blue water of the harbour and the sky blue above.  I stopped to give her the "once over" in her relative isolation before I went on to photograph the forest of masts further into the harbour.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

East Quay, Watchet

One of the answers to renovating a location that has lost its raison d'etre is to build an eye-catching visitor attraction. The placing of something new alongside something old, it is thought, will drag up the latter and offer something original with the former.

 East Quay at the tiny harbour town of Watchet on the Somerset coast is just such an enterprise with its gallery, artist studios, education space, restaurant and accomodation pods. The shiny, blocky buildings look like a child's building bricks  casually tossed down. It is not without interest and I hope it has a long and productive life.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Rhenish Tower, Lynmouth

The Rhenish Tower on the pier at Lynmouth, Devon, is thought to have been built around 1832, perhaps as a beacon for ships entering the harbour. It was originally a squarish tower built of rubble stone. In c.1852 brick balconies with turret-like machicolations were added to make the plain tower more attractive. It acquired the title, the Rhenish Tower, because of similarities with towers by the River Rhine. A further use was made of the tower in the C19 when bathing water was collected there and piped to the nearby Bath Hotel for "therapeutic" sea-water bathing.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Minehead harbour

The first pier at Minehead in Somerset was built in 1610 when the harbour became an important export and import location. Today the the harbour is still in use but commercial traffic has gone to bigger ports elsewhere and pleasure craft far outnumber the few engaged in fishing. Unusually, this harbour is, and always was, at the edge of the built up area of the coast, and today it is a popular destination for a walk from the centre of the town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

View from Tenby Harbour

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This view from Tenby harbour looks north from near the slipway and the yacht club. At high tide the small pleasure craft, yachts and inshore fishing boats were all afloat or at sea. The sunny day and clear light made the most of the colours near and far, including the brightly painted hotels and apartments overlooking the sea on the High Street and the road known as The Norton.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Yachts on Weymouth Bay

The shot above was taken with the camera's lens at its maximum magnification. I took it because I spotted the solitary yacht with the pink/purple sails among two classes of smaller yachts that seemed to be sailing in groups or engaged in some kind of competition. The dash of colour was essential for what would otherwise have been a quite boring composition. Shooting into the sun gave the sea a very monochrome look which accentuated the overall lack of colour and made the coloured sails more prominent.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Boats at Beer, Devon

You get a great sense of the continuity of life when you see fishing boats sharing a beach with yachts and other recreational vessels. Many, if not most, of the small havens and ports of the UK's coast began life because of the need for fishing and it is good to see them still engaged in that activity. With reference to yesterday's post, the two fishing boats here are registered at Falmouth (FH) and Penzance (PZ).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Older small yachts, Weymouth harbour

Like many landlubbers I only have a passing acquaintance with yachts, large and small, new and old. And, like many such people, I have a preference for the smaller, older vintage yachts that have minimal fibreglass and maximum varnished wood. Walking round the harbour at Weymouth in Dorset recently we came upon a small group of such yachts and a photograph had to ensue.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Paddle boarding

According to my research paddle boards have been around for longer than I imagined. However, they didn't become widespread, as far as I know, until twenty or so years ago, and in terms of me noticing them, about five years ago. Now I see them in all seasons apart from winter on the River Wye in Herefordshire, and when I go to any recreational river or seaside they are usually present. I've never tried one, but to me they seem to have few advantages over canoes apart from lower cost and easier transport. On our recent visit to the south coast they were everywhere including the cove at Beer, Devon.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2