Odd-looking boats

[Peter Taylor]

To bring this thread down to earth (or, I suppose, water) here are two I spotted while sailing earlier this week. One photo shows a cruiser belonging to that guy who got carried away by the electronics bargains available at this year's Southampton Boat Show.  He bought so many that Raymarine gave him a free sticker.  The other shows the youth training tall ship "Stavros S Niarchos", but my odd-looking boat entry is the ship to the right... "Blade Runner Two" which together with it's sister ship (no prizes for guessing the name) spends all it's time ferrying wind turbine blades from the factory on the Isle of Wight to Southampton.  So... wind power old and new all in one photo!

With regard to the Komorebi (previous post)... isn't it good to be green by using wind power - while having a helicopter to save rowing to shore!  ...or maybe the helicopter is to bring the gardener each day to water the plants.

[Graham W]

Being landlocked, there's not much of a seafaring tradition here in Ethiopia.  The fishing dinghies on Lake Awassa in the Rift Valley all look fairly similar, appear to be fixed together with heavy-duty staples and are very leaky, judging from the amount of baling going on.

Most of them were bringing back good quantities of what looked like Tilapia (a bit like a cross between a Perch and a Bream)  but those wading about with the Marabou Storks in the second photo were risking the dreaded Bilharzia.

The boat shape reminded me of a modern sailing boat design, possibly US self-build, but I can't think what.  Nothing at all like Julian's beautiful new boat.

[David Hudson]

Winner of the December  Ullswater Freestyle Competition...

[Peter Taylor]

Here's one I bet you haven't seen - it's a container ship.... without containers!
Peter

p.s. sorry, I realise it isn't actually a "boat"!

[Peter Taylor]

I'm afraid it's another ship rather than a boat - at least I think it's a ship and not a floating block of flats. In Southampton now.  The viewing capsule looks ideal for promoting sea sickness... it takes people to over 90m above the ocean - in comparison the ship's draft is less than 9m!

The first photo is mine (from Calshot Tower); the second picture was stolen from the web.
Peter

[Jonathan Stuart]

Now that's an ugly block of flats, err ship. What's really nasty is that, judging from the second picture, even much of the top deck is enclosed by glass so they seem to have done as much as possible to remove the feeling that you're on a ship!

[Michael Rogers]

I don't think many 'cruise-ers' are that bothered about the sensation of being on a ship.

There's another intriguing possible explanation for that glassed-in upper deck. It could be a belated attempt by cruise ship owners/designers to reduce the risk, or opportunity, of passengers disappearing, presumed overboard and drowned. There seems to be a relatively high incidence of disappearances from cruise ships. It's very difficult to get statistics, because 1) all those concerned deny there is an issue: 2) hilarious (black-humour-wise) buck-passing goes on about whose responsibility it is to investigate such an occurrence. Take your pick from the port (nationality) of registry of the vessel, the port (ditto) the vessel had sailed from, ditto it was sailing to, the waters in which the incident might have happened, the nationality of the victim: and probably some more.

So, if you have a tiresome relative to get rid of, and can afford it, you know what to do. Unless the upper deck is glassed in, of course

[Rob Johnstone]

I wonder when some cruise ship designer is going to fit a "london eye" style ferris wheel (axis along the centre line, naturally)......

[Graham W]

An Albanian hydrofoil crossing my stern.

[Rob Johnstone]

Graham,
That's interesting - when I was there last year that service had been suspended. We had to use the slow old ferry and chug our way to Corfu town. Perhaps it's the new people smuggling service run by the Albanian mafia!

[Graham W]

The hydrofoils seem busier than ever this year. This one (below) was much closer.

[Graham W]

This one is not so much odd as unusual, spotted far out in the Corfu Channel with nine crew on board.  The photo isn't very good quality as it was taken through my binoculars.

Any ideas on what the rig might be described as?  Double lateen? The boat was wooden, had fleur de lys-type symbols on its sails and was flying the Greek flag.  Judging from its poor progress to windward, I'd say that it has a long shallow keel.

The crew looked nervous when the megayacht 'Rising Sun' steamed past at around thirty knots, creating an enormous wake into which the hull disappeared from view several times, leaving just the sails visible. Some plutocrats have no sense of marine etiquette!

[Peter Taylor]

A lateen schooner??? Whatever it is there appears to be at least 284 others!

Impressive photo given how it was taken!

Peter

[Graham W]

The floating seaside kiosks are back! The boat is called 'Never Mind', as in what were you thinking when you designed this?

[Graham W]

Military-style colouring seems to be the latest fashion.  Here's an Italian-flagged tugboat yacht looking particularly menacing.