Bulk Carrier EIDER

All kinds of weird things are known to happen during a "Full Moon" like suffering from insomnia, unexplained acts of craziness or lunacy, magical phenomena like "werewolf" sightings apparently and higher than usual tides are all traditionally associated to when the moon is at its fullness. Well, that big lunar pizza-pie that appears to be moments away from hitting the EIDER's wheelhouse on the evening of September 26 when I snapped the 656' bulk carrier passing Brockville, is not actually a full moon but rather a "waxing gibbous moon" because it's was only 97% full. Really? c):-o In fact the moon that appeared the next night was actually called a "Super Blood Moon" because of it's closest approach to Earth and a uniquely red glow appearance. Whether the moon was full, or super or bloody, it didn't really matter because all we got to see up here in Ottawa were "clouds". c):-()

There was only a "Half Moon" on the night that I full-force belly-flopped the asphalt while rushing via a shortcut to get to work. Even if  the moon was full, I don't believe the outcome would have been much different as I was truly in the dark, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. What will be, will be and now after months of patiently enduring the various physio and chiropractic treatments needed to heal my aches and breaks, I'm happy to say I'm back and in the two weeks that I have been completing my tasks as an Ottawa transit bus operator, I haven't once broken a knee-cap or sprained an ankle (knock on wood or a patella).

Whether out and about or motoring the streets of Ottawa, I know where I'm going, and taking no risks. I guess you can say I'm following the path most travelled much like the EIDER did as she made her way downbound through the treacherous Brockville Narrows.
Located at the eastern end of the Thousand Islands, the 3 mile Narrows consists of 70 islands and 60 shoals. As you can see on my "Tacky Cut & Paste Version of 2 Actual Nautical Charts" below, the International Shipping Channel which lies between the Brockville Islands and the Canadian mainland poses a real hazard along the entire route due to the narrowness of the river and all those islands that fill the river from bank to bank. No short cuts allowed here as the channel that parallels the Narrows close to the New York shore is not suitable for deep draft vessels as some of the shoals sit in 3 feet of water, or less. YIKES!!

Tacky Cut & Paste Version of 2 Actual Nautical Charts.

My only venture through the Brockville Narrows came in August 1996, when I had the pleasure of being a guest on the bridge of my son's ship, the Canadian frigate, HMCS TORONTO as she motored upbound to Lake Ontario and her next port of call, Port Hope. While GPS maybe essential today to transit the Brockville Narrows and for that matter any channel or harbour throughout the world, on that Sunday morning, it was the TORONTO's radar systems, depth soundings and the good old naked-eye of her crew and officers diligently identifying and then calling out the location of navigational aids and nearby landmarks to continually plot her position throughout her passage. That was quite the thrill and to read more about that excellent adventure on HMCS TORONTO, click this link: http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/05/hmcs-toronto.html 

Meanwhile, the bulk carrier EIDER was built in 2004 at the Tianjin Yingang Shipyards in Tianjin, China and though she is owned by Parakou Shipping of Hong Kong, China, the EIDER is one of 28 bulk carriers that are chartered by Canadian Forest Navigation of Montreal. Almost every ship is painted the same colour scheme: hunter green hull, white superstructure, and light yellow cranes and stack. Each ship is also named after a "duck". By the way, the Common Eider is a large sea-duck that calls the north coasts of Europe, North America and Siberia home. The eider's nest is built close to the sea and is lined with the celebrated eiderdown which is plucked from the female's breast. Although eiderdown pillows and quilts are now a rarity, harvesting does continue once the ducklings have left the nest. Hence the term "Get Down!!" c):-()

I could be wrong about that last part but if you have some "down-time", feel free to check out these other "duck boat" posts, or NOT. http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2014/11/bulk-carrier-mottler.html, http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/08/bulk-carrier-garganey.html, http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/12/boxing-day-is-extra-day-off-after.html