Royal Caribbean Internationals Quantum of the Seas photographed heading out to sea on 31 October 2014 from East Cowes. On what was a very cold but dry evening I was in a group of about twenty people who had ventured out to see her pass. Although she had arrived in Southampton a day or so before in advance of her maiden voyage on 2 November 2014 for some reason she headed back out to see on Halloween before returning in time to set sail with her first complement of passengers two days later.

She is the first ship of the Quantum class and is 347.1m long with a 49.5m beam and 8.8m draught.

Ordered on 11 February 2011 she was built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg Germany as Yard Number 697 for US$935 million. Laid down on 2 August 2013 she was launched just over a year later on 9 August 2014 before being completed on 28 October 2014, her maiden voyage was on 2 November 2014 two days after I saw her.

GT = 168,666

Powered by two 20.5MW (27,500hp) ABB Azipod XO thrusters with four 3,500kW(4694 hp) bow thrusters she has a top speed of 22 knots.

She can carry a maximum of 4,905 passengers in 2,090 staterooms comprising 1,570 balcony staterooms, 147 ocean-view staterooms and 373 inside staterooms over 16 passenger accessible decks.

MMSI - 311000267
REG - BS, Nassau
IMO - 9549463
Call Sign -  C6BH8
Passenger Cruise Ship
Built - Meyer Werft, Papenberg, DE
Yard No. - 697
L 347.1  W 49.5
GT 168,666
Year - 2014
East Cowes, 31 October 2014

Liverpool Pilot vessel Kittiwake photographed at high tide on 17 February 2015.

Unfortunately I cannot seem to find much information about this vessel but I have seen her many times over the years working on the river and in the estuary.

She is one of a long line of pilot craft servicing ships headed for Liverpool dating back to 'Nelly' in 1766 which was based in Anglesey. The first pilot boat based at Liverpool was the Liver 7 in 1788 and it was not until 1962 that the first motor launch services were introduced.

In the distance can be seen the Mersey Ferry heading towards Pierhead after crossing the river and one of the Stena Line Ro-Ro Ferries being loaded for its next sailing to Ireland.

HMS Warrior photographed in Portsmouth on 28 October 2014.

I have visited and explored the ship on a couple of occasions in the past and she is well worth a visit.

The brainchild of Admiral Baldwin Walker she was designed by Isaac Watts who was the Royal Navy's chief constructor, the idea was to build a ship that was more heavily armoured, faster and better armed than anything then afloat.

Built at a cost of £390,000 at the Thames Ironworks in Blackwall, London her keel was laid in May 1859, she was launched on 28 December 1860 before being ready for her first commission on 1 August 1860.

Warrior boasted steam powered engines and 48,400 square feet of sale and was equipped with a propeller that could be disengaged and lifted out of the water to stop it dragging when Warrior was under sail power. She was also fitted with telescopic funnels that could be lowered when required to allow the sails to batter catch the wind.

She is 127m long with a 18m beam and 8m draught and her hull consists of 16mm planking to which was fastened 460mm of teak which was then covered with 110mm of wrought iron plate.

She could reach speeds of 13 Knots under sail and 14.5 knots under steam power.

Armament consisted of 26 muzzle loading 68 pounder guns and 10 breach loading 110 pounder guns

She had a complement of 705 officers and men comprising 42 Officers, 3 Warrant Officers, 455 Seamen and boys, 33 Royal Marine Officers, 6 Royal Marine NCO's, 118 Royal Marie Artillerymen, 2 Chief Engineers, 10 Engineers and 66 Stokers and Trimmers.

Charles Dickens described her as 'A black vicious ugly customer as ever I saw, whale like in size and with a terrible row of incisor teeth as ever closed on a French Frigate'.

Although she never fired a shot in anger she spent some time leading the Channel Squadron patrolling home waters, with however the rapid development in warship and engine design at the time she was by 1871 overtaken by HMS Devastation which was a mast less battleship.  Following a three and a half year refit she started naval and coastguard duties and on 14 May 1883 entered Portsmouth for the last time under her own power having sailed some 90,000 miles during her career at sea.

In 1902 she became a mothership to Portsmouth's torpedo boats and in 1904 became part of HMS Vernon's torpedo training school.

In 1923 however she was paid off and offered for sale and in 1929 was towed to Milford Haven where she was used as a floating oil jetty.

In 1976 a plan was put together to restore her and she was towed to Hartlepool in 1979 where the work was carried out.

On 16 June 1987 she returned to Portsmouth.

Stone carvings depicting stages in the production of cotton.

These were originally in Tootal Broadhurst and Lee's Sunnyside Mills in Bolton but now are built into the wall of the shopping centre in the town centre. There were a few other pieces I could not photograph and other pieces of stonework partially sticking out of the ground or hidden by vegetation.

They were sculpted in the late 1880's by J & T.Bonehill & Co.

Joseph Bonehill was a stonemason and in 1861 he was working in Manchester and had premesis in the city centre near Cross Street. By 1871 the firm had become J &T Bonehill sculptors in marble, wood, chimneypieces, headstones, screens, pulpits and tombs. In 1889 the companies name had changed to W. Bonehill and by 1900 a William George Bonehill was still working as a mason located in Moss Side, Manchester.

Tootal Broadhurst & Lee were cotton manufacturers, later textile spinners and manufacturers.  The company was founded in Manchester in 1799  by Robert Gardner, a textile merchant. In 1842 Tootal family involvement began and in the 1860's  Sunnyside Mills, Bolton and Newton Heath Mills in Manchester, were acquired. 

In 1888 after several name changes, the firm became Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co.Ltd. 

In 1918 a research department was established, which carried out early work on creating crease resistant fabric. The company was notable for its early use of brand names and was a leader in the field of selling direct to retailers.  By 1939 the firm had spinning, weaving and yarn dyeing factories in Bolton and factories in Newton Heath, Manchester, weaving silk and wool and producing handkerchiefs and ties. There were branches in Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds, London and Glasgow and overseas in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. Subsidiaries’ activities included dress manufacture, bleaching, dyeing and crease resistant finishing.

In 1947 they exhibited at the British Industries Fair in Earls Court as manufacturers of Tobralco, Lystav, Robia and other Tootal Dress and Furnishing Fabrics including Pyramid Handkerchiefs and Tootal Ties.

In 1973 the company became Tootal Ltd and was eventually acquired by Coats Viyella in 1991.

Photographed on 28 December 2014.

Arklow Flair photographed at Trafford Wharf on 18 April 2013.

GT = 2,998, DWT = 5,941 & NT = 1,673

Overall she is 89.95m long with a 14.5m beam and 5.82m summer draught

Main engine comprises a single MAK 6M25 4 stroke 6 cylinder 255 x 400 mm diesel engine (1980 kW / 2690 hp at 750 rpm with Reinjtes gearbox giving a top speed of 11,5 knots via a controllable pitch screw propeller

She was built in 2007 by Astilleros De Murueta, Guernica, Spain as Yard Number 263 

Her hold has two portable bulkheads that may be placed in 10 positions for cargo separation.

Her hold capacity is  6,056 m³

She is Managed by Arklow Shipping Limited from Wicklow, Ireland. The company was formed in 1966 when three captains formed a Company to operate their seven ships. Arklow Shipping now operates a fleet of 45 ships with a combined carrying capacity of some 6 million tonnes annually.

MMSI - 250000964
REG - IE, Arklow
IMO - 9361732
Call Sign - EIFW
General Cargo Ship
Built - Murueta, Guernica, ES
Yard No - 263
L 90m W 14m
GT - 2999
Year - 2007
Trafford Wharf, 18 April 2013

Tanker Mary Wonsild photographed heading out of the Solent via the West side of the Isle Of Wight, I took the photograph from the front of the Red Funnel ferry as we headed home from a weeks holiday on the Island.  

Built in Italy by Esercizio as Yard Number 787 she is 89.6m long with a 14m beam and 5.21m draught.  

NT = 816, DWT = 2,698 and GT 2,349.  

She is powered by a YANMAR 6N330-EN- 4 Stroke 6 Cylinder (2206kW, 2667 hp @ 720rpm) diesel engine giving a service speed of 13.5 knots.
 
Tank capacity is 3,031m3 and cargo handling is via 14 pumps each rated at 150m3/hr.  

Generators on board comprise a main diesel generator set (313kVA, 250kW, 408hp) and  two diesel generators (563kVA, 450 kW, 611hp) in addition to a single emergency generator (44 kVA, 35kW, 60hp).  

She is operated by Nordic Tankers who are a consolidation of a number of tanker companies of Nordic origin including Herning shipping which was established in 1963, Wonsild & Son which was established in 1904 and Copenhagen Tankers (established 1992) which was acquired by the Clipper Group in 2005 and subsequently integrated into Nordic tankers in 2012.

St Anne's Church in Hindsford photographed on 26 December 2014

The foundation stone of the church dedicated to St Anne was laid by Mrs Mary Lee of Alder House (whose husband Thomas laid the foundation stone for nearby St John the Baptist Church in Atherton).

The  church designed by Lancaster Architects Austin & Paley and was completed in 1901 at a cost of £9,000. It provided seating for 450 people and was built on land given by Lord Lilford.

The building is constructed in sandstone with a slate roof in a gothic revival style, it consists of a four bay nave, North and South aisle, a South trancept, two bay chancel and vestry.  

The building was refurbished in 2004 and turned into apartments.

Multicat work boat Willendeavour photographed 31 October 2014 working just off the coast near Fort Victoria on the Isle of Wight.

She was built by Neptune Marine BV in the Netherlands in 2007 and is 22m long with a 9m beam and 1.80m draught.

Powered by twin Caterpillar C18 engines (1200hp, 89.4kW @1800rpm) she has a free running speed of 9 Knots and a bollard pull of approximately 15.0t.

The Vessel is equipped with a Helia 120-4SL hydraulic crane with a lifting capacity of 9.3t at 12.11m.

Accommodation on board comprises an air conditioned wheelhouse, a galley, dry room and sanitary space. Two single person cabins are also provided together with a single two person cabin, workshop and store located below deck.

The deck has a loading capacity of 80t.

She is operated by Williams Shipping Marine who are based in Southampton and Pembroke, they have been trading since 1894.

MMSI - 235051664
REG - UK
Work Boat
Built - Neptune Marine, NL
L 22m x W 9m
GT -
Year - 2007
Nr. Yarmouth- 31 October 2014

The Church of St Peter, Bolton-le-Moors which is located on the edge of Bolton town centre photographed catching the late afternoon sun on 31 January 2015.

A number of churches have stood here dating back to Saxon times and the present church occupies the same commanding position as its predecessors. A late Saxon cross was found on site in 1866 and fragments of stone are all that remain above ground of the earliest buildings on the site.

This building is a fine example of Victorian Gothic style architecture and was built as a replacement for its 15th Century predecessor which had fallen into disrepair. It was consecrated and reopened by Bishop James Fraser on St Peter’s Day, 29 June 1871. The cost (£45,000) was met by Peter Ormrod (1795-1875), a wealthy cotton manufacturer and banker.

The building was designed by the Lancaster architect, E J Paley of Paley & Austin and is built of Longridge stone. The Church is 156ft from East to West, 67ft from North to South and 82ft high. The tower is 180ft high and commands extensive views over the surrounding moor lands from which the old title of Bolton-le-Moors originates. The tower contains a peal of 13 bells installed in 1974 and is also home to the original 1699 tenor bell.