by Dennis Maccoy » Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:53 pm
It did look rather threatening, but the sunshine appeared just at the right moment – the reverse of what normally happens! I can well understand reluctance to ballast in the river – I recall from long, long ago, during sea trials of HMS Illustrious, being the shipyard’s senior rep on the bridge whilst at anchor off the river in the very early hours one morning accompanied by a young RN Lieutenant. We whiled away some time by him showing me the capabilities of the radar (only the 1006 nav radar – not the clever stuff that detects aircraft and tracks missiles). I was impressed to be able to see not only the fairway buoys in the harbour and flocks of gulls following fishing boats, but a very clearly defined fan of “fresh” water spreading from the harbour mouth into the North Sea!
Regards, Dennis.