Shipwreck

Early watercolour: Entrance to Newcastle Harbour by Frank McNamara.
Original was in the possession of the then National Art Gallery of NSW.

Almost the same view as the Pasha Bulker went aground in 2007 with rescue of the crew in progress.
Is it possible that the crew and others were put in more danger by the rescue than if they had remained on board until the storm abated?
Pasha Bulker memorial. The dark coloured 'plate' is from the actual ship.

M V Pasha Bulker aground in 2007 and recent intrepretation.

Nobbys Beach.

Today: Sign in a clinic :

DOCTORS
DON'T FORGET!
INTERESTING PATIENT'S

What do they have in mind? Also, misuse of the Apostrophe is not unknown and comment about this is seen in the columns of the Sydney Morning Herald and strange examples make their way into collections.
I'd be the first to admit to my uncertainty about both punctuation and expression but while I am locked in this 'zone of proximal development' (Vygotsky) and in haphazardness, I notice more points now about the written word. I believe the apostrophe is omitted from place names, for example, Nobbys Beach.

Ship ahoy and ahull.

Lion says: "Pasha, I know exactly how you feel!"

Both grounded. Photo by MT of the Pasha Bulker stuck on Nobbys at the same time last year.

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This is my first sighting of this type of car, whatever it is, just visiting the supermarket. It needed twice as much space as the typical RV next to it and in one sense it's not even stretched.

REBERTH

Life goes on with the ship, the Pasha Bulker, in the far background, yesterday, fleeing to her transformation and rebirth, following her grounding last month.
Two metal 'braces' are on both sides of the ship to keep her in shape (underwired!) and can be seen in the photo.

FAREWELL

Leaving Newcastle today was this ship which was patched up after running aground. A very large tug will take it to an Asian shipyard.
When a person is around long enough they may see such as a massive ship runaground, floods, earthquake, Bicentenary, Aboriginal Reconcilation, the Berlin wall come down, the end of apartheid, Martin Luther King, Commets, Eclipses and even a change of government.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

There's a ship and the moon there, it takes imagination!
The crowd cheered as the stranded bulk cargo Pasha Bulker was pulled free of the beach tonight. The tugs pulled and pulled and the ship suddenly moved out quickly to the open sea towed beyond the Ocean Baths attended by a group of tugs all by the light of a full moon on a calm mild winter's night. The ship will be checked for damage before moving anywhere else. See previous posts.
Locals have celebrated this red ship in songs. We are very fortunate it was a new ship and not a rusty old thing that could have easily broken up as well as being a risk to every sailor's life as many of them are we are told.

CURIOSITY

The grandstand is facing the wrong way. The crowd is watching but the main action is from the board riding surfers while the tugs are tugging the bulk cargo Pasha Bulker from off the beach.
The ship has loosened and the bow has moved 6 to 8 degrees seaward overnight. I guess the art is in holding it there till evening despite the pounding waves but the line to the main tug seems to have failed. Was it the mainstay? Further attempts at salvage will be carried out with the evening king tides.
It is an old tradition to watch dramas played out at sea.

MORE OF THE SAME

Todays the day. This evening the tugs will be part of the salvage of Pasha Bulker at high tide, 7pm. Surfer/Boardriders were not far away yesterday but an exclusion zone begins today on land and sea. The media will be there eg ABC.net.au/newcastle. Water temp is a cool 16.5C.

Coal ships waiting off shore number 83 ships.
It is just as well I didn't have a Digital camera at the time of the earthquake in 1989. It was reported that the hospital was evacuated and I set out to help and I cycled around much of the city within an hour or two and saw that event first hand. Possibly, the floods of three weeks ago did more widespread damage than the quake.

Magpies with a birds eye view of the Pasha Bulkar
It is hoped to move this stranded cargo ship on high tide possibly Thursday. Tides are reaching their maxium height soon.
It is believed that the attached ropes are for towing out by tugs and there are two anchor points against which it will winch itself out.
Gear for the containment of oil is assembled near the stone monument - Macquarie's Pier.
As it is, the oil /fuel on the ship has been pumped into its higher tanks. They say it is too risky to use hoses and pump it ashore.
The ship has buckled in the centre. Quite a task is ahead.


The signs say keep left.



Seagulls taking it easy

A BIG SEA SWELL

Old Man Lincoln, in his usual wonderful style, recently showed us some little sparrows. In this photo can be found local sparrows awaiting crumbs from the picnic tables. The stranded cargo ship was but one attraction. Love was in the air.

WE DO NOT HAVE A SHIPPING PROBLEM

Shipwreck T Shirts, $29, with Australianisms. But Captain you said left before Nobbys lighthouse. You stupid I said left turn after the lighthouse.
From Zap Copy Centre, Charlestown Square. zapcopy@pacific.net.au
Refer to 22 June etc.

TALES OF THE SEA

Nobbys Headland was logged by Captain James Cook in 1770 when it was twice its present height. It was an island separated from the mainland by a narrow channel and between 1820 and 1858 it was cut back to the current shape and a lighthouse was lit there.

To enter the harbour was a perious undertaking. In the early 1800s a breakwater connecting the island was commenced using the rock cut from the top of the island. As time went on further breakwaters were built using stone from Braye Hill Quarry, Waratah, as well as off loaded ballast.
Numerous ships sunk in the early days frequently to the north off Stockton. The Oyster bank on the north side of the entrance to the harbour claimed a succession of ships. A lifeboat and tugs became essential and took some getting. Coal and rich cedar timber were exported.
The coaster Maianbar, in tow for Sydney broke away and went aground on this same beach in 1940 right near the seawall above and became a total wreck.
Many heroic stories about dangerous and stormy conditions are recorded.
The Susan Gilmore sailed the Pacific and the American Captain Carver brought his wife and young son along in 1884. From Sydney to Newcastle they were towed by a tug to save time. A gale set in and the towline parted and the Susan Gilmore could not beat out to sea, helpless, all she could do was signal for assistance. Another steamer attempted a tow without success and the anchors failed to hold and in darkness the Susan Gilmore was driven ashore near Bar Beach. Seven of the crew got ashore but the small boat filled with water with Mrs Carver in it and her husband managed to get her back to the ship.
At daylight the Newcastle lifeboat and the Rocket Brigade fired a line over the wreck and hauled Mrs Carver and her son and crew ashore as well as two dogs, a cat and a canary. Within a short time the wreck became a total loss. Susan Gilmore Beach is a memorial. (Bar Dangerous by Terry Callen, Newcastle Region Maritime Museum, 1986)

AGROUND ON NOBBYS BEACH

Stuck hard and fast on Nobbys Beach four hours ago. Gales and heavy surf have probably run the Pasha Bulkers aground.
The crew were ferried by choppers to the nearby park- dangerous work.
As many as seventy ships queue off shore waiting to load coal supplies and they move right
out to sea when storms threaten.
Soon after, a torrential rain storm hit and in no time water overflowed the gutters flooding many parts of town for a time, adding to the chaos.

It was no weather for a dog