Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Pharos and the Pole Star


The first ships we came to as we entered Oban harbour...


... had some seriously heavy lifting gear on board.


These fine vessels were the Northern Lighthouse Board ships NLV Pharos and NLV Pole Star. They are designed for maintaining lighthouses and navigation buoys and can accurately hold position while laying moorings for buoys.


We often see Pharos and Pole Star on our trips...


...but apart from this time in Oban harbour, I doubt they have ever seen us!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Douglas, you did well to see both vessels resting at one time! The name "Pharos" goes right back to the earliest times of the NLB. I've just managed to get a copy of "The Lighthouse Stevensons" - an illuminating read (sorry!), which features the first NLB vessel of that name

    Ian

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Ian, I hope you are having a good voyage. Yes I was surprised and impressed to see them up close together! That's a great book, I borrowed it from a friend.

    ReplyDelete