Elk River--the northern end of Chesapeake Bay. In the colonial period, Elk Landing served as a vital port serving Philadelphia and the surrounding region.
The C & D Canal opened 1829, creating an all water route from Baltimore to Philadelphia. The canal still provides a vital link between the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.
By the early 1900's, silting and shoaling destroyed what was left of Elk Landing as a usable port.
Today, the giants emerge from the dense summer haze. A lonely horn sounds as they turn in the channel and steam through the day.
(This weekend we swam with the giants of Chesapeake Bay. They didn't mind the photos, but I'm not sure they appreciated the jet skis buzzing around their bows. Crazy bastards. BTW, little did I know that ship spotting is something like bird watching. This ship, the "Atlas Highway," has spotting images around the internet. Here it is in the Panama Canal. The ship is a vehicle carrier owned by Hyundai.)
13 comments:
I just finished reading a book that is set, in large part, around that area. Spy novels always seem to have some event occurring in Chesapeake Bay.
Those jet skis look like gnats next to that beast. Splat...
;)
Glad you enjoyed a beautiful, if steamy, day!
Can you just imagine what it would be like on those jet skis to have the engine suddenly cut out?
"ship spotting" That is the coolest!!!!
Wowsa....that's some photo with the jet-skis and the ship!!! Yikes!
How beautiful and scary at the same time. Did you feel like a tiny speck in the midst of a massive giant?
Thanks for the comments btw,
Nice fiction stories !
Somehow those make the car ferries that patrol the river Clyde look a little insignificant. Great shots..........
ohhhhhhhhh love the photos. I went to a doctor once who trained in scuba in the St. Lawrence seaway (there are whales there). I imagine the comparative scales of the two situations (the other being you and the ships) would be similar.
Cannot imagine the feeling!
Terri, I was surprised to learn how much pirate activity there was around Philadelphia. We have found some backwaters in that area that still have a sleepy, southern feel.
Sarah, I guess boating next to a moving mountain turns some people on! I wonder how far away they were from getting crunched.
Scott, squashed like a bug....
Chris, who knew? I guess some folks go and photograph trains to catalog them. Might as well look for boats while you're at it.
Geraldine, cheap thrills, I guess. I don't remember seeing anyone go so close before.
Jackie, I did swing by for a pass, then went back around to take these pictures. Even at our distance, I felt very, very small.
Illman, the haze was something that day. It really added to that looming sense of immensity.
Bridget Jones, that must have been an amazing experience for your doctor. Having a person/whale encounter in the water boggles my mind too. Sharing the same water with these ocean ships is something too, I must say.
Great photos here, Jason!
Szelsofa, thanks. :) I'd like to do more nautical inspired photography.
Great pics, Jason!
I have to think of the Philadelphia Experiment... :-)
What a strange looking vessel! Humongous! And those jet skiers are definitely mad.
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