Work vessels

These two little sailing dinghies caught my eye 

We had a very pleasant walk along the front at Cowes yesterday, and although the water was much quieter after the excitement of racing during Cowes Week, there was still plenty to see.

This is the Seaclear, the work vessel belonging to Cowes Harbour Commission.  One of her tasks is to lay, maintain and recover the moorings (like the orange one in this photo) that are used during Cowes Week.  It was really quite interesting watching the crew winching the mooring bouys in board and judging by the number already hauled in and stacked on-board, there were a fair number that needed recovering.

The black plastic shapes the Seaclear is displaying (to the left of the mast) are part of the International Maritime Navigation Rules of the Roads.  The configuration of ball-diamond-ball is Rule 27, 'vessel restricted in ability to manoevere'.   N used to be in the Merchant Navy and he tells me he used to know all the rules, but we had to check up on this to make sure we were correct!   I find it interesting to learn little snippets of information as it helps me understand a bit more about the boats and their activities.