Sunday, October 24, 2021

October Daily 24: Stormy Day

 


It's 9:30 pm and the wind rises and falls and curls around the corners of the house, and rattles the windows. This afternoon we drove down to Ogden Point, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca to see the storm effects on the water. 

Waves tossed huge logs onto shore, then dragged them back again. The sea was a heaving mass of debris and white foam.



The Ogden Point breakwater is a 1.6 kilometre cement block structure that creates calm water for ships coming into port. If you've ever cruised to Victoria, you'll have sailed right by the lighthouse at the end of the breakwater.

We walked out to the lighthouse and back, and it wasn't long before we were drenched in sea spray thrown up by the waves crashing against the breakwater. Although we, along with anyone else who walked out there, were soaking wet, we all had grins on our faces with the exhilaration of being out in the storm.


There hasn't been much rain here, in fact, patches of blue lay alongside heavy clouds for much of the afternoon. 


Yesterday, a South Korean container ship lost 40 containers overboard in the storm. As the ship continued its route towards Vancouver, the instability of the remaining containers resulted in a fire that spread to about a dozen containers. In the photo above, you can see another ship to the left spraying water on the beleaguered container vessel. The water is to cool the ship down and prevent the boat itself from catching fire. Because of the flammable nature of the chemicals (used for mining) in the containers, there is little that could be done to extinguish the fires.

The Coast Guard rescued 16 crew members from the ship, and 5 were left to try to do what they could. It now appears that the fire is smoldering and not spreading to other containers. 

We had planned to walk further after the breakwater, but were so wet and cold that we simply came home, peeled off our clothes and took showers. I settled in with a book and a cup of tea for the rest of the afternoon. 

We've just finished watching Foyle's War on our public broadcasting station. The wind continues to beat about the house, and I'm so thankful for our warm, dry, and so comfortable home. 

How was your weekend?

16 comments:

  1. Wow! That sounds like quite the storm! It is bad enough getting containers these days - never mind losing them in a storm!
    What a scary ordeal for the “sailors”.

    ReplyDelete
  2. High drama indeed in your corner. Hope the fires go out on the container ship. So scary and with the threat of pollution. I can imagine that walk was exciting though I bet the best bit was getting warm afterwards. Nothing like a cosy home. Have a good week. B x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, you are really having very dramatic weather, with the storm whipping up the sea like that. It sounds like an exciting walk out to the lighthouse, and no doubt you were quite cold and wet. For the ship to lose containers like that, it must be unusually violent out there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow that would have been exciting walking in that storm!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I heard about the storm and the container ship. Glad the fire seems to be out.

    We love Foyle's War. What a good series.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Y'all are brave! Being out near stormy surf does sound exhilerating.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wet, but exhilarating fun!

    🍁🌰🌻🍂🎃🍂🌻🌰🍁

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chemicals overboard. :-((((((((

    🍁🌰🌻🍂🎃🍂🌻🌰🍁

    ReplyDelete
  9. Success!

    Quick short comments.

    -grin-

    🍁🌰🌻🍂🎃🍂🌻🌰🍁

    ReplyDelete
  10. My goodness, Lorrie, that's some storm! You guys experienced some real excitement! I hope the other five sailors were able to reach shore safely -- what an awful accident at sea. I do love that you captured images of this rough ocean and the ships with your camera; I always love seeing your pictures.

    It is wonderful to return to a warm, dry, an cozy home, isn't it? Hope you have a great week, Lorrie!

    Denise

    ReplyDelete
  11. We experienced high winds on Snoqualmie Pass and were happy when we reached calmer skies. Lakes had white caps on them. You got some dramatic shots. Those poor container ships are having a time of it. If not storms they are stuck out at sea instead of being offloaded.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That sounds quite a storm.
    You did get some good photographs.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  13. That was a storm! It was on the news here. Did you lose power?
    We've rain today.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Those winds sound wild. Being at home in a warm and dry house would be my choice.

    ReplyDelete
  15. we just had a storm, 175 km/h on our coast in Normandy. As we live about 90 km from the sea we also had very strong wind. Fortunately we only had broken branches in the garden!

    ReplyDelete
  16. The ocean can be a bit scary during a storm. Our home in VA. was a mile from the Bay and we did see some storms. I am glad you enjoyed your walk and I know you both were soaked!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

A Wander Through my Mind

  Nothing is so beautiful as Spring -  When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush; Gerard Manley Hopkins When I opened my bedroom...