Liverpool
We LOVE Liverpool! Entering and departing the Mersey in the dark added to the excitement, as did the very strong tide and the number of enormous ships passing us. The home of Cunard and White Star, the 3rd largest port in the UK, 7,000 ship movements per month and handling 35 million tonnes of cargo a year; trying to describe the enormity of the place and the sense of history is very difficult - it is simply huge and very beautiful.
The Group Harbour Master of Peel Ports, Gary Doyle is very experienced. An ex RN Helicopter Observer and previously commander of the Royal Navy in Northern England he runs the operation of 7 (yes 7) ports all from one Operations Room. We were shown how ship movements in Liverpool, Clydeport, Dublin, Great Yarmouth, Heysham, Medway and the Manchester Ship Canal were controlled in a hushed and military atmosphere. It was very impressive. Peel Ports are a large and progressive company having considerably increased the size of Liverpool port in 2017. Gary's job is diverse ranging from the obvious logistics and hydrography issues to working with Natural England encouraging peregrin falcons and terns to the ports. His more unusual job was trying to remove dolphins which had swum into the docks.
History abounds in Liverpool. The world's first enclosed commercial dock was built in 1715 - enclosing the Lyver Pool. In WW1 Cammell Laird built a warship in just 9 months, in WW2 the Battle of the Atlantic was centred on Liverpool.
I want to say a HUGE thank you to Charlotte and her team @liverpool_marina for looking after Good Dog for nearly a month while I went home for Catriona's wedding!
The Group Harbour Master of Peel Ports, Gary Doyle is very experienced. An ex RN Helicopter Observer and previously commander of the Royal Navy in Northern England he runs the operation of 7 (yes 7) ports all from one Operations Room. We were shown how ship movements in Liverpool, Clydeport, Dublin, Great Yarmouth, Heysham, Medway and the Manchester Ship Canal were controlled in a hushed and military atmosphere. It was very impressive. Peel Ports are a large and progressive company having considerably increased the size of Liverpool port in 2017. Gary's job is diverse ranging from the obvious logistics and hydrography issues to working with Natural England encouraging peregrin falcons and terns to the ports. His more unusual job was trying to remove dolphins which had swum into the docks.
History abounds in Liverpool. The world's first enclosed commercial dock was built in 1715 - enclosing the Lyver Pool. In WW1 Cammell Laird built a warship in just 9 months, in WW2 the Battle of the Atlantic was centred on Liverpool.
I want to say a HUGE thank you to Charlotte and her team @liverpool_marina for looking after Good Dog for nearly a month while I went home for Catriona's wedding!