The Life in My Years

An anthology of life

This week’s challenge from Beth of Wandering Dawgs (link here) is anything that begins with “B”.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area there is no shortage of boats.

The image below was taken in the morning at the marina in Emeryville.

Being a ship, the vessel below might take offense to be relegated to boat status. This image was taken looking east from the bay shoreline in San Francisco as the morning fog was burning off. As a bonus there’s a bird in this image.

Being something of an old wreck myself, I’m attracted to taking photos of other relics, which is what the next three images depict.

We used to go to a seafood restaurant on the waterfront in nearby Crockett. It had the usual kitschy seafood restaurant decor; some boat running lights, a fishing nets dangling from the ceilings, and painting of old salts sucking on pipes. The staff was friendly, the food inexpensive, the seafood deep fried and greasy, and the place became a family tradition. Next to the restaurant there was a fishing charter business. One day I went down to check the area out. I was saddened to find that the restaurant had burned down, the charter closed, and the fishing boat was no longer serviceable as you can see in the image below.

The wreck of the tugboat Polaris is aground (or a-mud) in the muck of San Pablo Bay near a small marina in Rodeo, California. It’s been a subject of some discussion on social media. The man who claims to have been the owner reported, “I owned the boat for 23 yrs. I gave it to CMA. (California Maritime Academy). They sold it to an idiot who let it break away from its moorings and run aground where she lies.” Apparently the environtmental boys are trying to get the owner to pick up his mess.

My boat images weren’t all taken in the Bay Area. There’s a whole world of boats out there.

When I went on a solo road trip around the Midwest, one of my destinations was Hannibal, Missouri, where Mark Twain spent most of his childhood. The place has special meaning as my dad used to read Mark Twain’s stories to me when I was a child. Later, I reread the stories that my father had read to me, along with many of Twain’s other works. I took the image below from Hannibal.

Below is the harbor at Port Blanc in Brittany.

Colorful boats in beutiful Burano

Below, lobster boats in New Harbor, Maine.

Check out Wandering Dawgs and then sail on down to the comments section to find links of other takes on the letter B.

12 thoughts on “Lens Artists Photo Challenge #404 – It Begins with B

  1. Harbors , bays, boats and beaches at beautiful SF what is there not to like, lovely post and photos

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul's avatar Paul says:

      Thank you so much for visiting and for the kind comments.

      Like

  2. Beautiful photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul's avatar Paul says:

      Thank you so much for visiting and commenting.

      Like

  3. Anne Sandler's avatar Anne Sandler says:

    Wonderful Boat images Paul. Your boat wreck at Crockett reminded me of the Point Reyes ship wreck at Point Reyes. It was in bad shape the last time I saw it. Some photographers were using steel wool while doing photography and caught part of it on fire.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul's avatar Paul says:

      Hi Anne, I had to look up the Point Reyes wreck. As you say, it’s in very bad shape after the fires. The AI description adds that it isn’t advisable to go on board. Duh.

      Clearly people have been wading through the mud, climbing on board rusting rotting hulk of the Polaris and leaving graffiti.

      Thank you for visiting and commenting.

      Paul

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Anne Sandler's avatar Anne Sandler says:

        I don’t know why people have to ruin iconic sights. But then we have Trump ruining our Nation.

        Like

  4. Paul, you chose to feature one of my favorite B subjects – Boats. Your gallery of boat images is stunning. I love the variety of boats. The wrecked tugboat is my favorite. I have seen many boats here in coastal Georgia washed from the salt water rivers into the salt marsh after big storms. Thanks for taking part in the B challenge.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul's avatar Paul says:

      Hello Beth, Taking part in this challenge was my pleasure.

      I discovered the tugboat when I was walking my dog one morning. I went back later with my camera but the angle of the sun left most of the boat in shadow. Went back during the morning hours and these images were much more satisfactory.

      Thank you again for hosting.

      Paul

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Toonsarah's avatar Toonsarah says:

    A great variety of boats here and a very good choice for a letter B challenge 🙂 My favourites are the two of the Polaris as I like the way you’ve emphasised the decay. I also love the colours in the Burano shot!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Paul's avatar Paul says:

      Hi Sarah, Coming across something like the Polaris is a photographer’s bounty. I’m going to return in the winter and hope to get some storm clouds and rough water in the scene.

      As always, thank you for visiting and commenting

      Paul

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Toonsarah's avatar Toonsarah says:

        Ooh yes, you should get some excellent shots in conditions like that!

        Liked by 1 person

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