WARNING This post has a slight nautical theme.
Pickfords last email included the name of the container ship that is conveying our UK possessions to Australia. Armed with that information I went looking for a website which would provide more information. After a brief search I discovered the https://www.marinetraffic.com website and entered the ship name into the search field.
The MAERSK MC KINNEY MOLLER is currently between Tunis and Sicily heading towards the Suez Canal.
Let’s hope Somali pirates don‘t acquire’ our “stuff”.
This morning the car dealer arrived at 7.30am and took me to the dealership where I signed for a courtesy car. It was a manual D-MAX dual cab ute. After infrequently driving small rental cars for the past six years the ute seemed huge. Once driving one of the first things I noticed was the truck-like feel of the six speed gearbox. Had I erred in my judgement opting for a manual? Once home I swapped vehicles and returned the rental car before walking home. We then took the ute the 12km to our bank and withdrew the necessary funds for our MU-X. We had only been home 10 minutes when the dealer called to advise the MU-X was ready for collection. It was then a case of returning the ute and receiving the introductory briefing for our vehicle before being given the keys and driving it home. It was somewhat of a relief to discover that despite having many similar components driving the MU-X was totally different to the ute. A much smoother ride and easier gearbox. The owners manual is the same size as the first two volumes of Winston Churchill’s History of WW2. I’ve only managed to skim through one volume before settling down several hours later to write this post. Actually when I sit behind the wheel and look at the dash instruments I feel like Captain Kirk at the helm of the Starship Enterprise.
6 comments :
The pink ones come under the category of "pleasure". If a boat has an AIS transmitting (VHF), and a receiving station on shore (VHF) close enough, their position will be recorded. Some pleasure craft use the satellite system for their positions, as do the ships. Marinetraffic also has an app, so we use it to see where are friends are.
Hi Catherine, I guessed the colours identified different categories of shipping but thanks for the detailed explanation.
For the pleasure boats that have only VHF for transmitting their AIS, it is very haphazard. In NSW the VMR or Coastguard all have receiving stations for the data collection. In Qld they do not do it, so the data is only collected by a person who is interested in the system, like an amateur radio operator (ham). In Asia there is about one per country, so totally useless from the pleasure craft tracking point of view.
No photos of the new MU-X booo, we wanna see it!
nice to read your posts and how you are both getting on now after finally getting to meet you both at grove lock after following your blog for so many years. all the best
Hi Clive
It was great that you introduced yourself. We looked out for you on the way back north but you we obviously busy. Happy boating!
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