Forth Guardsman

Weather in Oban grey and bitterly cold. Not a photographer's day at all, at all. Rain late afternoon when we had a momentary excitement. This vessel seemed to be aiming for the rocks in front of the house where we stay, beeline. Stopped just off shore, and in fact is still there in maybe a couple of metres of water. Has it grounded?

Nothing so exciting. Quick visit to the marine traffic website shows that the Forth Guardsman is a workboat for the Briggs Marina, built in Japan for Canadian owners and served in Arctic waters till 2001, before crossing the Atlantic to work on the Clyde. Her bow ramp has been removed, and her latest employment has been laying submarine cables. She can operate in less than a metre of water.

I love that site. The map shows the vessel in real time, coordinates 56.4319/-5.4853. status - anchored off Ganavan. But I still don't know what she is doing just off the rocks here. The tiny men you can just see must be hardier souls than I am.