What the Junk? We saw this Chinese Junk inspired sailboat off the coast of the Isle of Wight near Newtown. Of course Newtown is not new, it is the oldest settlement on the island. It was a former fishing village and salt harvesting location. It fell on hard times a few hundred years ago and now is managed by the National Trust of the UK. There are blinds to use to see the waterbirds and trails through the old salt ponds. This was our first stop on our Isle of Wight tour. There were a few new birds but they were a good distance away. These birds will be difficult to identify as I had to zoom in all the way and the pictures are a bit grainy. Our guide for the day was Kevin, a 77 year old native of the island who is now retired and a part time guide. We know about his age because this day was his birthday! We spend about an hour at Newtown and then headed to Yarmouth to the west. We saw the town Yarmouth and also headed further west to see some of the white cliffs of the Isle of Wight.
Huge ship waiting for some new cargo
Sails as far as the eye can see
A new sailboat and some odd hull in the background
I wonder is it being built or is it being deconstructed
The chapel at Victoria Country Park
We expected a bigger crowd for 60K attendance for the Festival
The neon racers
Calshot Castle on the left and a control tower on the right. We think the control tower is to direct ship traffic. This is at the head of the waterway leading to Southampton
Pulling into Cowes West
Festival goer
A row of very expensive racing yachts
Sailing is the big thing here
Sandpiper perhaps or a sanderling or a ruff?
It reminds me of kids hesitant to enter the water
They appear to be fuzzy and perhaps they are immature
An oystercatcher in the midst of the gulls
Navigating under sail
Ready for reeds
Abstract patterns in the algae
Black Headed Gulls with a chick
A peaceful area
Old salt works near Newtown
The wake of a fish
Possibly an immature white wagtail
On top of the boardwalk, out in the sun
On top of the boardwalk we were having some fun
Who was watching this bird?
Fear of Napoleon is responsible a building boom on the island
Seaside dining next to the Yarmouth Castle
Yarmouth was Neil's hometown and he was showing us the sights
It was Neil's birthday! Happy 77th birthday
He came here to see one of the names on the pier
Milo was Neil's brother and he came here to say hi to him since he has passed away
More Yarmouth turrets
Neil told us that Nammet means new meat as in a sandwich
Up on the cliffs
A third pinnacle was in the middle but it collapsed a year ago.
Back on the ferry
How will we even get out of the harbor?
Even bigger ships in our way
Pretty close to us
Netley Abbey from the water
