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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Work Horses of the Ocean, Saldanha Bay





The Public part of voting in the South African Blog Awards are closed now. Thank you for all the visitors that I have counted on my blog and if you have voted, many thanks. (Late voters, sorry but our Midnight is 8 hours ahead of the USA. Nobody's fault!) I will publish the results on the next post, and provide my readers with links to the 3 best travel blogs.

The painting shows a morning scene in tranquil Saldanha Bay, and the "work horses of the sea", the crayfish trawlers are ready for the early risers who should soon appear to board them.

Saldanha was named after Admiral Antonio de Saldanha, who anchored here in 1503 to look for supplies. He was unfortunately wounded by Khoikoi men. For some time it was thought that Saldanha Bay would become the docking harbour for sailing ships, but water was unobtainable. Thus Table Bay became the major port for ships coming in for supplies.

Now, after three and a half centuries there might be a reversal of roles. With steel and great fisheries there already, Saldanha could begin to play a role in Import/Export of goods. There are plans to expand Saldanha Harbour and give Table Bay Harbour some breathing space.

Back to my painted scene and photos: what a lovely place this is! I wonder if the seagull and the cormorant are eager for the fishing boats to start hauling in their harvest!

12 comments:

  1. Expand Saldanha harbour? What happens to the Langebaan lagoon?

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  2. Dear Diana, I almost expected a call from you the next moment! As I wrote the piece I tried to tread very softly and kept rephrasing the sentence! In any case, here is the article of the announcement: http://shopwestcoast.blogspot.com/2010/04/transnet-planning-expansion-of-sishen.html

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  3. Great sense of distance on this one.
    When I paint boats, I always debate adding the birds that are inevitable a part of the shore life.

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  4. Another gorgeous seascape, Marie. My vote did count as I easily made the time cutoff. I hope you win! Your blog with its many beautiful scenes of your homeland and its written history is always interesting and oh so beautiful!

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  5. Thank you, Jill! I find that those birds usually serve a composition function for me. The cormorant right in the centre worries me a little!

    Thank you Sherry,those are very kind words!

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  6. I love this seascape painting!! Your fishing boats are painted perfectly and of course, I always enjoy your posts.!!

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  7. Excellent information and painting, Marie... as always!!!

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  8. Great painting Marie. Sorry I was too late to vote for you, but I hope you win!

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  9. Thank you Hilda, Marian and Carol, I always enjoy your visits and kind comments!

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  10. Such a wonderful painting Marie. Your paintings always tell such a wonderful story too.

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  11. Nice depth in your painting, Marie! I just know the cormorant and gull are screaming at the boats, " get with it!"
    I managed to post my vote in time! Good luck!

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