The Celestial Dawn (Part 1)

I’d been tipped off a few months ago about The Celestial Dawn, a boat wreck off the Flyde coast. I assumed that it would have been salvaged by the time lock-down had eased enough for me to track it down and pay it a visit.

After the usual research, scouring the internet, studying maps and Google earth, I set sail (pun intended) for the Flyde coast to see what remained, if anything.

She couldn’t have been easier to find, the 41 foot ketch sits just a few metres from the high tide mark and apart from the 40cm hole in her hull is in remarkably good condition. Twice a day for the past 12 months, the high tide envelopes her, leaving only the masts above the water line. At low tide, left high and dry, the appearance is of a boat just moored up, waiting for the tide to return and sail away.

I arrived about an hour after high tide due to a detour to another location (more about that in part 2). With the water receding it was a race against time but I still managed to capture an image. Not an easy task as she sits on a bed of tidal mud, both the tripod and myself started to sink….

In the end, with the help of a 10 stop ND filter I came away with the image above. f8, 6 sec, ISO 100 @ 32mm

In the next few days, the image will be available as a print or on canvas.

Once the tide had gone out and the photo opportunities had disappeared, it was time to get some video footage…