On 26 August I went out to Dover Harbour’s Southern Breakwater. I’d been trying to plan this since early June, but with commitments - both mine and other people’s – and the complete failure of the weather to decide what it wants to do, this was the first day I could consider a day out there.
Having arranged it with the Sea Angling Club, you go out by boat with the fishermen, (but only on certain days and, of course, favourable weather conditions). There are basic toilet and catering facilities but apart from that you’re on your own for about eight hours so careful planning is an excellent idea ( the seven Ps). As usual I went over the top and took three cameras, five lenses and a rucksack full of other impedimenta to make life easier, including a VHF scanner, which was very useful in planning my day. Apart from ferries there was little else happening in the harbour – but never mind.
The previous day was virtually clear sunshine and temperatures up to 25 deg. however, when I went it was mostly cloudy with a few sunny patches which annoyingly changed very quickly - this can be seen in the photos.
Having sailed on and out of Dover Harbour on countless occasions I was still struck by the length and breadth of the breakwater. As you can’t really go scurrying around looking for the best spot (a bit heavy on the old legs!) I stayed in the area around the Knuckle lighthouse as unfortunately the far eastern end has been chained off. A thoroughly enjoyable day out, and special thanks to Clive and Tom of Dover Sea Angling Club, and to Port Control for allowing me to use a good vantage point. Here are just a few examples of the 460+ shots I took, and that’s not counting the ones I binned immediately – I must make contact with people more! John Mavin 2007
       
       
               
       
       
For further details/information regarding this article please contact John via the Dover Ferry Photos Forum. 
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