Grounded.

[pgriz]

I'll give the back-story later.



Comments, critiques welcome. As always. Even the snide ones.

 

[ronlane]

grounded? Looks drowned to me. Interesting picture, can't wait to hear the story. Hope that it explains the composition of the space behind the boat instead of in front of it. One other thing that I see is it looks aweful grey but it could me my monitor.

 

[cbarnard7]

I like it! I would maybe crop about 1/3 off the top if it were me- but I think it's tranquil (even though it sucks for the owner). For some reason it makes me think of The Truman Show?

 

[pgriz]

This is on Lake St-Louis, off Montreal. Been that way since early summer. Sailboat was 'way out of the channel and is leaning on a ledge. At that point, whoever was in the boat could probably walk to the shore. It probably not more than 3 ft. deep at that point (nominal depth is 0.9m), and while there is a bit of current, it's under 2 knots. From it's position, and given the depth of the bottom in that area (quite shallow), it probably was blown sideways until it became completely grounded. The prevailing winds are from the south-west (the direction the camera is pointed) and the deeper waters are about 500 m further away from the camera's position.

I've been driving by it pretty regularly and today, the calm conditions appeared to made it look quite picturesque (as wrecks go). So there you go.

This is another vantage point, so you can see how close it is to the shore.



I took the original image because I could see it in a very different setting, and the light was very even - with the horizon being almost not there.

Ron, thanks for the comments.

Cbarnard7, your crop is very close to some other shots I've taken today of this boat, but after looking over the bunch the one I posted is the one I liked the most. Not saying you're wrong or I'm right - we just have somewhat different tastes.

 

[The_Traveler]

Quite nice and well done to isolate the boat in the frame.

 

[Juga]

Your feeling might not be far off but given the sails are up it may have went aground during strong winds. Also from looking at it it appears to be 'sitting' on the bottom. It is a day sailor so the draft of that type of watercraft can't be more than a few inches so that water has to be extremely shallow. The other possibility is someone went overboard and the vessel drifted away from them before they could climb back on where it eventually went aground. It also appears to have taken on some water which would also explain the 45 degree list. Anyway my experience from being in the Coast Guard says that it doesn't look like an ideal situation...or maybe that is just common sense which most people are void of when they are on the water.

 

[pgriz]

Juga, that boat has a keel but probably not a very deep one (I'm guessing 5 feet). And it is about 3 ft. deep there, both from looking at the nautical charts and from my own experience kayaking there.

As for boating, the lake is reasonably large, but not deep. In certain sections near the middle, the depth is no more than two or three feet. "Most" local boaters know where they should not go, and the majority make sure that they sail in the sections that are deep enough. However, the occasional sailors/boaters tend to be less careful about paying attention to their charts, and it is not uncommon to get calls on channel 16 for assistance due to busted propellers. I do not know the story of this particular boat. However, we have had several very strong blows this summer (10 boats sunk out of about 40 at a local anchorage in August), and this one may have been caught in one of those events. There was nothing in the local media about any loss of life, so it appears to have been only a grounding.

 

[Juga]

You're right Paul. Most people don't pay attention to charts, weather, or do any sort of research. You sound like you are pretty knowledgable on water just by the way you are talking about it so I will save you my speech on being safe on the water...

Nice job on the photo though and like Lew said I really like the isolation.

 

[weepete]

Really nice. I'm digging the isolation of the boat and the tones in the background are great, it has a real isolated lost at sea feel. I like the crop as well, just what I was thinking when looking at the original image.

 

[annamaria]

I like what you did with the photo and the isolation of the boat. Nice pic.

 

[manaheim]

LOVE this.

I MIGHT crop a little, but the expansiveness of it adds to the loneliness of it.

Very nice!!!

 

[Braineack]

I'd like the horizon line to be a little more clear, just at tad. but really cool shot; I dont mind the original crop at all.

 

[pgriz]

One of the reasons that the atmospherics worked for this shot was that the mist obscured the far shore (about 2 miles at the left and maybe 10 miles on the right of the original image), allowing one to imagine a much larger expanse of water. The absence of the boats on the water (except for the one pictured) also helped obscure the scale of the lake and allow us to imaging a much larger water surface. The various navigational aids of the St-Lawrence seaway are similarly obscured by the mist, and allow me to pretend that this sailboat is somewhere else... I've shot the same boat several times before, but it looked like a wrecked boat at the side of an urban lake. Not interesting. This time it was a little different. It highlights again the lesson that when you have a location with potential, you have to keep coming back until the conditions are right.

I have another one taken that morning, where the mist and the water are the subject. Still working on getting the post-processing right before I show it...

 

[limr36 5]

I like it! I would maybe crop about 1/3 off the top if it were me- but I think it's tranquil (even though it sucks for the owner). For some reason it makes me think of The Truman Show?

View attachment 57773

The Truman Show was the first thing I thought of!

I like the crop, but the original feels lonelier, which has more of an impact on me.

 

[cbarnard7]

No worries! That's the beauty of photography, isn't it? I do like the original one as well, I just figured I'd edit it to how I felt when I saw it.