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When there are no storms and when high pressure rules the forecast I always make sure to take advantage of the good weather to get out with the drone. The latter half of April had been one such period with countless dry days, light winds, blue skies and sunshine. I had dedicated the entire day to aerial filming along the north coast while at the same time walking the beaches with my dog Rhua while soaking up vitamin D, it was a very pleasant time.
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After an entire morning and afternoon of filming I pulled over for tea and visited a local take-away to regain my energy. Once I felt full and content I did one more drive along the coastal route scanning for something to film, once passed Benone and Magilligan my eyes were drawn to a stunning scene. In the distance where several beautiful rapeseed fields set against a background of majestic Binevenagh, the view simply couldn't be ignored, I drove up the steep back roads and found a secluded take-off point then got the Mavic 2 Pro in the air. The fields seemed to glow with a yellow vibrancy thanks for the evening sunshine, it was like observing fields of gold, it was one of those times that having a drone gives you that unique experience of viewing this wonder from any angle you can imagine.
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I was filming video and shooting stills, flying at moderate altitude to take in the entire view then dropping down low to skim over the top of the flowers then fly in wraps around several of the trees embedded within the yellow gold which seemed to draw the eye in.
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Such a beautiful location, when the sun shines this mountain is truly spectacular and worthy of any camera's attention and no matter how many time I visit this area I never take it for granted. To get the full drone experience please check out the footage below.
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On April 28th I couldn't resist shooting the sunset at the end of yet another warm high pressure day. I was absolutely loving these late evenings and long days, Spring and Summer really see me in my element. I figured with haze in the sky the solar disk might just be visible and available for shooting, there were also several large sunspot groups on view which I hoped to detect at sunset. Rhua and I walked to the top of Tullyhogue Fort then waited for a relaxing hour for the sun to lower and as it did so the disk became visible to the eye changing in colour from yellow to a beautiful pink-red, in the viewfinder I could see two large sunspots, success.
During this period I had been undertaking a lot of visual sunspot observing on a daily basis using my old Meade 90mm ETX and the projection method. The disk was the most impressive I've seen it since the last solar maximum nearly ten years ago. I counted five active regions with 39 spots/pores and complex faculae on the western limb. The largest sunspots were several times larger than Earth, it always blows my mind observing sunspots thinking about these massive scales and the fact that you are observing huge magnetic storms in our star's photosphere.
April 29th was expected to be the last day of great weather thanks to an approaching frontal system which would bring cloud and rain the following evening. I wanted an adventure and something cool to film with the drone, but what to shoot? all was quiet so I checked the ship tracking web sites and by pure good fortune I spotted a stunning vessel moving up the Irish Sea with a destination for Larne. The vessel was called Wind Server, she was the type of ship I like to seek, an unusual specialist vessel, the role of which includes off-shore supplies and wind turbine installation and servicing. In fact, she had just left a large off-shore wind turbine farm in the Irish Sea so I suspected she was heading to Lane to re-supply.
I checked her speed, the web site showed an average speed of 5 knots which is very slow, this was no accident, ships move at speeds which are very deliberate either for their purpose, cargo or destination arrival or to save money. I was secretly hoping she was carrying some sort of cargo which would add to her photogenic appearance. From studying the images of her online and from doing my research she was classed as a supply jack-up vessel with four legs which lifted her out of the water, she had a nice paint colour and a very tidy form. Her length was rather small compared with some of the ships I film however her massive height and unusual design more than made up for this, she was a very interesting subject so I decided I would dedicate this day to ship chasing.
The web site gave her ETA as 19.00 LT however based on her speed and position I suspected she might arrive slightly earlier than this. I did some mental calculations, I had plenty of time to get organized and make the journey, however I never like to be late so I had planned on being on location much earlier so I could study the weather and test fly the drone. Speaking of the weather, I did one final check, slack winds, a slight on-shore Ely breeze along the E coast, dry all day and sunny, however the television forecast was going for high level cloud moving in by late afternoon, this was my only concern, it wouldn't affect flying however if I was going to justify the drive I really wanted good light for the ship to look her best on video. The Met Office and television forecasts both showed high cloud moving in then backing off again to the W, so if they were correct and I had luck on my side I could be getting treated to sunshine all day.
I packed a flask, water supply, lunch, then Rhua and I hit the road nice and early. I topped up the charge on all my drone batteries using the cigarette charger as we drove. The problem was that I didn't know if she was going to go into port, she might just sit out at sea in the anchorage area for the night, I checked Larne tide times, high tide was 23.00 so I suspected with her small draught of 5.3m she could go in when she arrived or else make her way inbound a few hours later, I had plenty of good light and time was on my side. The drive was fantastic, blazing sunshine, blue skies, gorgeous scenery, especially the countryside in the vicinity of the Broughshane area, music was playing on the radio and life was great.
I arrived along the coastline of Larne at 14.00 LT knowing I had plenty of time to kill. Rhua and I did a lot of walking along the promenade and beach then sat down eating snacks while enjoying the sun. Rhua slept for a while while I read Irish Tornadoes and Waterspouts for the second time then just chilled. By late afternoon I decided to stay sharp by doing some drone filming, I waited for the European Causeway Ro-Ro ferry to leave then filmed her heading out to sea towards Cairnryan in Scotland, she was swift moving and it didn't take long to cover a keen distance over water so this made for excellent training. I then went back to the van and waited, then waited, then waited some more, it now seemed like she should have been in view yet I could see nothing along the entire horizon. I hoped she hadn't slowed down and would come in at night instead, I was starting to get worried, the weather conditions were perfect too so it would be a shame if these ideal conditions were wasted.
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Then suddenly beyond the head land I could see four alien-looking vertical forms, the Wind Server had arrived. Slowly, almost as if she was teasing, she emerged fully from behind the landscape and entered the flat oceanscape in front of me. I grabbed all my gear then Rhua and I headed to our take-off point. I began shooting still images with the DSLR and 100-400mm lens, my immediate impression was that she was a beautiful ship and she seemed to hold herself proudly in the water. In the viewfinder I could see several wind turbine blades on deck, it seemed everything was coming together nicely, I just needed her to get a little closer and within range of the drone.
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She made a slow turn and began pointing her bow towards shore, it looked like she was coming, the turbine blades jutting out from her deck into open air made her look even more dramatic. She looked far better in real life than any of the images I had seen online, my adrenalin began to flow, it was time to fly.
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I powered up the drone, got GPS lock, checked my area so no people where close by, did a final visual check of the sky and ocean for anything that could be a hazard, all was good, the drone lifted off, I let it hover, moved the sticks around to check everything was working, panned the Mavic around to face the Wind Server then flew out across the sea. The vessel was still moving which was what I wanted, the drone and ship met for their first encounter, I kept my stick movements slow and deliberate to match the speed of the vessel and tranquility of the moment. I began moving around her, I managed two controlled 360 degree wraps, the light was fabulous, the Wind Server was in full sunshine with vibrant red colours contrasting against the blue-green ocean. I also hovered to capture these high resolution still images at 20MP.
A few stats...
IMO: 9670793
Vessel Type: Supply Jack Up
Call Sign: OWLB2
Flag: Denmark
Gross Tonnage: 6567
Size: 79.3m x 32.3m
Built: 2014
Home Port: AARHUS
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Flying in a little closer for a better look at her impressive tower, bridge, and deck equipment. If you have ever seen these large wind turbine blades up close in person then you will know how massive they area, this gives some idea to the vertical height of this vessel. Now for more detailed vessel information.
M/V Wind Server is a self lifting wind turbine service jack-up vessel built at the Nordic Yards in Rostock-Warnemunde and Wismar. She is the world's first purpose-built jack-up vessel, her four perpendiculars (jack legs) are 76.9m high. These enable the vessel to rise out of the ocean and provide a stable platform for turbine serving operations, the legs can operate in depths of up to 45m of water.
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View of the stern, she has a forklift on deck and conference room, treatment room, gymnasium and mess room, including a coffee shop. Her massive main crane is a Liebher BOS-14000 with a boom of 87m which can operate in winds up to 25m/sec while servicing 5MW and 8MW turbines, she also has three other deck cranes, the largest of which has a lifting capacity of 95t.
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She sports a DP2 dynamic positioning system and is powered by a diesel electric propulsion plant with seven generator engines, each of 944kW. She has a transit cruising speed of 9 knots with an endurance of 30 days. By the end of her tour of duty she will have serviced more than a thousand off-shore wind turbines.
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I was happy with the footage and images, I took one more capture at a lower altitude then flew backwards towards shore. The drone landed with 34% battery remaining. I saw the pilot boat heading out to meet her and bring her in, I had time to switch batteries and fly out again for another go however I was more than happy with what I got so Rhua and I made our way over to the edge of the beach as close as we could get to the water and watched the Wind Server pass us by at close range then berth at Port of Larne. The sun was shinning and all is well, I had another brew then we began the long drive home, the day had been a complete success and even surpassed my expectations.
Drone flight over the rapeseed fields on the flank of Binevenagh
Full drone footage of the Wind Server over open ocean as she made her way towards Port of Larne in perfect weather conditions. I hope you enjoy these ship filming exploits, I don't often include them on my web site however there are plenty on my youtube channel. I tend to feature the most unique vessels which require a lot of planning or an adventure to film for the web site, after all, it costs of a lot of time, travel, money and energy to do this kind of filming so I feel this subject is more than worthy along side my astronomical and storm chasing reports. After all, who doesn't enjoy the mystery and intrigue of seeing these magnificent ocean vessels up close and personal. Thanks very much for reading.
Martin McKenna
