Watery Wednesday #176

Click HERE to see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

Tampa's Fireboat Back Into The Water

I first posted about this fireboat in the fleet of Tampa Fire Rescue back in May 2009. Click HERE. Tampa had just purchased a new boat and was awaiting its delivery in September of that year. Click HERE to read about the city's newest boat, the Patriot. She's quite the vessel. I caught the crew putting this boat back into the water at the Seaplane Basin ramp on Davis Islands.

SKYWATCH Friday, Season, 4 Episode 10

Tampa's late summer sky in all its glory.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

MONOCHROME Weekend Vol. 2 Issue 24

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

WATERY Wednesday #71

Click HERE to go see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

Monochrome Weekend - Vol. 2, Issue 21: You dropped a Krugerrand?

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Lockheed Electra L-12 Junior: Hilary Swank's ride in the film "Amelia"

Over the next three days Tampa plays host to the first-ever Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Aviation Summit. They estimate that as many as 10,000 aviators will be here in the city and headquartered at the Tampa Convention Center. The exhibit halls will feature aviation products, seminars, updates and general information related to the industry, and the popular and growing flying community. The AOPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to general aviation. It was begun in 1939 and has grown to almost 350,000 members.

One of my favorite places to shoot in Tampa is what is known as the Seaplane Basin. The basin area, which includes the Davis Islands Yacht Club at the very end of Davis Islands, was designed initially for seaplanes. It sits at the very tip of the islands. Part of the dream and 1920's development by David Paul Davis of Davis Islands - that began as nothing more than sand spits off of Bayshore Boulevard and Tampa's downtown business district which he dredged up into today's islands neighborhood. Peter O. Knight Airport, Tampa first airport, was built in the 1930s by workers of the Works Progress Administration. It was named for Knight, an attorney and prominent Tampa businessman. After World War II, Tampa's main commercial airport was relocated from Davis Island to the area of Drew Field, a U.S. Army Air Corps base during the war. Peter O. Knight Airport's runways were too short for larger passenger planes following the war and could not be lengthened to accommodate the newer and larger aircraft. The airport is now used by many private aircraft owners, and an assortment of news helicopters. Peter O. Knight is the host airport for the Aviation Summit and has a display of roughly 100 airplanes and even some helicopters. I saw everything today from balloons to jets, sport and vintage aircraft, and a U. S. Coast helicopter. They even have radio-controlled planes. The day’s weather was perfect. Perfect, and it was fun to watch the take-off and landings of everything from vintage biplanes to small personal jets. (Tampa newest fireboat, which I posted on September 29, HERE, was even docked in the basin for tours.)

This plane is the star of the show. The Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior is an eight-seat, six passenger all-metal transport originally designed in the 1930s for smaller airlines and private owners. It’s a scaled-down version of the Lockheed 10 Electra, the plane actually flown by Amelia Earhart on her last flight before disappearing somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The L-12 Junior, made its initial flight on June 27, 1936. (You should know this plane: an identical L-12 starred with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the 1942 film Casablanca.) A total of only 130 Electra Juniors were built. It features two Pratt & Whitney R-985-48 radial engines, each with 450 horsepower. Its maximum speed is 225 mph, and has a range of 800 miles (1,287 km). It flew at just under 23,000 foot.

Hilary Swank is known to movie-goers for her Oscar winning performances in “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Million Dollar Baby.” In her new film biography, “Amelia,” Swank plays Amelia Earhart, the accomplished pilot, aviatrix (I love that word…sexy!), who vanished in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world. Swank spent quite a bit of time with this very plane and even signed the cabin door (see insert left). If you want to read more and about Swank and this very plane, click HERE. In a word, the plane is spectacular! (And I bet the movie is pretty good.)

Sea Oats at the Seaplane Basin

The sign states that the Seaplane Basin at the tip of Davis islands participates in the Healthy Beaches Program of the Florida Department of Health. The natural sea oats growing all around the basin along the beach sure look healthy enough. That's a good sign that it's well cared for. Many folks of every age come out at sunset to stroll, walk their dogs and enjoy the view of the many sailboats at anchor. People like this close-in beach and take good care of it.

Skywatch Friday #56

Wispy clouds reflect the last burst of sunlight as the sailboats at anchor cast long evening shadows across the water's glassy surface.

Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies. It's always an amazing show.

Sunset and moon glow over Hillsborough Bay

SkyWatch FRIDAY

After the heavy rains and flooding we have had in the Tampa Bay area over the past couple of days, I am actually surprised to see it dry. Except for the darkening and threatening clouds overhead, and black in some places, we have not seen a drop today...yet. This scene is of the small prams and rowboats tied to the dock at the boat ramp. They are left here and only used by the sailors to get to and from their boats that are tied up in the basin. At the moment the water is calm and the boats are playing the lonely game of bobbing along at the dock until an owner decides to going out and sail. Before this 4th of July weekend is over I'm sure the sails on several of these boats will fill with wind. Do visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies.

FLAG DAY in the USA: The Vermont Flag first flew in 1777

These sailboats are at anchor in the Seaplane Basin at the far end of Davis Islands, a protected area near the private airport, the Davis Islands Yacht Club and where many folks take their dogs to the nice dog park (and what a great location for dogs to roam, meet, greet and play catch with one another...and pet owners also try to play nice and not get into fights.) I chose this group of boats because today is Flag Day in the USA. It is celebrated each year on June 14. It marks the adoption of the flag of the United States by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. It wasn't until more than a century later, in 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established today as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by the US Congress. U.S. citizens are encouraged to to fly the American flag and the owner of this sailboat has chosen a very historical one to fly on the mast: the Bennington or Vermont flag. This special flag features the red and white stripes with 76 on the blue field and surrounded by stars, first flew over the military post in Bennington, Vermont, on August 16, 1777. It's a very distinctive flag, and although not the official flag of our country, makes a powerful and profound statement about our founding and proud heritage.

Sailboats at anchor as the Tampa sky grows dark