Large logs blown ashore, Isle of Wight

[dancrane]

We saw a large log on the beach at Ventnor yesterday.

It must have been seven feet long and 14 inches diameter. It might have been a cut trunk, but looked regular enough to have been lost from some harbour construction. I reckoned it must have weighed a good third of a tonne, and had been afloat long enough to accumulate a lot of crustacea.

Today at Shanklin there were several whole tree trunks - one around 40ft long. I picked up a separate 4ft piece as a souvenir and was startled by its great weight, which made me wonder about its species and origin.

I also wondered how the average yacht would respond if such flotsam were encountered unseen, for instance in darkness. Especially for lightweights and high-speed multis, It's not a pleasant thought.

Has anyone else noticed the flotsam around lately?

 

[Refueler]

The Baltics ship out huge amount of 'trunks' - UK pits used Baltic timber as props for many years ...

The ships carry not only in hold - but also stacked high on deck ... its not unusual for odd one or two to go overboard.

But 40ft long ? That's something else.

 

[ProDave]

Usual up here, rivers feed into the firth and each winter storm will bring some whole trees down river into the firth.

 

[ashtead]

Quite common after a storm even in Med to see wood washed ashore-in Antibes the locals come down with trailers behind their cars to collect the logs. In so far as island is concerned maybe it’s a stray log which has escaped from the breakwater having been exported from the Bournemouth breakwater if it’s a cut log?

 

[rogerthebodger]

With logs loaded as deck cargo its very easy for big logs to call off.

We had some some time ago and the logs float just at water level and can be unseen until too late so can write the keel of a sailboat

 

[MikeBz]

Today at Shanklin there were several whole tree trunks - one around 40ft long. I picked up a separate 4ft piece as a souvenir and was startled by its great weight, which made me wonder about its species and origin.

I imagine a large proportion of that weight will be seawater.

 

[capnsensible]

Had it escaped from a Highlands Games Arena?

 

[Biggles Wader]

Had it escaped from a Highlands Games Arena?

I thought this thread was going to be about sewage overflows.

 

[Refueler]

Quite common after a storm even in Med to see wood washed ashore-in Antibes the locals come down with trailers behind their cars to collect the logs. In so far as island is concerned maybe it’s a stray log which has escaped from the breakwater having been exported from the Bournemouth breakwater if it’s a cut log?

We have them come down the river behind my house ... some are just toppled by the snow / ice weight on them ... others by strong wind ... every year we have a number of them.

 

[jamie N]

As @ProDave states, we do get these from the river, but also from the port of Inverness, which handles a 'tree tanker' every couple of days, to supply the logs which are digested by the local factory, which manufactures clouds.
Why do they make clouds? It's obvious really, as global warming has altered Scotland's weather so greatly, to satisfy the demand of tourists to experience true Scottish weather, Scottish inventiveness has adapted to maintain the climatic expectation that visitors hold.

 

[dancrane]

Usual up here, rivers feed into the firth and each winter storm will bring some whole trees down river into the firth.

Yes, the ones we saw at Shanklin looked a lot like that in your pic.

The surprising thing was how much wood there seemed to be - not just a single fallen tree broken up.

That led me to suppose there might have been, and might yet be, a lot of timber floating around in the Channel.

I imagine a large proportion of that weight will be seawater.

That occurred to me too. I just weighed it with a digital scale, at 8.31kg.

I'll weigh it again on 1st May...and 1st June...1st July...and see how much of the weight drops through a summer hanging in the hot garage.
.

 

[Refueler]

One of the big worries on timber carriers - is water .... when waves go over the deck / logs - they can take up a large amount and its not unusual for the ship to develop a list - some actually compensate by filling odd ballast tank ....

Often the ships cargo is not calculated as weight as would most other cargoes - but by volume to avoid the water factors.

 

[onesea]

One of the big worries on timber carriers - is water .... when waves go over the deck / logs - they can take up a large amount and its not unusual for the ship to develop a list - some actually compensate by filling odd ballast tank ....

Often the ships cargo is not calculated as weight as would most other cargoes - but by volume to avoid the water factors.

Complete with wiggle wires to ditch cargo if it shifts or gains to much weight.

 

[dancrane]

My mistake; the whole (and broken) trees washing up around the south of the island can only have come from last December's terrible landslip between Bonchurch and Luccombe. It's really destroyed a large forested area (and deprived us of a favourite walk).

 

[ash2020]

Would it be legal to take a chainsaw and chop it up for firewood? Who owns flotsam?

 

[jamie N]

Would it be legal to take a chainsaw and chop it up for firewood? Who owns flotsam?

I believe that the utterly useless spongers of the Crown Estate have 1st shout on all of this. I'd suggest that it's collected and delivered back to 'their' nearest home, be it AB35 5TB up here, or wherever.
It'd save them the effort, so you'd be doing them a favour.

 

[LittleSister]

We saw a large log on the beach at Ventnor yesterday.

This is the Practical Boat Owner forum.

That is not a log, but a (free) dugout canoe kit!

We look forward to you posting your pics of the build in progress and the launch.

 

[ash2020]

I believe that the utterly useless spongers of the Crown Estate have 1st shout on all of this. I'd suggest that it's collected and delivered back to 'their' nearest home, be it AB35 5TB up here, or wherever.
It'd save them the effort, so you'd be doing them a favour.

They seem to own pretty much everything else so I'm sure they can do without a log or two!

 

[dunedin]

The videos of the (5 years late) launching of the ferry Glen Rosa seems to show a heck of a lot of large chunks of what looked to be timber scattered in the Clyde after the launch. Are they all now floating around the Clyde estuary?

 

[dancrane]

Would it be legal to take a chainsaw and chop it up for firewood?

With respect, just like those responsible boat owners bothering the forum about whether they were technically allowed to stay on their boats during lock-down, this is a question nobody needs to ask.

If anyone does ask, they'll be told what they didn't want to hear, not for a good reason, just because no authority had enough confidence to encourage the idea.

If something's in a grey area but you can't see harm in it, don't ask "can I do it?", just do it. Let them tell you to stop when you've done it or are doing it, don't press them for reasons to stop you before you try.
.