Was it a bird... a drone... a floatplane... an early-morning crew boat? Nothing was visible through the hatch overhead, but something close by was sending noisy vibrations through the air. What did cause the noise that sent us racing up to the pilothouse early this morning? Oh! My! Goodness! It was a small helicopter, landing on the large boat across the dock. Now that was a sight worthy of leaping out of bed just after dawn.
The tide was up, the sun was up (barely) and the wind was down; a perfect time to land I suppose, if there ever is a good time to land on such a small platform! M/V Scorpius is a large vessel, but she carries a tall tower, a crane and tons of antennae on her upper deck. That leaves just enough room for an experienced pilot to keep the rotors away from all of those obstacles when setting down. Larry is a good pilot; he's landed on Scorpius hundreds of times before, but I'm still wide-eyed at this feat. Now just imagine doing this in unsettled weather.
This morning's event reminded me of the small copter we had seen in 2013, perched atop a rock along the channel at the upper end of Smith Inlet. I still wonder "Why?"
I wonder what new surprises tomorrow will bring.
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