A tremendous explosion, result of a fire, in 1899 completely obliterated Bastion D at Fort Pickens. Fort Pickens is located on the Gulf Islands National Seashore just below Pensacola, Florida.
Abandoned cabin cruiser sits in front of a derelict shrimp boat. Both have been abandoned for several years.
Along the Bon Secour River, which flows into Mobile Bay in southern Alabama, there is a large fleet of deserted shrimp boats. Some are huge, some rather small, but they all have been abandoned. Hurricanes or tropical storms have severly damaged most of them. Speculation is that they are too damaged to repair (repairs will cost more than the boat is worth). Other possible reasons are that the shrimp fishery is too depleted and competition too intense, the boats have paid for themselves and owners are no longer interested in the grueling work of shrimping, but then who knows.
Regardless, The Alabama Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Fund, established June 2018 and managed by the Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, is for payment of the seizure, removal, transportation, preservation, storage, advertisement, appraisal, and disposal of a derelict vessel. Effective June 1, 2018 Act 2018-179 relating to derelict and abandoned vessels, authorizes the removal of a vessel from the waters of Alabama under certain conditions by a law enforcement officer or a private property owner. Previously, a property owner was responsible for legal fees, and litigation required to remove a derelict vessel from his dock. The costs were prohibitive.
Cracked and peeling paint, mold, and slime shows the typical condition of the abandoned fleet.
A smaller derelict craft lists to one side, tied to a crumbling dock.
Wildflowers have mostly gone to seed and the brilliant, lush greens of summer have given way to the dusty, drab greens and browns of early autumn. How did this happen so quickly? June was just yesterday – wasn’t it?
Lines of cast shadows interrupted by an old man’s feet in morning sun light.
A peek into the sorrow, desperation and humiliation of poverty in the U.S.
Too long the African Violet had been waiting for just a bit of fresh water; finally, the spirits of houseplants came to claim it.
