Docking

I took advantage of an early start this morning to head down to Canada Place, hoping to beat the arrival of today’s ships coming back from Alaska. Two were already in by the time I got there, though one hadn’t quite docked, and a third was just sliding under the Lions Gate Bridge. Good timing, as it turned out: I got to watch two of these massive liners get tied up.

What keeps pulling me back is the meeting of two separate worlds, the ship and the shore. They stay separate right up until the moment of docking, and even then they never really merge. Passengers lean on the rails and look down; the line handlers work the pier in their hi-vis and look up. A thrown messenger line, a mooring rope, a gangway lowered into place — for a little while those are the only things bridging the gap, before the two worlds separate again.

📷 Leica SL2 & Panasonic Lumix S 24-105mm