'The Basin': Stopgates [Draft 1.0]

 

All Images: Bristol Floating Harbour, Entrance Locks, April 2019-June 2023

Stoppages interrupt the flow at various points in the system. This arrangement provided flexibility of operation, with the Basin being used as a lock when there were large numbers of arrivals and sailings. A level will occur anytime between 1 hour and 10 minutes to 20 minutes before high water and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes after high water.  At other times, recalcitrant barriers dam the infamous fluctuations between brooding ramparts (a modest increase having regard to the ever-increasing size of ships). It is impossible to ignore the cartographic sectioning brought about through the insertion of the valves, or the bladdering of the basin itself. Despite the geometries of containment, multiple small incontinences raise doubts throughout the extended system. They may indicate both mortal foreboding and infantile anxieties.Tides of 9.6m and over are stopgate tides, but tides of 9.1m to 9.6m may become stopgate tides if the level of tide is higher than predicted.

Our progress is punctuated by such interventions, and we are required to teeter on deviant planks. Alternate perspectives are applied. A single step-up occasions vertigo here, and a vee-formation must be adopted. Silhouetting effects can only emphasise a certain fragility in the surmounting assembly. However, turbulence should not be experienced when the lock is being emptied, and steel pistons (puzzling in their articulation) thrust from die-cut shadows in a bolstering of archaeology. New angles have been described. Whilst a leap of faith might be implied, the data-driven athletes still spring across - hesitating only for cursory bicep readings. Conversely, visitation-lingering effects may also impede progress or image composition. A recreational spectrum is clearly evident, although hazardous operations take place in this area with potentially dangerous installations. Risk assessment ultimately rests upon variable adhesion levels. There is no public right of way, but to make the crossing is also to span the pooling years. Please ensure your ropes are clear on their cleats, will not jam, and are tended continuously.

The maximum size of vessel which can be accepted is determined by conditions in the river and the dredged depth in the harbour. The comedy of the historical record can be relished at this juncture (note that confirmation from the Marine Services Supervisor is required). Can the subversion of a cylindrical reputation, with floating hinged gates known as ship-caissoons (local spelling), be resisted? Certainly, exponential advance must collide with physics or oversight eventually. Ballast chambers were prone to silting up because of the silt-laden tidal water and the lock was only 54 feet wide. Entropy will prevail and obsolescence was built-in here. A sense of imprisonment is inescapable, so call the Marine Services Supervisor on VHF Channel 14 as you pass. The route to this gullet already cleared a preferable mouth, which experiences the second largest tidal range in the world.

Coping stones and platforms were removed over-night and the ship sailed the following morning.