Strange sighting today in no 2 basin Chatham Docks

[castle261]

No 2 basin was where I taught men to be crane driver`s. The basin is the same depth as the dock`s,
that is 38 feet deep. Cant explain the bubbles, I have assisted Naval Frogmen, to take a propeller
of a Frigate, under water, with explosives, in No 2 basin.   

[MartinR]

@Keith - not as far as I know, and they've had destroyers and the barque Sedov there in the past.
Only slightly OT, if you look at the lock to the marina you will see that the gates face in different directions.  The inner gate is built to most strongly resist pressure from the basin whereas the outer gates (which are taller) most strongly resist the river.  Normally the river is lower than the marina.  Typically there is a short period at HW when there is "free flow" and both gates are open, but at HWS and if there is a surge, then the outer gates have to be closed as part of the flood defences.  Ironically this is the only time that the lock is unusable, otherwise it is an all tides lock.  Gillingham marina is similar, I've had to wait in mid-river before now for the level to drop so that they could open the outer gates.

[KeithG]

Strange that as it reminds me of my 2003 holiday in Hawaii.
Went on an excursion to Pearl Harbour and where the Arizona went down there are oily airbubbles permanently still floating to the surface since 1941...... suppose to be from the fuel tanks so was anything down in No2 Basin in previous years?

[Medway Born and Bred]

I went kayaking in there a couple of years ago and I know what you mean.  They have to pump the water (IIRC, might have just been air) to keep the lower levels oxygenated.  Those basins are pretty deep and in No 2 nothing is happening at the moment.  If the water goes stagnant there can be an (again IIRC) algal bloom with consequent health risks.

That makes a lot of sense. Funnily enough I used to work over in number 3 basin for around 20 years after the place was commercialised after the navy left. I always assumed it was just the water coming in and out of the river whilst the locks were opened that saw the only changes to the waters within the basins. But of course there may well be pumps in addition to that for various technical reasons.


Thanks for the reply 😊

[MartinR]

I went kayaking in there a couple of years ago and I know what you mean.  They have to pump the water (IIRC, might have just been air) to keep the lower levels oxygenated.  Those basins are pretty deep and in No 2 nothing is happening at the moment.  If the water goes stagnant there can be an (again IIRC) algal bloom with consequent health risks.

[pete.mason]

what was the tide state? Topping up perhaps?

[Medway Born and Bred]