Dredging

I spent my spring break with my sister in Punta Gorda, Florida. She had a beautiful house at the end of a canal. One evening, we came home to find this huge dredging equipment parked in the canal. 

I was tempted to try out the gangplank.

The next morning, two workers arrived in a truck and boarded. 

Gotta check the messages. 

The excavator shovel was used to raise the gangplank.

These men were both large and I was surprised to see one lower himself into a tight hatch that I assume led to an engine room.

Next, they proceeded to turn the whole barge completely around in the relatively small space at the end of the canal. The tall pole was raised and lowered to provide an anchor.

Once they had it in position, they began dredging oyster beds from the area where a new dock was to be built at the next-door-neighbors' house. 

As you can imagine, it was noisy work--but so interesting to watch. At one point, I watched one man step into the shovel and be gently deposited onto the yard of the homeowner so they could discuss the project.