Flight At Sunderland Marina

I do love a weather vane and this one called Flight is along the banks of the River Wear. It is there to be admired and has seating around its base for your pleasure. On the post is a note made from plated metal, to look like it was torn from a spiral notepad.

You may recognise this as the artwork of Craig Knowles, who has a few installations and collaborations in the area. He is known for Shadows in Another Light, on the St Peter's Trail, Take Flight on the other side of the Marina, and Wind And Fire in Seaham.

A weather vane is also called a wind vane, weathercock, and is an anemoscope, which is a device to indicate the wind direction. Leonardo da Vinci invented one. They are traditionally positioned high up, for example, on church spires. Craig depicts this one with cormorants, which are seen in the area. You can also see Craig's swirly bits, representing the wind. Weathervanes need to be balanced so they are streamlined with the wind and will not simply rotate like a whirling dervish.

In the UK, cormorants are aquatic birds that can dive up to 60 metres below the water, catching eels, and other fish. They have a prehistoric look, with a long neck, short legs, webbed feet, and are darkly coloured. Their name comes from Latin corvus marinus, meaning sea raven. They are great fish catches and have been used for over 1,330 years in some areas. The Chinese and Japanese used the cormorant to catch fish by snagging its throat so it could not swallow the prey. It is now predominantly done only as a tourist attraction!

I couldn't find a Weather Vane society; maybe I'll start one!