<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E All the latest news/views for fans of Julian Stockwin ++ always sent in plain text: guarantees no virus/malware on your computer ++ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> April, 2011 In this issue: a new role for a gutsy nineteenth-century Baltic trader, all about Kydd series ebooks and we take a look at ship nicknames. Plus Salty Sayings are back by popular demand! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 FEATURE 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 SHIP NICKNAMES 7 WIT & WISDOM OF THE SEA ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + CONQUEST taster! CONQUEST will be the 12th book in the Kydd series. You can read an excerpt from chapter one on the website - and see the stunning cover of the book. There's also CONQUEST Extra, with information and background on the people and events to whet your appetite for the story when it's published June 9. Why not pre-order now? + Authors for Japan With the recent devasatation in Japan a number of authors joined forces to raise money for the Red Cross through an initiative called Authors for Japan. Julian donated two signed copies of his books plus a maritime artefact as an item to bid for. Although the auction has now closed (it raised over GBP 11,000) there are many ways to help Japan, including making online donations to the Red Cross. + Advance praise for CONQUEST George Jepson, former editor of "Quarterdeck" and frequent contributor to WoodenBoat magazine says of CONQUEST:- "This book launches a bright new chapter in Captain Thomas Kydd's naval career, as England turns to expansion of her empire in distant and exotic corners of the world after victory at Trafalgar in 1805. This is vintage Julian Stockwin as Kydd - in command of the 32-gun frigate 'L'Aurore' - sails into turbulent seas along the coast of Africa in support of a British expedition whose mission is to capture Cape Town, a step toward establishing a safe seaway to trade-rich India. Set against the impeccably researched history of the period, Kydd's saga continues to unfurl with Stockwin's crisp prose and attention to authenticity which readers have come to expect. There are adventures aplenty, spliced to the young naval commander's inner growth and evolving relationship with Nicholas Renzi, which keep pages turning." We have an exclusive interview with George and Julian next month. + More marvellous models! We know many of Julian's fans not only enjoy reading about the Age of Sail but build wonderful boat/ship models. Two splendid recent examples are Clayton Johnson's longboat to accompany his major model of "Vasa" and Gerald Reilly's model of a quarterdeck. Clayton says the longboat model will be displayed behind or next to the "Vasa" model and likely on a pedestal so that it is in the same relative position as it would be if it were afloat near "Vasa". Gerald emailed Julian for his thoughts about the position of hammock netting on his model as the instructions with the kit were all in Italian! + Out and About Julian gave a talk at the Essex Book Festival last month in a Martello Tower - he says he's been in some interesting venues from max security prisons to Thames pleasure cruisers but this one beat them all! Jaywick Martello Tower, just outside the town of Clacton-on-Sea, was built in 1809 as a fortification against possible invasion by the French. Incredibly, 750,000 bricks were used to build its 12-feet-thick walls. Now, it is a thriving arts and heritage centre. It's not only the coastal fortifications that link this area to Julian's books. Essex had a long history of smuggling from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century. Many tunnels used by the smugglers were said to exist between buildings in Clacton such as St Johns Church and the Ship Inn. Stirk, a much-loved character in Julian's books, used to be a smuggler. For a chance to win a signed copy of STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY plus a Julian Stockwin tote bag see CONTESTS for a competition relating to Stirk. + Kydd ebooks around the world Ebooks are growing in popularity - one large publisher recently announced they account for 23% of their total sales volume. A number of Shipmates have told us they like the convenience of Julian's books as ebooks - for travel and holidays etc. - but also they want to have the tactile experience of a physical book, perhaps to hand it on to the next generation. If you are reading Thomas Kydd's adventures via ebooks we'd love to hear from you. In the UK Julian's e-books published by Hodder & Stoughton are available from a number of e-outlets including Amazon UK, Waterstones UK and W H Smith. Apple, W H Smith and Waterstones use the ePub format; Amazon's ebooks are in Kindle format. There's also the iBookstore and Books on Board UK. In the States, Julian's books are available in various electronic formats - such as Mobipocket, ePub and PDF. Among the retailers offering them are: Barnes & Noble, Inde Bound (Google ebooks), Ebooks.com (Ebooks for PCs, Macs, Sony Readers, mobile phones), Books on Board (US iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch, Nook, Kobo, Sony, Aluratek, and many other eBook Readers), Sony and Diesel ebooks. And the main outlets in other countries around the world include:- Canada - Amazon.com Australia - Apple, Kobo, Amazon.com South Africa - Amazon.com Europe - Apple, Amazon.com CONQUEST will be available as an ebook, simultaneously with hardback publication. + Share your ship snaps! We welcome ship pictures from Shipmates who are currently serving in the Navy or Merchant Service or have done so in the past. Please send good quality .jpgs to Bosun@JulianStockwin.com, along with a few sentences of description. ==================== 2 BOOKSHELF The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History edited by Joe Follansbee ISBN: 9780 615381534 With coverage of over 2000 tall ships, lighthouses, historic ships, maritime museums and other salty attractions this is a very comprehensive directory. A special section on maritime festivals gives a month-by-month breakdown of maritime-themed festivals around the country. Although most happen in the spring and early summer there is a maritime festival somewhere in the States almost any month of the year. The book is also available on Kindle. Any serious student of the maritime heritage of America will find this an invaluable addition to their library - and the more general reader will find it becomes well-thumbed as a comprehensive guide to visiting salty attractions in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. ==================== 3 FEATURE The Good Ship "Vega" Julian recently came across an inspiring modern-day use of a former Baltic trader built in Norway in the late nineteenth century. The Historical Vessel "Vega" now carries out a vital humanitarian role bringing much-needed supplies to isolated communities in Asia. To find out more, the Chronicle got in touch with Captain Shane Granger, who along with his wife Meggi, have now made this their life work... "Vega" is a "Hardanger jakta", a vessel specially built for Arctic trade to carry heavy cargoes such as bricks and pig iron. She was originally rigged as a cutter and later as a ketch. Although modified several times her underwater lines are of the true Hardanger jakta. She has all-oak keel and frames. Shane told us: "She is a very stable boat under way and more than once has surprised us with her sailing abilities. For example, while beating against an apparent south-east monsoon wind speed of 35 knots under plain working sail, we registered between 12 and 13.5 knots for over 4 hours, well past her hull speed of between 9-10 knots. After the great Indonesian tsunami in 2006 'Vega' was one of the very few boats able to fight her way through the strong currents, rip tides and standing waves to deliver over 20 tons of supplies each trip to the hardest hit areas of Sumatra's west coasts. 'Vega' was quite comfortable in her sea element even if her crew would seriously have rather been somewhere else at the time!" In 2002, Shane and Meggi, who both come from advertising/marketing backgrounds, found "Vega" abandoned in the Canary Islands, in a very sorry state. They sailed her to Cape Town and began a long and extensive refit that lasted until 2009. Shane has a long association with the sea. He crossed the Atlantic in a small 1887 brigantine with no engine single-handed, finishing the trip by sail balance alone when the rudder broke. He has also directed the restoration of a number of historic vessels. Meggi, on the other hand, was a newbie to sailing and says: "When I first started hearing seamen's terms I was worried we had bought a zoo... what with all the cats heads, mizzen lizards and dead eyes." Now, with tens of thousands of sea miles under her belt, "Vega" is her home. Just as in the days of the legendary Spice Island trade, "Vega"'s movements are dictated by the winds of the monsoons. Sailing along routes unchanged for thousands of years Vega makes her annual circuit loading her cargo during one monsoon then delivering it when the monsoon changes. Each year she sails about 6000 miles. This year's work will start from Singapore around May 17 where Vega will be featured at the Singapore Boat Show. Then, after loading supplies she will stop over in Jakarta to purchase more supplies before proceeding on to Oecussi in East Timor to deliver the first consignment. After that it's on to the Tanimbar Islands, back to East Timor and then up to the Banda Islands before returning in late September to their Indonesian staging area in Bali. Among the special deliveries they will make this year are 37 full trauma intervention kits to health workers, basic educational supplies for one year of operations to 42 small rural schools and 35 farm restarting kits to farmers whose lands have been devastated by wars. The effectiveness of the work Shane and Meggi do comes from thinking on a small scale and working with communities where a modest input can make a major difference. The way they work is to initially ask the health workers, teachers and village leaders exactly what tools, medical supplies, educational materails etc. they need to improve their communities. They then take these lists back to sponsors and try to secure the things that are really needed. Thus there is no waste, no useless items. Impressively, 95% of all donations received go directly into the recipients. All the crew are volunteers. "Vega" was honored with the 2010 Asia Pacific Laureate Foundation annual award for Social Service in recognition of their humanitarian service to isolated island communities from South East Asia. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Back by popular demand! The richness of the English language owes a great deal to Jack Tar... + Get hitched, tie the knot, get spliced With the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton this month these salty sayings seem particularly fitting. They are all expressions used today if someone is getting married. A hitch for a sailor is a knot by which one rope is joined to another or made fast to some other object - but it can be undone. A splice, on the other hand, is permanent. Make of this what you will in terms of likely longevity of marriage! + Tide over Today, this expression means coming up with a temporary solution to something. Tiding over is a complex sailing technique - used to make some forward movement into a strong wind using the natural flow of a tide to carry a vessel in the desired direction. ==================== 5 CONTESTS Email Stirk's first name to with your full postal address for a chance to win a signed copy of STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY and a Julian Stockwin tote. First correct entry drawn April 25 wins. Congratulations to the 20 winners of Proof Copies of CONQUEST, their copies will be in the post to them shortly. ==================== 6 SHIP NICKNAMES The affection sailors hold for their ships is reflected in the nicknames they bestow on them. Thank you for all your emails about nicknames. Nelsonian Tars called the captured "Ville de Milan" - "Wheel 'em Along"; the old warhorse "Bellerophon" became "Billy Ruffian"; "Polyphemus" was known as "Polly Infamous" and "Agamemnon", Nelson's favourite ship, became "Eggs and Bacon." And of course Kydd's new command, "L'Aurore", soon became "Billy Roarer" to her ship's company. When the guns of HMS "Guerriere" failed to pierce the sides of USS "Constitution" in 1812 the nickname "Old Ironsides" was coined and has become part of American naval folklore. In more modern times, USS "St Louis", the only major warship to gain the open sea during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, was known as "Lucky Lou". And a few more... USS "Enterprise"-> "BIG E" USS "Lexington"-> "Lady Lex" USS "Independence"-> "Indy" USS "Excel"-> "Eggshell" USS "Missouri" -> "Mighty Montevideo" USS "Wichita" -> "Wicked Witch" Needless to say, with sailors being sailors, there are a few nicknames that can't really be printed! ==================== 7 WIT AND WISDOM OF THE SEA "A ship is always referred to as 'she' because it costs so much to keep her in paint and powder." - Admiral Chester Nimitz Chester W Nimitz was the United States signatory to the Japanese surrender aboard the battleship USS "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay. =================== Connect with Julian on Facebook and Twitter and browse his extensive website Yours aye, THE BOSUN Coming next month: It's the Omnibus Issue to celebrate 10 years of the Chronicle! We'll have a selection of some of the most popular items from past issues, TEN great prizes (including some of Conway Maritime's most popular titles, a full set of Kydd series trade paperbacks from McBooks Press, signed First Editions - and more). ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++