<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E The official Ezine of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' network <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> VOL. 8, ISSUE 1, February 2007 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 FEATURE 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 INTERVIEW 7 ASK JULIAN =================== 1 DISPATCHES + "Command" Limited edition print launched Managing Director of Art Marine, Julian Thomas, has announced the latest addition to the Thomas Kydd Collection, a Limited Edition Print featuring Kydd's beloved "Teazer", signed and numbered by Geoff Hunt RSMA. There's a copy of this superb piece of art for one lucky Shipmate. See CONTESTS for details www.artmarine.co.uk email: jt@artmarine.co.uk + Book Eight title As promised in the last issue, here is the title for book eight - KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER. It will be published simultaneously in the UK and the US in October this year. And, fans of Geoff Hunt will be delighted to learn that once again he has been commissioned to create an original painting for the cover. Here's a brief synopsis of the book - It is 1803 and a fragile peace still holds when Thomas Kydd and Nicholas Renzi return to England after tumultuous experiences on the other side of the world. A summons from the Admiralty sees Kydd back in command of his beloved "Teazer" but he has barely set about preparing her for sea when he is sent on an urgent mission to the north coast of France on the eve of war. England stands in peril of starvation and bankruptcy if her trade is not safeguarded. Now based in home waters, Kydd will face smugglers and enemy privateers - and some of the most treacherous sea conditions he has ever known. Ashore, a growing attachment to the admiral's daughter caps Kydd's happiness at being reunited with "Teazer". But the course of love does not run smooth and he is forced to make a terrible choice, the consequence of which may mean the end of his friendship with Renzi - and his naval career. + SS Jeremiah O'Brien Julian remembers seeing this famous Liberty Ship when she visited London during her 50th anniversary cruise and was delighted to hear from California-based Shipmate Wes Hill who took two cruises in the grand old lady recently. Wes particularly enjoyed having the run of the ship, including the boiler/engine room. "Amazingly, you can hold a conversation in a normal level of voice while standing next to the 271,000 pounds, 2500 horse power, triple expansion steam engine, at 76 revolutions a minute. She's still a great 'feeder'." http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/cruises.html + Location research Kathy and Julian spent the last two weeks on location research for book nine. Set in 1803/04, this ninth instalment in the series will see Kydd in the Channel Islands - with all manner of sea hazards testing his seamanship to the limit and the threat of invasion from the French bringing special challenges for the ship's company of "Teazer". Julian has promised to give a few highlights of their trip in the March issue. + RSMA update The new Royal Society of Marine Artists website is now up and running. www.rsma-web.co.uk We'll bring you information on the RSMA Annual Exhibition in October in a future issue. It's always worth a visit if you are in London at that time! + Kydd publishing schedule 2007 -> February French edition of KYDD, Presses de la Cite -> March US hardback edition of COMMAND, McBooks Press -> April UK paperback edition of COMMAND, Hodder & Stoughton -> October UK hardback edition of KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER, Hodder & Stoughton US hardback edition of KYDD: THE ADMIRALS'S DAUGHTER -> November THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER available in Australia/Canada From this year, the titles will be simultaneously published in the UK/US each October. + Australian Wooden Boat Festival What promises to be a spectacular celebration of the nation's maritime heritage takes place between the 9th and 12th of this month. HM Bark "Endeavour" and five other tall ships will lead a huge fleet of boats in a Parade of Sail in Hobart, Tasmania. www.australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au + G'day from Down Under Having just finished COMMAND Aussie "Yogi" Hansen emailed Julian to ask whether Kydd might return to the Antipodes some day. [Julian would not rule it out...] Yogi is enjoying the books immensely - "If reading in its purest form transports the reader to times and places otherwise inaccessible, you have provided the vehicle with this series." Yogi added that he was very interested to see a mention of "Lady Nelson" in COMMAND; his ancestor was Thomas Hansen, master of this brig when it foundered at the entrance to Port Macquarie in 1821. Thomas had earlier captained the brig "Active" which transported Samuel Marsden and the first missionaries to New Zealand in 1814. In 1819, his wife Hannah, at age 67, was convicted of gun running and sentenced to seven years in prison! ===================== 2 BOOKSHELF Men of the Sea by Ernest E Smith ISBN 1-905226-28-4 HMS "Belfast" is now a museum moored on the Thames, saved for the nation due to her historical importance in the same tradition as HMS "Victory". Over 6,000,000 visitors have gone aboard since she became an Imperial War Museum site in 1978. She is the only surviving example of the great fleets of big gun armoured warships built for the Royal Navy in the first half of the twentieth century. A number of books have been written about the ship herself, but none have really paid the tribute to the 12,000 men who served in her during her commission (1939-1965). "Men of the Sea", through stories, photographs and personal recollections remedies that in full measure. Among the many anecdotes is one recorded about the visit of King George in 1943. After inspecting the men, the King visited the wardroom, leaving his Admiral's cap on the peg outside the annexe, next to Vice-Admiral Burnett's. The King's cap was small in size, while "Nutty Burnett"'s was a very large one. Queues formed outside the wardroom to try on the Admiral's and the King's cap! www.hmsbelfast.org.uk ==================== 3 FEATURE - Ancestral trail How one Shipmate traced his family's naval past In the March 2006 issue of the Chronicle we published some suggestions about researching naval ancestry, a hobby that certainly seems be growing in popularity. Dr Stephen Goodall, "an ex-Tar with 37 years' service" had been tracing his family genealogy for two years when he found a connection to an Admiral Samuel Goodall through a reference in a book about Nelson in which Samuel was described as "one of Nelson's veteran captains." Stephen says he had no idea of any family links to naval history at that point. As his investigations continued he picked up the Kydd books in his library and saw an email address for Julian, who pointed him to Clowes' "The Royal Navy", which turned out to be the breakthrough he had been looking for. Stephen found the most useful sources were: > The National Maritime Museum's Caird Library > The Public Records Office, Kew > Internet searches His advice to fellow researchers: "Don't give up! Try some lateral thinking, you never know what might be found and internet resources are expanding all the time so I still go back and re-visit sources I have used before just to check. I also read round the period I was interested in. This sometimes gives additional insights into the bald accounts of family history or throws up extra references." Stephen has now pieced together a fascinating account of his ancestor Samuel, who effected a rescue of the ship carrying the future wife of George III from a storm and grounding on Lemman Sands, saw distinguished service around the world, and attained the rank of Admiral of the White before he died. Stephen has also built up a picture of the life of his son Thomas, who became a self-styled admiral of Haiti, and was probably involved in espionage at a high level! But as many people find as they delve into family history research, there are still many unanswered questions... We'd love to hear from other Shipmates who have embarked on the genealogy trail and found maritime ancestors. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS The coast is clear Today, "the coast is clear" refers to an absence of anything that might hinder activity. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. It first appeared in print in 1531, describing a vessel which had safely cleared the coast, and was later used in Shakespeare's "Henry V1". In the heyday of smuggling, a boy led a white horse along the cliff as a signal that there were no Revenue men about - and it was thus safe for the smugglers to land their contraband cargo. ==================== 5 CONTESTS Seven great chances to win KYDD products this month! + Print of "Command" For a chance to win the latest limited edition print in the Kydd Collection, email the Bosun naming four ship classes depicted in the prints up to and including "Command". The first correct entry out of the hat will be the winner. Deadline February 25 + Paperback sets To celebrate World Book Day on March 1, Hodder & Stoughton is giving away six complete paperback sets of the Kydd series to date. To enter the competition just email the Bosun with your answer to this question:- > If you had command of your own ship, which 6 literary figures would you choose as your crew? (no more than 100 words). The winners will be those entries judged the most original. Entries to: admin@JulianStockwin.com Deadline: midnight GMT World Book Day. Congratulations to Adrian Wibley, winner of last month's mega book package. ==================== 6 INTERVIEW Dan Twohig - The man behind Monster Maritime Captain Dan Twohig recently launched the Monster Maritime portal which now has around 10,000 links. Its aim is to develop a community of seafarers and those who sail vicariously. The Bosun chatted with Dan about the project, his love of the sea and his thoughts on the Kydd books. Bosun: Please give the Chronicle readers a little bit of your background and explain what drew you to the sea? Dan: My parents were both teachers so we had summers off; we always had a sailboat and the whole family would cruise the waters of Long Island Sound. After college I went to sea with the US Coast Guard, then was master of a cruise ship sailing the waters of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. For three years I was Administrator of the Alaska Board of Marine Pilots. What drew me to the sea? The maritime world is really all that I know. I have been the master of cruise ships, tugs, research vessels and expedition mega-yachts. I have been out there in mountainous seas trying to survive one minute at a time and I've watched the albatross skim the water in our wake 1000 miles from the nearest land. I wouldn't know what else to do! Bosun: Can you tell us some of the features of your portal? Dan: The first part of Monster Maritime is the Knowledgebase with 4 main categories containing many subcategories. This is user driven and with increased membership I hope will become the largest repository of maritime information on the web. The next piece of the puzzle is the Marketplace and Ship's Chandlery. I am most excited about the home page (blog page) where professional mariners and maritime enthusiasts can come together and share experiences. Bosun: Who else is in on your team? Dan: The lovely and talented Michelle Twohig, my wife. Michelle runs her own web design business, too. I landed "jelly side up" when I met Michelle! Bosun: I know you enjoy Julian's books. How did you discover the Kydd series? Dan: I believe I first picked up a copy of KYDD in a ship's chandlery in Seattle called Captain's Nautical Supplies. I remember being drawn in from the first page and reading KYDD in almost one setting. I have enjoyed all of Julian's books equally and do not have a favourite. However, I was particularly pleased with the dramatic ending of ARTEMIS. To fight for the King in far parts of the world, survive battles, storms, bad food and heartbreak only to have your ship dashed on the rocks by incompetent officers when you are just about home... Now that's a good story! Bosun: On your site you've published an account of your 1992 journey from Hawaii to Alaska using just the techniques practised by the ancient Polynesian navigators. That must have been a fascinating experience? Dan: It was certainly an intellectual and a spiritual challenge. I am not aware of anyone repeating this experiment the way I did it; I doubt that there is anybody in the military since then who has been able to talk their commanding officer into letting him "play with his ship" as I did. [Dan's account is titled "The Polynesian Navigation Experiment".] www.monstermaritime.com ==================== 7 ASK JULIAN The face of Kydd Julian has had quite a few emails about the covers of the UK editions of the books, among them one from Graeme Rodgers of New Zealand, who asked: "Is the photograph of Kydd on the covers the same person over a period of time or are they different people?" Julian responds: "Amazingly, it is the same person, very cleverly 'aged' with makeup, special period clothing, and studio lighting. When Hodder changed the look of the cover a few years back, their design/art department held an audition for the face of Kydd, and the young man who we see on the covers, I think, is a great choice. They then brought him into the studio for a photographic shoot - but due to contractual stipulations, I regret I am not able to divulge his name!" --- The "Ask Julian" section is proving one of the most popular in the newsletter, keep your questions coming... =================== Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++