<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E The newsletter of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' Network <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> March 2008 In this issue - news of the series around the world; the "schoolboy" who dominated British politics for much of Kydd's early years - and more great prizes and giveaways! 1 DISPATCHES 2 THE GEORGIANS 3 JOTTINGS FROM JAPAN 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD 7 MORE MAGNIFICENT MODELS 8 ASK JULIAN ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Stunning new cover design! Beginning with the UK paperback of KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER, Hodder & Stoughton launches a new look for the covers of the Kydd series. Says editor Alex Bonham: "Julian Stockwin is a master of recreating the sea and life on board those old ships-of-the-line. Geoff Hunt's paintings have always looked beautiful but with this book (which I think is Julian's best yet) we have briefed him to focus on the dramatic interplay of sailors and the sea. I think the atmosphere and drama in the painting fits the novels perfectly." The paperback will be in UK stores in May; Australia/New Zealand and Canada a month later. If you would like a free Kydd Postcard Pack, which includes this new cover, see CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS. + The Chronicle grows apace There are now 3000 subscribers to this newsletter and the list continues to grow. We really appreciate all your feedback and comments, so do keep those emails coming! Last month's issue generated a record number of responses; here's just a small selection:- On lignum vitae- Peter Buckingham pointed out that this extremely hard wood is in use by cricket umpires all over the world as the "heavy bails" replacements when strong winds blow the normal bails off the tops of cricket stumps. And John McGowan let us know that a ship in which he sailed for five years, the USCGC Barque Eagle, (originally the "Horst Wessel", launched in Germany in 1936) continues to use lignum vitae in her shaft bearings to this day. On naval schools- Denis Pepper attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Kent. Founded in 1701 (and still going strong), with its proximity to the Chatham Royal Dockyard one of the aims of the school was to "encourage [its pupils] for the sea service and arts and callings leading and relating thereto". Denis went on to become a naval dental surgeon, and is very proud that his son Thomas is now following in his footsteps. On seagoing pets- Tony Gibson remembers Alphonse, a seafaring skunk aboard HMS "Saintes", a Battle class destroyer in which he served. Alphonse was rated Ordinary Seaman (complete with pay book and hammock) and had a place on the watch and station bill as ship's mascot. He enjoyed a diet of raw meat, fish and milk. Fortunately for the crew, Alphonse's scent glands had been removed! [There was a book written about Alphonse by his owner Lieutenant David Gunn, but it is now out of print.] + Tallshipsfest For lovers of tallships festivals, France's Rouen Armada, from July 5 to 14, promises a spectacular display of some of the world's most magnificent sailing vessels. The last Armada attracted nine million visitors! + Try this one... Apologies for the broken link in last month's issue. Ken Erichson offers an alternate forum for Shipmates interested in Napoleonic role-playing games. + McBooks presses running hot This month Julian's US publisher McBooks launches COMMAND in trade paperback, and will soon also be bringing out the first three titles in the series in this format, beginning with KYDD in June. By the end of August, McBooks will offer KYDD, ARTEMIS, SEAFLOWER, QUARTERDECK, MUTINY and COMMAND. Subsequent titles will be published on a yearly basis, in both hardback and trade paperback. + More plaudits for THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER Says Shipmate Peter Jones: "Just a short missive to tell you how enjoyable your latest instalment of the Kydd saga is, I am in awe of your skill in bringing the times and events to bear in the ongoing tale of Thomas Kydd. Long may he continue to voyage through your excellent penmanship!" These sentiments were echoed by Larry Streuber: "I just finished THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER and it was fantastic. I can't wait to see what awaits Mr. Kydd..." and Paul Williams enthused: "I have just finished the eighth book - WONDERFUL, as all of the Kydd books have been!" + Julian in a Time Capsule... It's not every author who can boast of his work being included in a Time Capsule! A copy of MUTINY has just been buried in the structure of the new library and community resource centre in Ivybridge, Devon. As well as now being Julian's home town, Ivybridge is mentioned in this book, and MUTINY was also the first title that Julian wrote there when he moved from Surrey in 2002. ==================== 2 THE GEORGIANS "A kingdom trusted to a schoolboy..." + Pitt the Younger William Pitt was a child prodigy, admitted to Cambridge at age 14. He was elected to parliament at 21 and was 24 when he became prime minister. A popular ditty said it was "a sight to make all nations stand and stare, a kingdom trusted to a schoolboy's care." However Pitt went on to confound the critics and became one of Britain's longest-serving prime ministers ever (nearly nineteen years in that office). He led the country during some of its most momentous times at home and abroad, including the aftermath of the American War of Independence; Union with Ireland; and the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Julian brings Pitt to the pages of the series right up front in Chapter one of KYDD where we see the prime minister goaded in parliament by Edmund Burke about threats to the nation's commercial interests. "Pitt slouched further down in his seat. What did they know of the real situation?... He leaned to the man on his left... 'Desire the Admiralty to make a showing off the French coast...'" After suffering from an attack of gout in his teens Pitt was prescribed a bottle of port a day as a cure. Henry Addington commented: "Mr Pitt liked a glass of port very well, and a bottle better." It must be remembered, though, that the Georgian age was a hard-drinking time, with two or three bottles being consumed over dinner almost the mark of a gentleman. Pitt died at the age of 46, on January 23, 1806, probably from liver disease. His last words were reported to have been: "Oh my country! How I love my country!" although some sources contend he said, "How I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies." He never married and on his death Pitt had debts totalling £40,000. Parliament settled the sum and he was buried with full honours in Westminster Abbey. ==================== 3 JOTTINGS FROM JAPAN A good translation of a book is as much an art as a science, especially when the two languages in question are as different as English and Japanese. Yoko Ohmori recently finished translating TENACIOUS into Japanese and it comes out this month. We caught up with Ms Ohmori, who has now translated the first six titles of the Kydd series. Bosun: Have you found any particular challenges with translating TENACIOUS? Yoko: In this book Admiral Nelson talks with Kydd directly. I had to decide which type of speech to use for addressing someone as well-known as Nelson as we have many different formats in Japanese, each denoting certain characteristics of a person - Watashi, Watakushi, Boku, Ore, Washi, Asshi, Yo etc. And as well, I had to differentiate in the way I translated references to Napoleon and Hamilton, the former reflecting elements of his character as emperor; the latter to do with his age. Bosun: I know you have a very good knowledge of tall ships, and have sailed in them. Do you still learn things from Julian's books? Yoko: Of course! In every book so far I have found new things, particularly in navigation and tallship manoeuvring techniques. Bosun: Do you have a favourite book so far? Yoko: Yes, I think it must be TENACIOUS. I particularly liked the signals with the washing! Bosun: What other projects have you been working on lately? Yoko: I have been writing a series for a magazine about Japanese sailors from ancient times to the Meiji era. I also do monthly reviews about sea-related books for various magazines. Bosun: Is there anything you'd like to add? Yoko: I'm delighted to see Julian's works are becoming more and more popular with each new title. On one popular Japanese website he's now ranked as the best in the genre. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS To lose one's bearings Today, if we say someone has lost his bearings, he does not know where he is. The saying is often used metaphorically to indicate mental bewilderment. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. A ship's position when in sight of land was determined by the intersection of the compass bearings of two objects ashore. If one of the objects was obscured, those aboard would have lost their bearings and the position of the ship would be unknown. ==================== 5 CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS Deadline: March 25 Don't forget to include your full postal address. + The Kydd Postcard Pack Just send your name and address details, along with a first class stamp, to PO Box 76, Ivybridge, Devon, PL210XH (UK only; for overseas Shipmates there is a small postage charge payable via Paypal. Email for details.) + A one-year subscription to "Model Shipwright" To go into the hat for a chance to win, who is the editor of this publication? + COMMAND US trade paperback If you'd like to enter the contest for a copy of the trade paperback of COMMAND, published this month by McBooks Press, how many pages does the book run to in this edition? + Kydd Kits We have two up for grabs - they comprise a "starter" paperback; a mounted signed photograph of Julian and a genuine 200-year old musket ball. Just email us the year in which the first book in the series was published. + Winners all! Last month's contests were very popular - the stunning print of the cover of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER painted by Geoff Hunt RSMA, produced by Art Marine, goes to Rod Lacey; and a hardback UK edition of COMMAND is in the post to Brian Kitchen. ==================== 6 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD + Elm Elm, fir and beech accounted for about ten percent of the timbers used in a man-o'-war in Kydd's day (oak was by far the major timber, around 90%). Shipwrights valued elm, a fibrous, dense and tough timber, for two main properties - durability under water and unsplitability when nails were driven in. Given its resistance to rotting when wet, it is not surprising that aboard ship elm's main use was in the construction of the keel. It was also used for the false keel, a structure fitted under the main keel to preserve it from being rubbed and also if the ship struck ground, the false keel would give way, hopefully saving the main keel. The garboard, the lowermost strake of the hull planking, was often fashioned from elm, too. As were bees, bibbs and caps (wooden devices used to enable extensions for various objects such as the bowsprit extended by the jibboom). Elm also was often used for the case for tackle blocks. Before the block making factory was opened in Portsmouth in the early years of the nineteenth century, all blocks were made by hand. Ship's figureheads were carved out of elm until the early eighteenth century when it became the practice to use oak and other woods. Elm tree pumps were found in ships. In "Victory" two such pumps were located at the bottom of the main mast and were used for supplying seawater for washing down the decks or fighting fires. They operated in a similar way to a simple village pump, and could supply 25 gallons of water per minute. A familiar sight in the rural landscape, elm trees were usually felled in the winter when they contained no sap. Ashore, as well as in pieces of furniture, elm had a long history of use for such diverse items as water pipes (much of London's supply in Kydd's day was delivered via bored-out elm trees), coffins and wheels. Next month: the masting timbers. ==================== 7 MORE MAGNIFICENT MODELS... Of course we don't know exactly how many of Julian's readers are also model makers but we do know that quite a number are hooked on the fascinating hobby of crafting ships in miniature. Shipmate Don Westley is an active sailor who has been pleasure boating on midwest US lakes for many years. He also enjoys modelling and his latest model is a Cruizer class brig ("very similar to HMS 'Teazer'"), over two metres long and designed to be radio controlled. It was built from a kit manufactured by Steel, Chapman & Hutchinson of California. Says Don "A winter season was consumed in the completion of this brig, and sailing trials were begun in late summer. So far, she has proved to be a smart sailor but cold weather came too quickly for me to have much experience with her. Rig refinements continued over winter to provide improved transportability and agility in the water. Deck detailing will continue indefinitely. That is the wonderful character of these ships - they are never finished!" You can see a photo of Don and his splendid brig on the website in the Shipmates Page. For Shipmates wishing to learn more, Don recommends a website forum on radio controlled models. Have you taken a look at the build log of John Thompson's "Teazer" model on the website recently? It's regularly updated and includes detailed photographs of each stage of the project. Julian says: "She's turning into a very handsome vessel indeed!" -> Shipmates -> Building Teazer For a chance to win a one-year subscription to "Model Shipwright" magazine, see CONTESTS. This quarterly journal is one of the world's leading publications in the field, appealing not just to model makers: Julian finds his back issue collection a useful research resource for checking various ship details. Coming next month, we have a feature on Marius Moolman and his virtual "Artemis", a computer simulation of the famous frigate... =================== 8 ASK JULIAN Phil Cherry wanted to know about ensigns at sea, specifically when and why the present system - of White Ensign on a Royal Navy warship, Red Ensign on a British merchant vessel and Blue Ensign on a Trinity House vessel - was adopted. Julian explains: "In 1864 the organisation of the British fleet into coloured squadrons was discarded, and the White Ensign became the sole ensign of the Royal Navy. In some ways the Red Ensign might have seemed a more obvious choice, as it was the ensign of the senior squadron, historically. However this would not have worked as the presenting problem was the potential confusion as to whether a ship was a merchantman (signified by a Red Ensign with the Union Jack in the canton) or a member of the red squadron. I think another reason that contributed to the choice was Admiral Nelson's preference for the White Ensign as a symbol of purity. If we look back in history, at the time of Elizabeth 1 the three squadrons of her fleet were denoted by a red flag for the admiral's squadron, a white for the vice admiral's and a blue for the rear admiral's. Later, as the number of ships in the fleet grew, and the three squadrons into which they were divided became larger, three admirals were allocated to each squadron (based on the line of battle) - a full admiral in command; a vice admiral as his second, taking the van (forward); and a rear admiral as third in command in the rear. The squadrons ranked in the order red, white and blue and admirals took rank according to the colour of their squadron. (Some were promoted rear-admirals, but to no particular squadron. They were known colloquially as yellow admirals.) Generally - and there were many variations - the white squadron controlled the waters around Britain itself, the coasts of France and the Mediterranean; the red squadron had the rest of the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, as well as the northern South Atlantic; the blue had the rest of the South Atlantic and all of the Pacific and Indian Oceans." --- We're offering a special mystery sea gift for every ASK JULIAN item published this year! =================== Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ And by the way, there's still just a few copies of THE PRIVATEER'S REVENGE COLLECTOR'S SET not yet reserved. If you're interested, we recommend you email Admin@Julianstockwin.com now to avoid disappointment! See last month's issue or the website for details. The Set is priced at GBP19.99 plus p&p; payment is not required until closer to publication in October.