<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 4, May 2007 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! This issue is dedicated to the Captain and ship's company of HMS "Southampton" who recently invited Julian and Kathy to join them for two days aboard their ship - and a taste of sea life today! 1 DISPATCHES 2 MUSIC OF THE SEA 3 HMS SOUTHAMPTON 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 GEORGIAN JOTTINGS 7 ASK JULIAN 8 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Maritime heroes Would you like to nominate someone for a special mention in the Chronicle? One of our overseas Shipmates told Julian about Les Quilty, who was recently awarded a special certificate of thanks from the Maritime Volunteer Service's patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Mr Quilty, who lives on the south coast of England, played a key role in setting up the MVS, which carries out a wide range of tasks at sea, in harbours and along the British coast. Although he has now retired from executive duties, Mr Quilty still maintains an active association with the MVS. We salute him! www.mvs.org.uk + Melbourne-Osaka Congratulations to all the intrepid sailors in this race! More from Shipmate Bill Paine next month. www.osakacup.com + Feedback We always appreciate Shipmates getting in touch about the books, the Chronicle, the website - and nauticalia in general - please keep your correspondence coming! Among the emails following the May Chronicle:- > Roger Marsh enjoyed the piece on naming ships of war and reminded us of a quote from Captain Marryat's "Peter Simple":- "No name can be too fine for a pretty girl, or a good frigate..." > From David Baggot: "I was interested to read about Rick Wehmeyer and his trip in the tall ship "Tenacious". My daughter Rachel and her disabled husband flew to Bermuda to join the ship for the trip back to the UK. Small world, isn't it?" > And after seeing the piece on pennants and flags, Commander Steven Montgomery commented that the former Royal Australian Navy Board pennant (the Board was dis- established in the mid 70s) lives on in another guise... It is now flown whenever the Chief of Naval Staff is resident. + Writer of the Year update Every year Julian donates a signed copy of his latest work to the winner of the Writer of the Year Award at Sydney's Macarthur School. Last year's winner, Amy Swan, is now studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Wollongong University. Amy says of COMMAND: "The entire book was a new experience for me... it was refreshing to read an action- based, 'guy' type of novel as opposed to a 'girly' one which focusses on the complexities of relationships, with little action beyond the claustrophobic social sphere... COMMAND evoked the health and vigour of the wide open ocean." [There's a picture of Amy in the Shipmates Album on the website.] + Online plaudits Reviews of all the books in the Kydd series have been posted on the FIRE Project portal. You can read them on the website. -> Series -> Online reviews + Shipmates Ahoy! We never cease to be amazed at the varied range of careers and interests of Shipmates. Dave Hudson is a consultant forensic auditor, whose hobby is fishing and whose skill at making lures is reflected in the fact that over the years he has been asked to tie an incredible 600,000 flies for stores across the US! + Down under feature Australian journalist Frank Walker interviewed Julian recently and there was a full-page article in the April 1 issue of the "Sun Herald". + Cutty Sark A special temporary exhibition adjacent to the ship is now open to enable visitors to learn more about the unique conservation project the Grand Old Lady is currently undergoing. www.cuttysark.org.uk ==================== 2 SEA MUSIC When Julian and Kathy were in the Channel Islands in January on location research they were presented with a CD of traditional sea songs and rousing shanties by an all male group called GU10. The group was formed in 2005 and consists of John Mountford, Simon Howitt, Richard Collas, Neil Archer, Dean De La Mare, Dominic Chubb, Fraser Hiddelston, Peter Falla, Ray Watts and Tristan Boscher. There's more information (including song lyrics) on their website. www.gu-10.com We have two copies of the CD to give away to Shipmates - see CONTESTS If you would like to purchase a copy of the CD, send a cheque for GBP10 made out to Mr PP Falla, to GU10 c/o La Tonniole, Farras Road, Forest, Guernsey, GY8 0DX. (UK addresses only.) And if there is any music about Neptune's realm that you feel particularly matches a passage in one of Julian's books, we'd love to hear from you. There's a paperback of your choice for any suggestions we publish... ==================== 3 FEATURE When Commander Richard Morris extended an invitation to Julian and Kathy to go to sea for a few days aboard HMS "Southampton", they were thrilled to accept. On April 5, Sub Lt Drummond met the Stockwins at the Devonport Dockyard and escorted them out to the ship, anchored in Plymouth Sound. Shortly after that, it was "Anchors aweigh"! Then it was a tour of the ship, with Lt. Emery, the deputy weapons engineering officer. "Southampton" is a Type 42 Destroyer. These form the backbone of the Royal Navy's anti-air capability. "Southampton" and her company of 270 had just completed a strenuous series of working- up exercises prior to going on an eight-month deployment to the Caribbean, South America and the Falklands Islands. (The ship left Portsmouth on April 23.) Julian gave a talk to a packed audience of ratings and officers. He spoke of looking back on his days in the Navy as one of the happiest times of his life. He also talked about the role of training in preparing a sailor for dealing with the unexpected. Julian described how this "just clicked in" for him personally when the ship in which he was serving, HMAS "Melbourne", collided with HMAS "Voyager". Although 82 men died, many more could have perished and Julian believes he owes his life to the many boring "for exercise, for exercise" drills he took part in - and which then became so real to him that night. Later, it was dinner with the Captain and his heads of department, followed by drinks in the Officers' Wardroom. Julian takes up the story: "It had been some time since I had last been at sea in a naval vessel but it didn't take long for it to come flooding back! One of the things that most struck me in this voyage was really how little the way the Navy works has changed since Kydd's day - the same division of the working day into watches, the imperatives of duty, the divisional system for looking after the welfare of the men are just a few examples. I could go on at length! One of the most memorable aspects of the voyage for me was coming into Portsmouth in the early morning, and passing the seamarks that Kydd would have known so well. In the eighteenth century, Portsmouth was a very busy harbour, all had to be done with just the power of the wind. Even though "Southampton" is powered by giant gas turbines, the exercise of seamanship of the highest order was still called for in docking. I was privileged to witness the tricky manoeuvre of taking the vessel in astern to her alongside berth tightly between two others. Commander Morris and everyone aboard certainly made Kathy and myself feel very much at home in their ship - and we wish them Godspeed." --- Coming in a future issue, a new department - "The Royal Navy Through the Ages". We'll trace the development of various aspects of the Service, starting with health at sea. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Over a barrel Today, if you have someone "over a barrel", they are in a position where they have little choice over their fate. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. Before the development of modern resuscitation techniques a near-drowned person was placed face down over a barrel, which was then rolled vigorously back and forth in an attempt to revive him by draining the water from his lungs. The victim was not given any say in this treatment; his survival - or not - was out of his hands... ==================== 5 CONTESTS Emails to Bosun@Julianstockwin.com. Deadline May 25. Please include your full postal address and put MAY CONTESTS in the subject line. For a chance to win a CD of "All at Sea", email your answer to this question:- The group chose the name GU10 - aside from postcodes and electric lightbulbs, where else would you be likely to find GU10 on display? First two correct entries drawn will win a CD each. --- Here's this month's Lucky Dip question. Can you name the preservative used on standing rigging in Kydd's day? Congratulations to Bruce MacDonald, who won last month's prize, a genuine 18th century sea artefact is in the post to him. (The dedication of Nelson's own words that Julian chose for KYDD was, of course, "Aft the more honour, forward the better man!") And a copy of Conway Maritime's "Send a Gunboat" is on its way to Roger Partridge, for correctly identifying the surviving sloop of the Victorian navy in Chatham Dockyard as HMS "Gannet". ==================== 6 GEORGIAN JOTTINGS The third is our feature on eighteenth-century chroniclers. Lady Nugent's Journal. One of the primary sources that Julian consulted during his research for the third book in the Kydd series, SEAFLOWER, was "Lady Nugent's Journal". The book was written during Lady Nugent's stay on Jamaica from 1801- 1807 as the wife of the Governor General, and is a fascinating insight into life in the Caribbean at that time. This year, particular attention is being paid to the history of slavery, and Nugent's diary gives a vivid picture of slavery in Jamaica at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and also the workings of the sugar plantations upon which the economy was so dependent. Here is an excerpt written shortly after the Nugents' arrival: "Came in sight of the Barbadoes. The first appearance of the island is quite beautiful... Early in the morning anchored in Carlisle Bay. We were immediately surrounded by naked men and women covered with beads... Landed with all the usual fuss and bustle attending 'Great People'... Gave a grand dinner to the captain and officers of the frigate... Had my own two maids to prepare my room for the night. Alas, my repose was disturbed by the large beetles and centipedes that were discovered about the bed. General Nugent killed a huge centipede by dropping hot wax upon him." Lady Nugent's diary was not originally intended for publication, but for her pleasure and that of her children. Two volumes were printed in London in 1839 for private circulation. In 1906, a single volume was printed, with a number of subsequent re-printings. The book can be found via second-hand book dealers and on some internet sites, such as Questia, to read on-line. [The first Georgian Jottings item was in the Dec/Jan issue.] ==================== 7 ASK JULIAN Dick Sleight, who works at the Seattle Pacific University, says the Aubrey/Maturin books prompted him to begin drinking red wine, and he now "manages to keep his own Captain's stores well stocked". After reading about the plain tableware and mugs used by the sailors on the mess deck in KYDD, Dick wanted to know what the officers used, and how breakages, especially of glassware in bad weather, were prevented. Julian replies: "It was not until the mid nineteenth century that official supplies of crockery and tableware were made available for the wardroom, and another 40 years before a system for supplying these to seamen was instituted. In Kydd's day, both the sailors and the captain and officers had to find their own crockery and tableware. The situation did vary between ships, thus in KYDD, the sailors had very basic items but in ARTEMIS, there are 'Real china plates instead of squares of dark wood, a pewter spoon and even a fork.' The officers generally partook of their meals with linen tablecloths, silver, good china and glassware. These, they provided themselves or purchased communally. Each diner had his own personal servant, whose duty was to stand behind the officer and wait on him. Obviously there were breakages in bad weather conditions, but these were not as much as we might expect. The glasses were carefully stored in special cabinets to protect them and often the tablecloth was dampened with water to stop them sliding about. As well, glasses were never filled over halfway! =================== 8 NEW ON THE WEB www.JulianStockwin.com Click on the NEW button on the home page to view a summary of the latest additions. =================== Coming next month:- Tales from Shipmates who sailed in modern tallships and stuntman Tom Morga on his life in historical nautical movies. Plus a contest for a superb print by one of Julian's favourite maritime artists, John Chancellor - and all the usual favourites... Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++