<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 ++ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> : Connect with Julian on Twitter and Facebook : All Shipmates are cordially invited to become Friends and Followers. Check out the special contests and prizes there, too... Spread the word! ============================================================================= November/December 2010 It's the Bumper issue! Fabulous prizes, our annual quiz, news of Julian's next book, fascinating sea lore and more... 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 QUIZ 4 HISTORIC SHIPS 5 'TIS TO GLORY WE STEER... 6 CONTESTS 7 SHIPMATES, AHOY! 8 NELSON IN... 9 THE SNR AT 100 10 QUIZ ANSWERS ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + For your diary! The next book in the Kydd series (no. 12) will be titled CONQUEST and is scheduled to be out in June next year. It's set in Cape Colony, South Africa. + "Victory" model Seventeen years' in the making, it's an amazing 1:66 scale model carved from an actual piece of the ship's timber. + Round the buoy, again... We know quite a few of Julian's fans enjoy re-reading the Kydd books. David Cornes told us: "I read VICTORY twice, once quickly to follow the action as fast as possible, then more slowly and carefully to appreciate the storytelling." Do let us know if you enjoy multiple readings of the Kydd books and if there are any you especially enjoyed on a repeat session. + Rare letter from the lower deck + Stockwin to Go! Some great gift ideas for Christmas. And with every VICTORY Tote bought, while stocks last, there's a special free deck-by-deck guide to the famous ship. + More praise for VICTORY From the prestigious American Library Association journal Booklist:- "Fans of the Thomas Kydd series, which has seen its hero go from a young wig maker to commander of a British naval vessel squaring off against Napol?on's invading forces, will flock to this eleventh instalment and with good reason: the books, which incorporate actual historical events, are well-written mixtures of high-seas adventure and character-based drama. In this novel, which retells the Battle of Trafalgar from a new perspective, Kydd is instrumental in Horatio Nelson's victory in one of history's most famous sea battles. It's impossible not to enjoy the book - even newcomers to the series will be caught up in the spectacle, in Stockwin's colorful characters." ==================== 2 BOOKSHELF Here's this month's pick of recent salty publications: "First Rate" By Rif Winfield Published by Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848320710 Author Winfield has had a varied career in shipping, computer programming and retail management, as well as an active involvement in politics. He's written for Jane's Fighting Ships and provided extensive material for David Lyon's monumental "Sailing Navy Ships." His first naval book was "The 50-gun Ship". "First Rate" is a magnificent volume, celebrating the greatest warships of the Age of Sail. Winfield traces the development of the First Rate from the "Prince Royal" of 1610 to the final manifestation of the wooden capital ship in the 1850s with the steam-assisted "Victoria" and "Howe". Among the many fascinating illustrations is a diagram showing every replacement plank used during repair of HMS "Victory". We have a copy to give away! See CONTESTS. --- "Young Nelsons" by D.A.B. Ronald Published by Osprey. ISBN: 9781846033605 Drawing on letters, poems and first-hand accounts, this book tells the fascinating (and sometimes poignant) stories of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson himself went to sea at twelve and at the Battle of Trafalgar there were hundreds of "young Nelsons", among them 13-year-old Norwich Duff, who was aboard "Mars" and witnessed the death of her brave captain - a man who was also his father. It fell to the lad to have towrite to his mother reporting the tragic event. One famous "young Nelson" was Prince William Henry, who was sent to sea at age 13, starting a career that would span 11 years. The book has fascinating details about how the future king (William IV) was treated aboard ship. --- "The Mariners Book of Days 2011" by Peter H. Spectre Published by Sheridan ISBN: 9781574092936 It's been going since 1992, an entertaining and informative nautical desk diary/calendar. On each right hand page is a day by day accounting of historical events and space for personal notes and appointments; on the opposite page is a selection of fascinating maritime facts and lore. We've a copy to give away! See CONTESTS. ==================== 3 QUIZ Kydd's specialised seafaring vocabulary included many hundreds of terms, some specific to the sea, others adapted from ashore. The words below may look like a list of animals but in the Age of Sail they were very familiar to Jack Tar as part of his world, and had special nautical meanings. See how many you can get right; just match the letters to the words. Answers at the end of the Chronicle. Award yourself a tot if you get 8 or more correct! Worm Fish Horse Bear Crow Fox Monkey Lizard Cat Mouse A. Length of rope with an iron thimble at one end used as an informal block B. Footrope extending under the yard for the topmen to stand on while handling sail C. A working of yarns and parcelling around a rope to raise the diameter of a rope to prevent it passing through a block D. A kind of corkscrew on a long rod at every gun, for withdrawing live charges and burning remnants after firing E. An improvised line worked with old rope-yarns twisted together, used for weaving mats and paunches F. Large block of stone fitted with ropes, it was pulled to and fro across a deck to scour it G. Small but strong vessel used in the coal trade H. An emergency measure for a sprung (broken) yard, two capstan bars would be bound opposite each other and seized to the yard I. An iron lever used to shift the carriage of a gun bodily, the only way to train a gun in Kydd's day J. Small wooden kid for transporting grog to the mess --- And here's a bonus question for two points: What is the connection between Lassie, the canine movie star, and the sea? ==================== 4 FEATURE Around the world a number of historically important ships are being threatened with consignment to Davy Jones's Locker. Tragically, it looks as though USS "Olympia" will not be saved. She is the world's oldest floating steel warship and the sole surviving naval ship of the Spanish-American War. "Olympia" served as Admiral Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay, which marked the U.S.'s emergence as a world naval power. However there are some Good News stories, among them:- * "City of Adelaide" The oldest composite clipper surviving in the world, she was purpose built to serve the passenger trade and for nearly a quarter of a century from 1864 played an important role in the development of the colony of South Australia. Plans are under-way to preserve the vessel on a land-based maritime precinct at Port Adelaide in time for the South Australian capital's 175th anniversary of settlement next year. * "Bonhomme Richard" American and French navies are joining forces in the search for "Bonhomme Richard", one of America's first warships, which sank off the East Yorkshire coast. The Ocean Technology Foundation has spent the last five years looking for the 300-year-old vessel and is confident this could be the year it is found. The ship, given to the Americans by the French, was captained by the legendary John Paul Jones. * "Hermione" In July 1997, the Hermione-La Fayette association embarked for a tremendous challenge : the reconstruction of "Hermione" frigate - the ship which brought La Fayette to join the American insurgents in the struggle for their independence in 1780. And while we're on the subject, two of the Royal Navy's fleet of historic warships have been on the receiving end of high-tech help. At HMS "Victory" they've used laser beams to generate millions of highly accurate measurements of her hull and fittings to produce 3D models of various features of the ship that will be invaluable in restoration work. And the foremast and mainmast of the World War II cruiser HMS "Belfast" have been replaced using specialist software to generate specifications not shown on the original plans. ==================== 5 QUIBERON BAY "Come, cheer up, my lads! Tis to glory we steer To add something more to this wonderful year... Heart of oak are our ships Jolly tars are our men... We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again" - Heart of Oak November 20 is the anniversary of the Battle of Quiberon Bay, the turning point in the Seven Years War where the heroic actions of Admiral Edward Hawke established a tradition of uncompromising naval warfare. "Heart of Oak" was written to mark the successful defeat of the French. Some historians have claimed that the Battle of Quiberon Bay was as significant as Nelson's victory at Trafalgar and a case can certainly be made for this. Britain in 1759 was not well defended with virtually no regular troops at home, and the threat of French invasion was very real. When the British fleet under Admiral Hawke fell on the French ships of Admiral Conflans they were on their way to rendezvous with 20,000 invasion troopships gathered at the mouth of the Loire. The battle itself was fought in atrocious weather. The French, with their local knowledge of the area, assumed the British would not follow them into the treacherous shoals of Quiberon Bay on France's Biscay coast near St Nazaire. Hawke's master urgently warned him of the peril ahead, to which Hawke replied, "You have done your duty in pointing out to me the danger. Now lay me alongside the enemy flagship." Hawke pursued them under full sail, and the French ships were destroyed, captured, run aground or scattered with the loss of only two British ships, a small price to pay for the annihilation of the Brest fleet and the end to the threat of invasion. The victorious fleet however was on short canny, and the sailors expressed their feelings in this dit: "Ere Hawke did bang Mounseer Conflang You sent us beef and beer Now Mounseer's beat We've nought to eat Since you have nought to fear" ==================== 6 CONTESTS + We've a veritable treasure trove of book prizes this month:- "First Rate" by Rif Winfield "Mariners Book of Days" by Peter Spectre "Tall Ships" by John L Coombes "The Seafaring Dictionary" by David S Blackmore Which book would you like to win? Here's the questions:- "First Rate" : how many guns does a First Rate carry? "Book of Days" : when will CONQUEST be published? "Tall Ships" : where is HMS Victory now? "Seafaring Dictionary" : name another book by the same publisher that Julian has reviewed on the website? Emails to by December 10, with "BUMPER ISSUE" in the subject line. Please include your full postal address. You may enter more than one contest. --- Congratulations to last month's winners: a copy of STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY is in the post to Keren Tolhurst and "Royal Tars" was won by Bernard Pedler. And the winner of our latest monthly draw of all subscribers to the Chronicle was Inga Andersen. Entry is automatic for all subscribers, old and new, so you might be lucky next month... ==================== 7 SHIPMATES, AHOY! Thanks to all the Shipmates who got in touch recently. Julian loves to hear from his readers, and why not send a .JPG for inclusion in the Shipmates Album? --- Last month we mentioned an 87-year old reader, Vincent Treadgold. Lindsey Little, who was featured in the article on the Royal Marines in that issue, modestly omitted to mention that he was ninety-three! We're not trying to start a bidding war, but any advance on that for Julian's oldest reader? ==================== 8 NELSON IN... During his lifetime, Nelson travelled all over the world. This is the first in a series of articles looking at the connections with various places he visited. + Plymouth Commanding the entrance to the English Channel, and with one of the finest natural harbours in the world, Plymouth's value was recognised as early as the 13th century and by Kydd's day was one of England's major naval bases. Horatio Nelson received a huge welcome when he arrived in Plymouth towards the end of 1800 to take up the command of "San Josef" which had undergone extensive repairs to her masts at Dock (as Devonport was then known). His actions at the Battle of St Vincent in 1797 had made him lauded throughout the country. During the battle, Nelson, in "Captain", captured two Spanish men of war, "San Josef" and "San Nicolas". He left the line of battle (an unheard of act for a junior officer) to prevent the two halves of the Spanish squadron from rejoining and engaged and boarded "San Josef" then, using that ship as what became known as "Nelson's patent boarding bridge" captured the neighbouring ship "San Nicholas". Nelson himself led the boarders with a cry of "Westminster Abbey or Glorious Victory!". So, as one of the heroes of the age, his reception in Plymouth is not surprising. He was given the freedom of the borough and a contemporary description of the scene reported: "The streets were resplendent with uniforms, and he drove through the delirious crowds, in the full uniform of his office, blazing stars and golden medals on his breast. Cannon boomed, the air was rent with acclamations and sailors maimed and others sound in limb - his companions in many a fight - threw their caps aloft and struggled though the white and scarlet lines to clasp his remaining hand. Cries of 'God Bless Your Honour' were raised from a thousand throats as the hero passed into the Mayoralty House in Notte Street; and within and without the cheering was thunderous." That was 22 January 1801 and in the two or three weeks before he left the port there was hardly a day on which Nelson was not honoured in some way. --- A very small piece of "San Josef" survives to this day - a quoin from a wooden gun carriage. It can be found among the Valhalla figurehead collection in Tresco Abbey Gardens in the Isles of Scilly. (And as an aside, Thomas Masterman Hardy once lived in Plymouth, at 156 Durnford Street. Kydd and Renzi rented a half mansion in the same street in THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER.) =================== 9 HAPPY BIRTHDAY SNR! This year the Society for Nautical Research celebrates its centenary. In December 1910 the first Annual General Meeting of the SNR took place. The society continues to preserve maritime artefacts, supports research into maritime subjects and publishes "The Mariner's Mirror", the world's pre-eminent scholarly journal devoted to maritime history. The SNR has played a vital role in the preservation of HMS "Victory", the development of the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth and the creation of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Annual membership of the society not only helps with their vital work but offers some special benefits: * four issues a year of "Mariner's Mirror" * Access to Members' Area of the website. This contains news, a forum for discussion and research queries, member publications and a fully searchable list of the titles of Mariner's Mirror articles since 1911 * information about conferences, courses and research grants in our newsletter * attendance at Society meetings and the annual dinner on board HMS Victory * free admission to HMS Victory in Portsmouth * free admission to the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth A history of the SNR has been published this year, "The Mirror of the Seas" by Hugh Murphy and Derek J Oddy. ISBN 978 0 902387 01 0 =================== 10 QUIZ ANSWERS See how you went! Worm = D Fish = H Horse = B Bear = F Crow = I Fox = E Monkey = J Lizard = A Cat = G Mouse = C Bonus question: What is the connection between the canine movie star Lassie and the sea? On New Year's Day, 1915, HMS "Formidable" was torpedoed and sank. Some seventy survivors crammed into her pinnace and desperately fought to keep afloat in high seas and strong winds. Two days later they were spotted by a Miss Gwen Harding walking along Marine Parade at Lyme Regis in Dorset. By this time fourteen had died and been buried at sea but a rescue operation found fifty-one still alive (three of whom died after being rescued) along with six dead bodies who had not been consigned to the Deep. The corpses were laid out on the floor of the Pilot Boat Inn, where the landlady's collie dog Lassie kept on licking the face of Seaman James Cowan. Miraculously, he coughed - and came back to life! Decades later, this incident was the inspiration for a series of movies and a television program. --- Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! We'll be back in the New Year with a special feature on privateers and pirates - plus an interview with Julian about CONQUEST - as well as all the usual favourites! Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++