<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> October 2007 SPECIAL LAUNCH ISSUE:- + KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER out this month in both the UK and USA + Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 FAVOURITE PASSAGES 3 FEATURE - BEHIND THE LINES 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 SEA DISASTERS 6 CONTESTS 7 SCRAN 'N PROG 8 THE TEAZER MODEL 9 HMS SOUTHAMPTON CALLING ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + New Home Page To celebrate the launch of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER we've created a special livery for the home page of Julian's website www.julianstockwin.com + A village of readers... There's a brand-new Forum on the web for discussion of the Kydd books. Why not sign up and have your say with fellow fans? You can comment on Julian's work in general, or on specific books. You can also catch up on back issues of this newsletter, and read about Tall Ships sightings etc. Julian has given his best wishes to the endeavour. Www.kydd.org.uk + Cheers! We still have a few of the specially commissioned Kydd Tankards, hand-crafted in polished English pewter. Each is engraved with a Kydd logo and the toast: "A right true drop!" Strictly limited to 150, the tankard is priced at GBP47 plus p&p. Orders via Admin@julianstockwin.com - you can see a photo of the tankard on the website www.julianstockwin.com -> SHOP + A life-changing moment A former aircraft engineer, Ian Hobgen had to give up work at the age of 47 due to ill health, and was feeling at an all-time low. Picking up a copy of KYDD by chance rekindled a passion for the Age of Sail in Ian, and has since developed into what he calls "my obsession". This now includes making intricate ship models as well as nautical relief carvings - and taking several voyages on tall ships. "If I'm not building ships, or reading about ships, then I am watching films about them. All thanks to Julian's unique style of writing!" + Publishing update Translation rights to the Kydd books have now been sold to France, Japan, Russia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Germany. The books are also available in Large Print and Braille. As well as the simultaneous publication in hardback in the UK and US of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER, this month also sees the paperback launch of the US edition of TENACIOUS by McBooks Press. ISBN 1 590 131 428 + Congratulations Well done to HMS "Victory", Nelson's famous flagship now moored at the Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth, for beating hundreds of nominations in a recent competition for the best historical tourist attraction in the UK. "Victory" just missed out on the top spot - to Stonehenge - but then you don't get much more historical than a 5000- year-old site! + New Audiobooks on the horizon BBC Audiobooks already publish ARTEMIS, SEAFLOWER, MUTINY, QUARTERDECK, TENACIOUS and COMMAND, superbly read by Christian Rodska. They will be adding KYDD and THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER to these and we will bring you the publishing details as soon as they are to hand. Www.audiobookcollection.com + The Immortal Memory Please raise your glasses to Admiral Lord Nelson on October 21, the 202rd anniversary of his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. + Print addition Art Marine will be bringing out a limited edition print of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER in their Kydd Collection. Further details to come. Art Marine publish limited edition prints of all the original paintings by Geoff Hunt that are the basis of the book covers. Www.artmarine.co.uk + Royal Society of Marine Artists Exhibition Well worth a visit if you're in London this month! The exhibition runs from 17th to 28th. We have tickets to the Private View to give away. See CONTESTS. + Ahoy from San Diego! Julian was delighted to hear from another Tall Ships enthusiast recently, Chris Lopatosky. Chris is a topman in the San Diego Maritime Museum Sail Crew, 120 souls who keep alive the skills of Kydd's day. Currently there are three active square riggers - "Star of India", HMS "Surprise" and "Californian". Www.sdmaritime.com + Recognition for Jack Tar Julian has always championed the skills, courage and special culture of the lower deck, and one of the reasons he decided to have his hero start his adventures not on the quarterdeck, but on the fo'c'sle, was to draw attention to a special group of men in the Age of Sail who have largely been either sentimentalised or plain overlooked. Tim Clayton, author of the highly-acclaimed "Trafalgar: the Men, the Battle, the Storm" has just brought out a fascinating tribute to the common sailor. The book, published by Hodder & Stoughton is called "Tars". ISBN: 9780340898024. For a chance to win a copy see CONTESTS ==================== 2 FAVOURITE PASSAGES Do you have a passage in Julian's books that you particularly enjoyed? We'd love to hear from you! Stuart Hatch has nominated two: The "Mason's Salute" from KYDD = > In the appalled silence the seamen looked at each other with horror and mirth in equal proportion. Coles saw that this was the time for the salute, and bravely brought up both hands and waggled smartly. The boatswain's eyes bulged and his hands clawed at the empty air. When the explosion came it was very terrible. and this excerpt from SEAFLOWER = > Routine set in - the scrupulously doled-out rations, the morning square-away that Kydd insisted on, Doud's never-failing evening songs. And, most crucial, the noon sight. It seemed a fragile thing indeed to trust their lives to a ticking watch. A frail artefact of man in the midst of effortless domination by nature, yet in itself a token of the precious intelligence that could make man the master of nature. It was the first thing to be stowed safely beneath the thwarts when the rain came down. Stuart says of this latter passage: "In those few lines Julian captures something quite profound, not only the connection between time and position, but also the ability of the God-given human mind to grasp that connection and harness it to advantage. --- We asked Julian what his favourite one is. This is what he said: "Well, that's like asking a parent which of their offspring they love best! However, if pushed, I have to admit that it's probably something in my first book, that I personally experienced, and many sailors have done me the honour of telling me - yes, that is how it happened for them, too." Here's the section he's referring to... = > Kydd turned to go back down the ladder, but something made him pause. The length of deck forward was barely visible, but there was furious grandeur in the rise and fall of the entire length of the ship, an eager and responsive coupling of the ship with the wildness of the sea. A mounting exhilaration replaced Kydd's fear... Something in him reached out and was answered... From that moment on Kydd knew in his heart that he would be a seaman. ==================== 3 FEATURE As promised last month, Julian takes us behind the lines of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER:- "Perhaps it's strange that it has taken me eight books to write about what is on my doorstep - I live just a short distance from Plymouth, which features fairly centrally in this book. Of course I knew the city quite well and the maritime history associated with it, but I was amazed to learn of the sheer magnitude of the naval presence in Kydd's day. The Dockyard there was in fact one of the wonders of the age - and tourists came from miles around to visit it! I certainly put in considerable footwork in old Plymouth, pacing out the same areas Kydd does in the book. One of the most enjoyable aspects of my work is going away on location research. In January last year we travelled to the picturesque little Cornish fishing village of Polperro. Kathy and I stayed in a fisherman's cottage right on the harbour, dating back to Kydd's time. When doing location research, finding local inhabitants with knowledge and expertise is often invaluable. In this case there were many who helped, such as former harbour master Tony White and historian Jeremy Johns. But I owe a great debt to ex-fisherman Bill Cowan, who patiently explained the lore and practice of the Cornish fishery over the centuries, and shipwright Ron Butters, whose wonderfully crafted models of shipping vessels under sail gave me all the information I needed about these hardy craft. Back home, and deep into the document-based research, I discovered that my wife is related to one of the real- life characters in the story! Did she, I casually asked one day, poring over some arcane document or other, by any chance have an English ancestor by the name of John Stackhouse? Unsure, Kathy emailed her parents in Tasmania, Keith and Cressey Stackhouse, and was delighted to learn that she was indeed related to him. John Stackhouse was born in Cornwall in 1742. After completing his education at Oxford University, he spent several years studying marine biology around the Mediterranean: his particular interest was seaweed. He married a Susanna Acton and built Acton Castle, above what is now known as Stackhouse Cove. Kathy is one of the descendants of Alfred Stackhouse, who settled in Van Diemen's Land in the nineteenth century, and whose grandfather was John Stackhouse's brother! Working on THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER certainly gave me an enhanced appreciation for the dangers and perils of the Cornish and Devon coast. Thousands of ships have met their end there, including the disaster that befell Sir Clowdisley Shovell's fleet off the Isles of Scilly exactly 300 years ago this month. [See SEA DISASTERS, below] Finally, I'd just like to say that with this book I became more than usually involved with the characters for some reason. Of course I have great empathy for Kydd and Renzi and their fellow mariners, but I also very much felt for the female characters in THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER. Most of the women I have written about to date have been very strong characters but there is one in this book who evoked very tender feelings in me as I was writing about her. But I can't say much more without giving the plot away...I asked advance reviewers of the book please not to disclose the ending - and may I add that plea to other readers to also to keep the details of the plot close to their chest..." --- The Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing houses a fascinating collection of exhibits. Open March to October. Www.polperro.org/museum.html ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Bow and scrape Today, if we talk about a person "bowing and scraping" we mean he/she is excessively servile to someone else or trying too hard to please. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. In Kydd's day, an officer's cocked hat was known as a "scraper". When greeting a superior officer, it was customary for the junior officer to remove his headgear and bow. ==================== 4 SEA DISASTERS An occasional feature looking at some of the most famous maritime tragedies through the ages + One of the worst disasters in the history of the Royal Navy In early October 1707, the Mediterranean Fleet, under Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell set sail from Gibraltar bound for Portmouth. It should have been a glorious homecoming, but the admiral's flagship, the "Association", and a number of other vessels of the Fleet, were wrecked off the Scilly Isles on October 22. An estimated 1500 men perished, including the admiral, due to a combination of bad weather and the inability of mariners in those days to accurately calculate their longitudinal position. Many tales have endured over the centuries about this tragic event, ranging from the admiral hanging a seamen who tried to warn him of impending danger as they approached the Scilly Isles to a local woman murdering Shovell when he was washed ashore in order to steal a large emerald ring that he reputedly wore on his finger. It is claimed that the woman confessed to the crime on her deathbed thirty years later. The truth - or otherwise - of these stories remains uncertain... Sir Clowdisley Shovell was initially buried in a simple grave at Porth Hellick but later his body was exhumed and reburied in Westminster Abbey. However some good came out of tragedy - it was after this disaster that the Admiralty instigated a search for a way of calculating longitude. A prize of GBP20,000 - an enormous sum in those days - was offered for a solution. In 1967, a diving expedition found the wreck of the "Association", appropriately mounted by the Royal Navy. Numerous gold and silver coins were retrieved from the site. ==================== 5 CONTESTS - books, exhibition tickets - and the usual lucky dip... Deadline: October 25 (except the RSMA contest - please send entries for this one by October 5 so we can get the winning tickets out in good time!) Bosun@julianstockwin.com Don't forget to include your full postal address. + THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER To go into the hat for a signed hardback of Julian's latest book, what was the date of the first "Bosun's Chronicle?" + RSMA Tickets For a chance to win one of three tickets (which each admit two) to the Private View on October 16 of the Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition, name the venue for this year's exhibition. + October Lucky Dip What are Kathy and Julian's two Siamese cats called? + "Tars" Who co-wrote several of Clayton's previous books? --- Winners all! Congratulations to last month's prize recipients - Tony Bevan's entry was the first correct one drawn for the Geoff Hunt print, and Vincent Wolfs won September's lucky dip, a signed paperback of his choice. ==================== 6 SCRAN 'N PROG When Kydd has breakfast in "Teazer", he tucks in to some of the typical Georgian offerings for that time of day, including wiggs (similar to today's Danish pastries) and quiddany (a thick fruit syrup or jelly, often made with quinces). Coffee, tea or cocoa were offered, too. It wasn't until well into the Victorian period that the heavier meal we associate with breakfast became widespread. The men aboard would be fed "burgoo", a hearty porridge that would set them up until their main meal of the day at noon. One of the Cornish delicacies Kydd samples ashore in THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER is Saffron Cake, a rich and spicy treat dating back many centuries. It is thought that saffron first arrived in England with the Phoenicians who traded it for Cornish tin. The golden spice was also grown in Cornwall. ==================== 7 THE TEAZER MODEL In August we announced Shipmate John Thompson's plan to build a 1:64 scale model of "Teazer". When John made the wonderful offer to Julian to build him a model of one of Kydd's ships, Julian had no hesitation in nominating "Teazer". He explained: "Given all the ships I've written about to date there is one that stands out, of special significance in Kydd's life - his first command!" Julian also realised that his own first ship (though not with him in command), the corvette "Swan", functioned operationally much as "Teazer" does. John Thompson is a Law Costs Draftsman, married to an opera singer. They have "a beautiful daughter, Emma, aged eight". John's grandfather owned and operated a tugboat for 40 years out of Liverpool Docks and he thinks this was his earliest nautical inspiration. He says: "Probably I have been secretly trying to run away to sea all my life but other things seemed to have got in the way. Perhaps via ship modelling and books about the sea I am achieving my ambitions vicariously." Overall, the "Teazer" build will take about twelve months, John estimates. The keel, bulkheads and hull are first; followed by the aft deck, deck furniture, cannons and stern gallery. Finally the masts, yards, fighting tops and bowsprit will be constructed and then the arduous task of rigging begins - around 600 feet of cotton will be needed. Then, her flags will have to be made and mounted. You can check the progress of the model on a special page on the website - http://www.julianstockwin.com/Teazer%20Model.htm It will be updated on a regular basis. John is happy to answer any questions about the model via email --- Several other shipmates have been moved to build models of the Kydd ships. American ship modeller Wayne Hawkins presented Julian with a 1:1200 scale model of the 64-gun HMS "Tenacious" and you can see Bob Squarebriggs' model of the cutter "Seaflower" on the website -> LINKS -> SHIP MODELLING -> THE SQUAREBRIGGS MODELS. Bob also did a relief carving of "Artemis". Like John, Bob is happy to share his modelling experiences with others. His email address is Squbrigg@rogers.com =================== 8 HMS SOUTHAMPTON - the latest dispatch from an eight-month sea deployment of one of the Royal Navy's destroyers. Earlier in the year, Julian and Kathy were the captain's guests for a voyage from Plymouth to Portsmouth "It has been a busy time for Southampton with a week of intensive training with units in the Falklands in the early part of the month, then passage to Montevideo, Uruguay. En route, we were able to enjoy a typical weekend at sea. Although cold on deck, there were blue skies and sunshine. The ship was followed effortlessly by squadrons of storm petrels, albatross and the occasional whale. It felt good to be at sea! During our visit to Montevideo we unveiled a monument to Anglo-Uruguayan relations in the 200 years since Britain seized Montevideo in 1807 as part of an attempt to take the Napoleonic Wars to Spain's colonies in South America." =================== Yours aye, THE BOSUN It's the Bumper Issue next month! Lots of great prizes, our annual "Just for Fun" quiz, and much more... ++ Download back issues from the WebSite. You can also easily change your email address there, too. ++