<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> S T O P P R E S S - new-look website just launched! Let us know what you think... April 2008 In this issue: Julian gives us access to his working year, John Thompson arms "Teazer"- and Shipmates around the world share their latest maritime news... 1 DISPATCHES 2 SALTY SAYINGS 3 SHIPWRECK! 4 WHAT DOES HE DO WITH HIS TIME? 5 ARTEMIS IN CYBERSPACE 6 CONTESTS 7 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD 8 ASK JULIAN ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Robots to examine wreckage A number of Australian shipmates contacted Julian about the discovery last month of the wreck of HMAS "Sydney" 112 nautical miles off the coast of Western Australia. The pride of its navy at the time, "Sydney" was destroyed in 1941 by the commerce raider, "Kormoran", which itself also sank. Although 317 from the German ship survived, the 645 sailors aboard "Sydney" all died; their final resting place unknown until now. Remote-controlled underwater vehicles will be used to inspect the wreck to try to determine the full details of the tragedy and a formal public inquiry will be opened in due course. It is hoped that the site will be designated an official war grave, and all those who perished there will rest in peace. + World Book Day Julian was invited to Kelly College in Devon to talk to the students about his life as a writer as part of their World Book Day activities. The school has strong naval connections, having been founded by Admiral Kelly. Julian was given a very warm reception - and quite a few challenging questions from some very well-read young adults... + Ding Dong! Sergio Pepe, who is a member of the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia of Naples, recently sent Julian a photograph he thought would be of special interest to him - a ship's bell, but not just any old ship's bell... Among the club's treasured maritime possessions is a ship's bell from HMS "Teazer". Sergio believes this may have been from the "Teazer" gun brig at the Battle of Copenhagen. You can see a photograph on Julian's website in the Shipmate's Album. Julian was delighted to present a signed copy of TENACIOUS to the Reale Yacht Club's commodore, Giuseppe Dalla Vecchia. (TENACIOUS, of course, features Nelson's triumphant entry into Naples after the Battle of the Nile.) + The Spoken Word Fans of Christian Rodska's superb readings of the Kydd books will be pleased to learn that THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER is out this June, and in October KYDD will be released, completing the full Rodska audiobooks set to date. Further titles will be released in due course. www.audiobookcollection.com + Guns, guns, guns Modeller John Thompson has just added the cannon to "Teazer's" gun-deck. You can take a look at the build log on the website. She's beginning to look quite menacing... + HMS Belfast HMS "Belfast" is the largest surviving example of Britain's twentieth century naval power and is now a museum moored on the Thames between Tower and London Bridge. Over six million people have visited her. On March 15, the 70th anniversary of her launch was celebrated. Shipmate Ernest Smith, Master-at-Arms (Rtd) was there: "Over 100 members of the HMS Belfast Association and seventy VIPs, including the Lord Mayor of Belfast and Admiral Lord West, attended. 'Belfast' was launched by Mrs. Chamberlain the wife of the Prime Minister of the time and members of the Chamberlain family joined us to celebrate the occasion. The order of the day was as follows:- Re-dedication of the silver bell which was presented to the ship by the citizens of Belfast; manning the side and cheering ship; 11-gun salute. Then VIPs and guests toured the ship and met Belfast Association members in the Ship's Company Dining Hall." + How do you see Kydd? Bob Squarebriggs, who has made several very fine models of the Kydd ships now wants to turn his hand to carving the man himself! Bob has no firm ideas in mind and was wondering how Shipmates would suggest he portray Tom - as a green, former wig-maker, just press-ganged into the navy? Or perhaps the strong mariner who took charge of the open-boat voyage in SEAFLOWER? Then again, he could be Commander Kydd, newly promoted... We'll pass on your thoughts to Bob who has promised to let us have a photograph of the finished carving for the website when it's completed. ==================== 2 SALTY SAYINGS Press on Today, if we press on, we push ahead with all speed in order to get a task completed as soon as possible. (A related expression is "hard pressed", meaning that all one's resources are being used.) The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. At sea, a captain would often crowd on as much canvas as conditions would allow to complete a voyage speedily. Thus rigged, the ship would be said to be under a "press of sail". ==================== 3 SHIPWRECK! The United Nations estimates that there are now more than three million shipwrecks on the ocean floor. In Kydd's day, possibly 5000 unfortunate souls perished each year in shipwrecks in Great Britain alone. In the period 1793-1801, one third of total ship losses in the Navy were due to enemy action but two thirds were caused by perils of the sea. In this occasional feature, we'll focus on some of the more famous shipwrecks in the age of sail... HMS "Pandora" under Captain Edward Edwards was the Royal Navy frigate dispatched to the South Pacific in 1790 in pursuit of the infamous "Bounty" mutineers. At Tahiti, fourteen of the "Bounty" crew either gave themselves up or were captured and were taken aboard "Pandora", where they were confined inside a cramped wooden box on deck. Neither Bligh nor Edwards have had a good press. Bligh has been described by some as a sadistic martinet, and Edwards has been labelled a cruel, tyrannical commander. As is often the case, the truth is not as black and white as this, and while there is certainly support for these accusations, the context of the times and situations the two men found themselves in have to be considered. After leaving Tahiti, Edwards spent four more months combing the South Pacific for the rest of the mutineers, then decided to give up the chase and head back to England. On August 28,1791 the "Pandora" struck a reef in Torres Strait and foundered. Four of the prisoners drowned but those who survived were eventually returned to England and were court-martialled; three were hung. In November 1977, the wreck of the "Pandora" was located, 186 years after her loss. Since then the Queensland Museum has conducted a number of seasons of underwater excavation of the site and much valuable information has been gathered. Shipmate Simon Van Der Spoel is an avid reader of the Kydd books - and has a special interest in the wreck. Simon, a 26-year-old news camera operator for Channel 7, Queensland, is writing a film script dealing with the Pandora story. For a chance to win a copy of "The 24-Gun Frigate Pandora" see CONTESTS. ==================== 4 JUST WHAT DOES HE DO WITH HIS TIME? On a daily basis Julian hears from readers around the world and personally answers every email. However many of those who contact him voice the same complaint - that Julian doesn't write fast enough! This is what one such correspondent, Jim Parker, said: "I am an officer in the Canadian Naval Reserve and soon will be deploying to the southern Sudan as a United Nations Military Observer for six months. So, Julian, if you could just whip off two or three new instalments for me to read whilst I am away, sweating in the jungle, I'd be most appreciative. Otherwise I'll just have to take a few of my old, many-times-read Stockwin books to Africa with me. Should I not get some new Kydd material to read, I'll not be responsible for my mental state over there..." So just what does Julian do with his year? Why can't he write faster? To answer these questions we've outlined just how a typical twelve months will unfold in the Stockwin household. + January Part of this month is taken up with responding to editorial queries regarding the manuscript submitted at the beginning of the previous December. In parallel, intensive research/plot planning for the next book also begins. The Stockwins have a well-practised routine of going for paces by the River Erme in "Long Timber" reserve, a delightful wooded area just a few minutes walk from their home. As they discuss various points, Julian takes notes on a portable dictaphone, which he then transcribes on their return. This machine goes everywhere with him, instantly ready to record a thought for the next book or whatever. + February More research/planning. There's usually some input required by the publisher's art/design department and Geoff Hunt starts working on his original painting that will be the basis for the cover. Geoff will have already read the manuscript and conferred with Julian over various nautical details. + March By now, the copy editor has come back with her queries on the manuscript and these have to be attended to and the agreed changes added to the final manuscript, which will then go straight to Production for conversion into a Quark Express file. Fine-tuning of the plot of the new book continues. + April Sometimes, a supplementary research trip is indicated and this year it's likely to be Deal to look into some specifics about Admiral Keith's squadron in the Downs. Back home, it's down to writing in earnest for Julian. + May There's quite a bit of being out and about this month with publicity and promotion activities for the UK paperback launch. At the end of the month, Julian will be about 20,000 words into the book. + June Intensive writing this month. 40,000 words in. + July Another mainly writing month. 60,000 words in. + August Around about this time some gremlin will usually emerge to challenge something in the plot, but Kathy and Julian will just put on their walking shoes and set about sorting it. Their record for such a walk - the rule is they can't return home before there is resolution of the problem - is 6 hours. It's about 80,000 words in total by the end of the month. + September Another solid writing month. Julian will have written about 95,000 words at this stage. + October There are more publicity and promotion events, this time for the launch of the hardback publication of the manuscript completed the previous December. Actual writing days are fewer this month - but it's the home run, so to speak. At month's end, he's finished! Well, at least that part of the process... + November All this month is intensive editing and fine-tuning of the manuscript by both the Stockwins. (Kathy will have done a parallel editing of the manuscript before this final work is undertaken.) The first draft usually runs to 110,000 words and by the end of the month it will be cut to about 100,000. + December The completed manuscript is emailed to Julian's editor at the beginning of the month and shortly thereafter he and Kathy leave on two or three weeks' location research for the next book - and then the cycle begins again... ==================== 5 A VIRTUAL ARTEMIS There have been representations of the ships in the Kydd books in all manner of formats: physical models ranging from 1:1200 to 1:64 in scale, half models, relief carvings, Geoff Hunt's paintings and now there's a virtual "Artemis", a computer-generated image! Marius Moolman, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, was so drawn to Julian's writing that he decided the only way he would get to sail in the frigate "Artemis" was to construct a virtual model! (Marius uses a variant spelling, "Artimes".) It took Marius about three weeks to complete the ship. He has now started work on "Seaflower". He used a simulator programme called Virtual Sailor 7. Marius imported details into Virtual Sailor from ship plans. "You pretty much build the model like those ships were built during the Napoleonic Wars, that is from the keel up, making the main structure and decks, then adding details on to that. It's great fun!" Marius has this advice for people wanting to try their hand with their own virtual ships: "After you choose your simulator get to know it first before creating a ship for it. Join the forum associated with the simulator and there you will find all the help you need to get your creation to sail like a real wooden ship of Kydd's day!" ==================== 6 CONTESTS Deadline: April 25 Don't forget to include your full postal address + Pandora For a chance to win this title from Conway Maritime's acclaimed Anatomy of the Ship books, email the names of two other ships that have been covered by the popular series. + THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER paperbacks We have two copies up for grabs. Here's the question: What is the next title in the Kydd series, due out this October? + Winners all! Congratulations to last month's contest winners: a one- year subscription to "Model Shipwright" was won by Michael Wroblewski; a copy of COMMAND goes to Neville Thompson and the two Kydd Kits are on their way to Brian Mulvey & Greg Dermody. ==================== 7 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD The amount of timber required to build the Navy's ships was astounding - about 6000 large trees had to be felled and processed for just one ship-o'-the line! +The masting timbers A mast is a long cylindrical piece of timber elevated perpendicularly upon the keel of a ship, to which are attached the yards, the rigging and the sails. It is either formed in one piece (a pole mast) or, for a larger mast, composed of a number of pieces coaked and bolted together (a made mast). Each ship-rigged vessel had three masts - the mainmast, the foremast and the mizzen. Fir, pine or spruce were used for the masts, woods that are light and flexible. For made masts, each piece had its own name - spindle, side tree, heel piece, side fish, cheek, front fish, cant piece etc. Much masting timber was imported from the Baltic States and Norway, especially after the American War of Independence interrupted the supply from New England. (Fir was also used for planking of the upperdecks and bulkheads, the internal walls that subdivided the ship into compartments.) ==================== 8 ASK JULIAN Steven Garland writes: "I'm 32 years old and live in Australia, and I want to thank you for Thomas Kydd! Every time I read one of your books the real world disappears and I'm right there alongside Kydd sharing his latest adventure. Have you ever considered putting a list of naval terms and some maps in your books? Also can you recommend some sources from which I could discover more about these eighteenth century ships?" Julian replies: "You asked about having a glossary and maps in the books. This is something I have discussed in some detail with my publishers. The main problem is knowing what to include and what to leave out, given the great range of maritme knowledge of my readership. A comprehensive glossary and maps would add a considerable number of pages. In my writing I do endeavour not to have any plot point hang on a complete technical understanding of sea terms. However I do appreciate that a number of readers wish to enhance their enjoyment of my books by delving deeper into this fascinating period. On my website there are a number of links to on-line glossaries, and also suggestions for various reference books. Do you have a question for ASK JULIAN? There's a special sea gift for every one published in the newsletter this year! === Yours aye, THE BOSUN Coming next month - Georgian pastimes, the Loyal Toast, and a double helping of ASK JULIAN... ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++