<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 7, August 2007 In this issue - Julian reports on Operation Fragrant Harbour, Rick Wehmeyer climbs aloft and HMS "Southampton" follows in the footsteps of the legendary Admiral Cochrane. Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER REVIEWS 3 FOCUS ON... 4 BOOKSHELF 5 FEATURE 6 SALTY SAYINGS 7 ALL I ASK IS A TALL SHIP 8 CONTESTS 9 HMS SOUTHAMPTON CALLING ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Almost sold out! Last month's announcement of a special Admiral's Daughter Collector's Set resulted in such a fantastic response that there's just a tiny handful of unreserved Sets left - so if you're interested, don't delay - it's strictly first come, first served. Admin@JulianStockwin.com + "Teazer" tribute Shipmate John Thompson is planning to build Julian and Kathy a model of the little brig-sloop that was Kydd's first command, starting at the end of this month. We'll follow the year-long project from inception to completion in a special page on the website to be launched in early September, with photographs and a monthly progress report. + Website compliments Intute is a nationally funded internet service for higher and further education to enable teachers, students and researchers to find high quality reviewed websites in their subject. It will also shortly be running the PORT internet gateway for the National Maritime Museum. Julian's website has been included in Intute, which paid him this tribute: "Yours is one of the few regularly updated sites where the reader feels they are in touch with the author and that he has compiled the information they think is salient for the understanding and wider appreciation of their work." www.intute.ac.uk/artsand humanities/ + Publishing calendar > Magna has just published TENACIOUS and COMMAND in large print. > KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER is launched October 18 in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton. > In the first simultaneous publication in the series, McBooks Press is bringing out the US version of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER in October. > TENACIOUS US paperback edition is published by McBooks Press in October. > THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER will be available in Australia and Canada in November. > Chivers Audiobooks brings out COMMAND in CD format this month, following launch in cassette tape last month. + Chasing Freedom Marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade, the International Slavery Museum opens at Liverpool's Albert Dock on August 23rd. The Royal Navy played a vital, but little-known, role in suppressing slavery. After Parliament outlawed the slave trade in 1807, the West Africa Squadron patrolled the seas off West Africa for the next 60 years, searching and detaining slave ships and liberating 150,000 enslaved Africans. A special exhibition highlighting this, "Chasing Freedom", is running at the Royal Naval Museum in Greenwich until the end of the year. www.royalnavalmuseum.org ==================== 2 KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER REVIEWS In June we ran our annual contest for Shipmates to win an Advance Review Copy of KYDD: THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER. Their reviews are still coming in; here's a selection:- > Well, I feel like Christmas is over or the summer holidays have ended. What a fantastic read! The title told us that we were in for a romance, but what a twist! In this book Julian took us straight into the sea action and continues to delight us with the technical accuracy of his writing. He brought the Cornish coast alive and the independence of spirit of the inhabitants was perfectly captured. This book will win many new fans for Thomas Kydd! - Graham Davenport > Once again, Julian Stockwin's unique style of writing grabs the imagination of the reader. I never realised that history was so enthralling - Julian has the ability to draw you in and keep you there from start to finish. This book is full of adventure - dangerous stormy seas, smuggling, privateers, spies - and a tragic twist of fate. The tales of Kydd just get better and better! - Ian Hobgen > I think this is the real Kydd watershed, the book that will set Kydd for all his further adventures. We've seen Kydd's supporters, but now he really makes his first enemy. Kathy needs to tie the author to his chair and "start" him - as a year is too long to wait for the next one... - Allan Smith > In this book Kydd has to grow up fast and face some hard decisions ... You really feel for him - in his embarrassment in his new situations as a captain and entering society, his excitement in tracking down "Bloody Jacques", and his sorrow... You wait for a new chapter in a story and sometimes you are disappointed, but not with Kydd. This book is Excellent! - David Messer More from the Shipmate Reviewers next month... ==================== 3 FOCUS ON ... The FESR Navy Association In this occasional feature, we'll take a look at a sea- related association with which Julian has a connection. This month, it's the Far Eastern Strategic Reserve Navy Association (FESR) in Australia, formed to champion the cause of ex-navy personnel who served during the Malayan Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation. Julian, who was a petty officer in HMAS "Melbourne" during this time, is an honorary member of the FESR Navy Association, South Australian branch. National membership is round 1000, and as well as organising an active social calendar, the association has been instrumental in securing enhanced veterans' entitlements. The FESR Association will be taking part in an "All Ships Reunion" November 9-11, in Ulverstone, Tasmania, at HMAS Shropshire, Australia's largest naval memorial park, where more than 90 ships are commemorated. http://www.fesrassociation.com/ ==================== 4 BOOKSHELF The War for All the Oceans From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo by Roy and Lesley Adkins. Abacus paperback. ISBN: 978 0349 11916 8 The Adkins set themselves a daunting task - to cover such an action-packed seventeen-year period as 1798-1815 in just one volume - but they succeed brilliantly and bring it vividly to life in this compelling narrative history. Their inclusion of eye-witness accounts gives a powerful immediacy to the text. And for those wanting to follow up a particular item, the book is well indexed, with an extensive notes and bibliography section. http://www.adkinsarchaeology.com/ We have two copies to give away, see CONTESTS. [The Adkins and Julian are giving talks at the Appledore Book Festival; on October 2 and 3 respectively. Bookings may be made via www.appledorebookfestival.co.uk ] ==================== 5 FEATURE The Hong Kong Connection When the Stockwins moved to Hong Kong in the seventies Julian was invited to join the Naval Reserve unit there, which was tasked with Naval Control of Shipping. At that time Julian was a computer systems designer, and his skills in that area were seminal in the development of new software for tracking merchant vessels, that was eventually adopted world-wide. Little did he know then that this experience of being an officer, together with his earlier service on the lower deck, would give him a unique perspective when he put pen to paper and started writing the Kydd series! On July 1, the 10th anniversary of transfer of sovereignty in Hong Kong, Julian and Kathy attended a naval reunion, "Operation Fragrant Harbour", in London; Fragrant Harbour is the English translation of the Chinese name for Hong Kong. Julian takes up the story: "It was certainly a trip down memory lane for me. Old Hong Kongers came from all over the world - Australia, Canada, the States - to attend and there were a number of guests I had not seen for over twenty years! The reunion was held at HMS President, home of the Royal Naval Reserves in London, and the largest Reserve training centre in the UK. This shore-based establishment sits right on the Thames, with a splendid view of the historic waterway. VIP guests included the Second Sea Lord, Vice Admiral Johns, and Lord Wilson, the penultimate governor of Hong Kong. We began the day with a service in the Chapel Royal of St Peter Ad Vincula, the parish church of the Tower of London, built in the 12th century. 'Ad Vincula' means 'in chains' and commemorates St Peter's imprisonment under Herod in Jerusalem. The chapel stands to the north of Tower Green, where state executions took place, including Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of Henry VIII's wives. After the service, with a stirring Bach organ solo still playing in my head, we walked the short distance to HMS President for a buffet lunch - Chinese food of course! Then there was a raffle in aid of the Hong Kong LEP Trust, which provides support to former locally enlisted personnel who had worked for the Navy in Hong Kong. I'd donated a couple of my books and when the winners were drawn, to everyone's amusement my name came up! Another prize was hastily substituted... After much catching-up of gossip and news, the day ended all too soon. Kathy and I stayed on in London for a week to take the opportunity to do some preliminary research for book nine, which will have a strong focus on the capital in the year before the Battle of Trafalgar. I think we walked every inch of 'Georgian London'! But more on that in a future issue..." [In Julian's ALBUM on the website there's a picture of the Stockwins at the reunion with old Hong Kongers Howard and Darian Libauer. Click on the NEW button on the home page to see all the latest additions. www.julianstockwin.com ] ==================== 6 SALTY SAYINGS Strike Today, one major use of this word is to denote the action of ceasing work due to a dispute with an employer. Its origins are definitely salty - and in Kydd's day there were a number of ways in which "strike" was used aboard ship. > Strike down! - the order to lower casks etc. into the hold. > A ship was said to strike if she touched the bottom. > To strike soundings was to gain the bottom or the first measure of depth of water by the deep-sea lead. > In a gale the order was given to strike (lower) the yards, topgallant masts etc. > To strike the colours was a sign of surrender to the enemy. > During the great mutinies of Spithead and the Nore the sailors gave special meaning to the term "strike"; lowering the sails meant the ships could not sail and the Navy was at a standstill. ==================== 7 ALL I ASK IS A TALL SHIP Concluding our three-part feature on the growing number of Shipmates who are bitten by the tall ship bug... The Jubilee Sailing Trust offers tall ship adventures to people of all physical abilities. Rick Wehmeyer, who is disabled, kept a candid diary during his recent four-week trans-Altantic voyage aboard S.V. "Tenacious". He was to find life at sea extremely hard work and a little different from what what he imagined it would be. Here are some excerpts from his diary of the highs and the lows... March 31 It is now almost two years since my stroke and Mom's passing. Talk about a rough couple of years! After all that, and reading so many nautical fiction books, I am going to make my own history on board a ship. I am flying to Bermuda to catch the ship and from there we will sail to Southampton, England. April 3 I awoke at 5 am for harbour watch. Then anyone who wanted to do an unassisted climb was taught how to. April 4 I was shook awake at 7 am for early breakfast as we are on watch from 8 am to noon. In some ways we are treated as if we are in the navy. I can only imagine how I am going to feel 29 days into the voyage; it's gruelling work already... I was at the helm when a good blow came up, unfortunately between the wind and my experience handling the ship we were almost headed to the Canary Islands! A lot of crew is dealing with sea sickness. April 11 After securing, the watch leader bought us all a round, so I had a lager. On my god, British alcohol content is so high... April 12 We just got relieved from what seemed the never-ending watch. The water was very rough with waves topping the side rails. We're told it was at least a force 7-8. We braced the sails twice during the watch. I ache all over. Nothing could have prepared me for exactly how gruelling an Atlantic crossing can be. Yes, it is exciting, but you find yourself too tired you just don't care. April 14 I went and did the big one. To the very top of the mast today. Ok, nearly the top. I got about four steps from the top and knew if I continued, I would struggle on the way back down. But for me it was a dream come true and a total blast! April 16 I look across to the portholes and all I can see is water. It is really amazing outside but at the same time I just want to get safely home. April 19 Had a great watch tonight. The water has an almost surreal appearance. A small swallow landed on board, huffing and puffing. The sunset was beyond beautiful and everyone was running about getting their cameras to capture the beauty of Mother Nature at her best. April 26 Had a fantastic night's sleep. That does so improve one's disposition! With the voyage over Rick reflected on the trip: "It was the most difficult time for me, but I learnt a lot about myself. Good and bad." Rick feels he disappointed himself physically: "There were so many things that in past years I could have handled, now I am lucky to haul a line and not get winded and only get a quarter ways into it when I have to sit down". What would he say to others contemplating such a voyage? "Be happy: be sad; but most of all be somebody and do something adventurous with your life." Julian and the Bosun salute him! ==================== 8 CONTESTS Deadline: August 25. Entries to Bosun@Julianstockwin.com Please include your full postal address. We have a paperback of "The War for all the Oceans" to give away to each of the first two correct entries drawn that name the book by Roy Adkins first published in 2004. This month's Lucky Dip question is - In what inn was Tom Kydd press-ganged? Congratulations to all last month's winners: Bernard Pedler won a copy of "Nelson's Victory" for correctly identifying the famous ship's resting place as Portsmouth Historic Dockyard; Scott Lucy won the lucky dip for July for naming the First Sea Lord, Sir Jonathon Band (a signed Kydd paperback of choice); Pete Dean won a COMMAND audiobook (citing 2001 as the year the first book in the Kydd series came out). =================== 9 HMS "SOUTHAMPTON" CALLING - the latest dispatch from the Royal Navy destroyer in which Julian and Kathy recently sailed from Plymouth to Portsmouth as guests of the captain. She's currently on an eight-month deployment, and has agreed to share some of her experiences with Shipmates... "Between 30 May and 11 June we participated in Exercise Teamwork South 2007 off the coast of northern Chile with units from the French, American and Argentinian navies joining us and the Chilean navy. A task group of 18 ships conducted a variety of exercises including gunnery firing, anti-submarine warfare and flying operations. Then we headed to anchor in the port of Iquique; as each ship entered the harbour we paid marks of respect to the wreck of the Chilean warship 'Esmerelda' sunk during the Battle of Iquique in 1879. The second stage of the exercise began on June 7, with the task force divided into Orange Force and Blue Force (HMS Southampton was Blue). The culmination of this phase was a night battle. The Royal Navy and the Chilean Navy have a long mutual history, stretching back to Admiral Thomas Cochrane in the early ninteenth century. Cochrane spent some four years with the Chilean navy and in his honour today one of their frigates is named the 'Almirante Cochrane'. June 13. We steamed south to Valparaiso. For several hundred years this has been a port of call for ships journeying to and from the Pacific and Atlantic. We hosted a lunch party and reception for local dignatories there. In the centre of Valpariso Richard Morris, our commanding officer, laid a wreath at the monument to Capitan Arturo Prat, the foremost hero of the Chilean Navy. Sailing south from Valparaiso 20-22 June, HMS Southampton undertook one of the most picturesque and remarkable sea journeys in the world as we transisted through 600 miles of the Patagonian canals. The canals link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and are surrounded by mountains and glaciers in a landscape similar to the Norwegian fjords. For much of the transit the mountains were obscured by fog and snow storms, however the sky cleared enough for us to sight the cross on the top of Froward Point, which is regarded as the southern tip of the American continents. We spent 36 hours off Punta Arenas, one of the world's most southerly cities, and then it was on to the Falklands Islands, and the next stage in our deployment." More in the next issue... --- [Cochrane is a fascinating character indeed, and we will feature him in a department starting in the New Year called "The Georgians", in which we look at some of the larger-than-life figures of the age of fighting sail, both at sea and ashore.] Yours aye, THE BOSUN Have you visited Julian's website recently? www.julianstockwin.com === Coming next month - Far Flung Kydd, more advance reviews of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER - and a double helping of ASK JULIAN.