====================================== S T O P - P R E S S + MUTINY limited edition print out now ====================================== "THE BOSUN'S CHRONICLE" --- emailed to Shipmates around the world --- VOL.3, ISSUE 12, December 2003 Avast there - and welcome aboard from the Bosun of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' Network! 1) NEWS & VIEWS 2) ASK JULIAN 3) RECOMMENDED READING 4) SALTY SAYINGS 5) WHO'S WHO 6) FEATURE 7) CONTESTS 8) NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1) NEWS & VIEWS --- publishing happenings, shipmates ahoy! --- + MUTINY AROUND THE WORLD MUTINY is available in Australia and Canada this month, and is launched in the U.S. in June next year. Details of translated editions will be announced as they come to hand. + SIGNED COPIES A number of you have asked where you can find signed copies of Julian's books. In the UK, try: * Hatchards, London * Pan Bookshop, London * A number of branches of Books Etc., Waterstone's and Ottakar's carry signed stock. There's also various internet booksellers: * * A limited number of signed bookplates are available on request. Just email the Bosun with your postal details. + SHIPMATES AHOY! Shipmate Colin Garnham-Edge is a national operations director for a French company and lives in Surrey, England. He recently wrote to Julian about MUTINY: "Fantastic! - read it in two days on holiday and cannot wait another year for the next one in the series... I read all historic naval fiction and thought Patrick O'Brian would be hard to beat: you have succeeded." An ex UK Admiral's Cup and 12 metre sailor, Colin could write a book himself on his sea adventures! He has competed in all the major sailing events around the world, including the Sydney-Hobart race and 10 Fastnets. His love affair with sailing began in Abu Dhabi; his family lived 50 yards from the shore and Colin recalls many happy holidays home from school messing around in an Optimist and a Mini Sail. Currently, Colin sails a Hobie Cat 21 on the Solent. Colin is very conscious of the power of the sea - he has sailed through a typhoon in the South China Sea, experienced the Southern Ocean - and was caught up in the 1979 Fastnet storm. As a young boy Colin discovered the Hornblower series and fell in love with that era. He's proud to add Kydd and Renzi to his list of sea heroes, who, he says, are in a league of their own. And, despite his own amazing sailing achievements, Colin says he would gladly give that all up - to live in one of Kydd's adventures. + THE YEAR IN REVIEW Julian reflects on a busy 2003:- "The past year has been a pretty hectic one. Kathy and I moved to Devon and have taken on the challenge of restoring an eighteenth century Georgian town house. What particularly appeals to us is that it was built at the time Kydd was growing up. I couldn't resist giving the house a cameo appearance in MUTINY! And yes, we do have a ghost. I like to think he is of the sea-faring kind, as Plymouth is not far away... In May, an invitation to speak at the annual reunion of TS Indefatigable Old Boys Association in Anglesea, Wales, was certainly a trip down memory lane. It was my first visit back to my old training school in 44 years! In October and November there were two memorable events - I was invited to give a talk aboard the "Cutty Sark" and the official launch for MUTINY was held at Britannia Royal Naval College. Speaking aboard the Cutty Sark was very special to me because my Uncle Tom Clay, who had actually sailed in her before the mast, was the only person in my family with any salty connections. He greatly encouraged my desire to go to sea. Lt Cdr (SCC) Noel Wheatley RNR, District Officer for the London South East District Sea Cadets kindly arranged for sea cadets, dressed in eighteenth century seamen's clothing, to usher in guests. The cadets were all from the Greenwich, Deptford and Rotherhithe Unit, which is based in the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Chief Petty Officer (SCC) Paul Webster also attended. The following day was also spent at the Cutty Sark, and I was delighted that another group of sea cadets could join me for a Family Day with a special programme of activities for children, including boxing the compass and learning how to tie knots. I was assisted by Able Cadet Steven Hearne, Ordinary Cadet Annabel Said, Ordinary Cadet Lora Whicher and Ordinary Cadet Varun Jamnadass. The next big event was the Launch Party on November 4 at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. It was a splendid affair, held in the Quarterdeck, the symbolic heart of the college. Its high vaulted ceiling, Portland stone columns and surrounding Poop Deck provided a stunning venue. Commodore Johnstone-Burt and his staff were most gracious and Kathy and I were especially pleased to meet many of the cadet officers. At the moment I am putting the finishing touches to QUARTERDECK. It is amazing to think I have nearly completed writing book five! It does not seem very long ago that Kathy and I gingerly posted off the manuscript of the first book, wondering whether we had done the right thing in taking such a gamble... Then it's a short break and we start on the next book, as yet untitled, but I can tell you it will open with the Battle of the Nile, then move on to Naples - and Nelson and Lady Hamilton..." + CONGRATULATIONS GEOFF Warm congratulations to Geoff Hunt who has been elected President of the prestigious Royal Society of Marine Artists. This month the limited edition print of the oil painting Geoff was commissioned to paint for the cover of MUTINY is published. Details: or email Charles Mayes . Shipmates in the U.S. can purchase from . ===================== 2) ASK JULIAN --- a forum for Shipmates questions --- Oran Donner of Conewango Valley, NY, wrote: "What is the significance of the 'last stitch' when a body is being sewed into his hammock for burial at sea?" Julian replies: "From ancient times, the naval practice for burial at sea was to sew a body into the man's own hammock or other piece of canvas with heavy weights such as a cannon ball at the feet. This would ensure that the body sank. Although I have found no regulations in support of the custom, it was often the practice, especially in Kydd's day, for the sailmaker to pass the last stitch through the corpse's nose. Sailorly superstition has it that once a sailmaker inadvertently put his needle through the nose of a body and the alleged corpse suddenly sat up, the shock of having his nose pierced reviving him from his state of catalepsy." ==================== 3) RECOMMENDED READING --- books, magazines and journals about the sea --- Goodwin, "Men O' War, the Illustrated Story of Life in Nelson's Navy" Published in association with the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, Peter Goodwin's book "Men O' War" is a fascinating account of life in the Georgian Navy, with detailed information on ships and weaponry, daily routines, discipline and punishment and the nature of battles. Goodwin has been interested in wooden sailing ships for over 35 years. After serving in the Royal Navy, he completed a MPhil at the Institute of Maritime Studies. He was then appointed Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory, a position he still holds, and was recently a consultant to Peter Weir in the making of "Master and commander". ISBN 1 84442 965 2 ==================== 4) SALTY SAYINGS --- what today's English owes to Jack Tar --- At loggerheads Today, if we say a person is at loggerheads with someone else, we mean he is in a state of permanent and serious disagreement, a sort of metaphysical butting of heads! The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. A Loggerhead was an instrument with a hollow iron sphere at the end of a shaft. This was heated in a fire and then plunged into a bucket of tar in order to melt pitch for caulking the seams in the ship's timbers. A hot loggerhead was definitely a thing to keep away from! ==================== 5) WHO'S WHO --- bio details of the characters in the series --- Here's the second character for you to identify (the first was in last month's newsletter and the third will be in next month's issue). He is the acerbic one of the two scientists who come aboard in ARTEMIS. Send all three answers to the Bosun by the end of January for entry into a draw for a special prize of a signed uncorrected bound proof - they're fast becoming collectors' items! ==================== 6) FEATURE MODEL TRIBUTES Shipmate Robert Squarebriggs doesn't just read Julian's books - he constructs wonderful models of the ships in the books! The first one he made, a half model of Artemis, now graces Julian's study (a picture of Bob presenting it to Julian in Halifax is in the Album on the website). Bob lives in Miramichi in Northern New Brunswick, Canada, a most appropriate domicile for a master craftsman of historic ships in miniature. The region is still heavily timbered and it was its mature timber that first drew an English shipbuilder to the area in the eighteenth century. Many others were soon attracted to the opportunities and a flourishing shipbuilding industry began. The Bosun chatted with Bob recently about his latest project, a model of "Seaflower". Bosun: Why did you decide to make a model of "Seaflower"? Bob: In 1981 I built a model of a naval cutter, but was never really happy with the results. It just sat in a corner of my work desk. This summer I was invited to display my modelling work at a local exhibition and coincidentally I had just read the book SEAFLOWER. I decided to include my 1981 cutter, but completely dismantled and reborn as "Seaflower". Bosun: What has been your biggest challenge so far with this model? Bob: I would have to say the windless and the deck pumps, but for different reasons. The deck pump was delicate and the handle bracket very fragile. The windless [the equivalent to a capstan on a larger ship] was complex - just to get my head around the whole arrangement was difficult. The blue/green stern was a challenge, too. I hope Julian would approve of the colour - I had to mix it myself to get what I considered was the right shade. Bosun: How far along are you with her? Bob: At the exhibition I used "Seaflower" as a model in progress. Julian's book was on hand so folks could see my inspiration. I probably had put in 200 hours work by then; there's probably at least that amount of time again needed. I work almost entirely using simple hand tools; that is why it takes so long. --- In the New Year we plan an extended website feature, including a number of photographs, to report on Bob's progression with "Seaflower". Bob says he is always happy to chat with fellow model builders - we'll pass on any emails. ==================== 7) CONTEST Another chance to win an unabridged audiobook produced by Books On Tape. The winner of the contest for an unabridged audiobook of KYDD was Geoff Young of Gosport, England, for correctly identifying John Lee as the reader. For a chance to win an unabridged copy of ARTEMIS, email the Bosun with your answer to this month's question: Where did Kydd spend Christmas in SEAFLOWER? Deadline: Dec 28 =================== 8) NEW ON THE WEB SEABRITAIN 2005 In the run-up to the Year of the Sea and Britain's celebrations of the bi-centennary of Nelson's great victory at Trafalgar, the organisers have launched a most informative website. Olla>Links>Sea Interest Merry Christmas to you all! Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Back issues of the newsletter downloadable from the website ++