<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> February, 2008 In this issue - a double helping of ASK JULIAN; a wood that was prized aboard ships in Kydd's day, lignum vitae - and a chance to win a limited edition print of Geoff Hunt's cover painting for THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER 1 DISPATCHES 2 SHIPMATES AHOY! 3 FEATURE - CRADLE OF THE NAVY 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD 7 ASK JULIAN 8 TEAZER UPDATE ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + What's in a Name? After reading THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER Shipmate Peter Cowan in Canada emailed Julian, saying he was curious about his namesake character in the book. Julian explained that "Boy" Cowan was a literary tribute to a delightful gentleman of the sea called Bill Cowan who he and Kathy had met while doing location research in Cornwall. As an aside, Julian mentioned his admiration for Admiral Walter Cowan. A legendary hero of the Boer War, and both the First and Second World Wars, he was still on active service well into his seventies! http://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cowan + Book Borrowers Say Bravo! Once again, Julian is in the top band of authors in the PLR (Public Lending Right) for the UK. This measures the number of times an author's work has been borrowed. + Furry and Feathery Seafarers The noted Australian photographer Sam Hood is reputed to have photographed every vessel that entered Sydney Harbour during a career that spanned 60 years (1890s to 1950s). There's a special display at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, from 13 February to 8 June of some of his portraits of the ocean-going pets - cats, dogs, birds, even monkeys - that he encountered. + ARTEMIS en Francais Presses de la Cite has just published the second book in the Kydd series in French and translator Florence Herbulot is hard at work on SEAFLOWER, which will come out later in the year. + The Nelson Touch 2008 will once again see a focus on Admiral Horatio Nelson and his great achievements as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth. + 2008 Collector's Set - Don't Miss Out! We are still taking reservations for the 2008 Kydd Collectors Set - a signed, numbered and embossed UK First Edition of book nine, a signed postcard of the cover and an exclusive Julian Stockwin leather bookmark. The Set is strictly limited to 500 in number and reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is GBP 19.99 plus p&p; pre-payment will be accepted but is not required until closer to publication in early October. Admin@Julianstockwin.com ==================== 2 SHIPMATES AHOY! Here's three recent correspondents from Julian's postbag:- Norrie Linn is a dispatcher at the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, the Halifax-based organisation responsible for sending marine pilots out to ships arriving and departing from 22 Atlantic ports. Born in Paisley in Scotland, as a small boy Norrie was always fascinated with the idea of going to sea, and went on to qualify as a marine radio operator. His service on the briny deep was certainly not uneventful - even before he had left the English Channel on his first voyage a shackle dropped from the mast and killed one of the seamen. Then, when they arrived in the Persian Gulf (after returning to Plymouth with the corpse) a sister ship blew up killing his counterpart on board. Norrie came across QUARTERDECK about two years ago and was intrigued to see that it was set in Halifax. Since then he has become an avid fan, devouring the other Kydd books in about two days each. He has one request for Julian: "I would like to see Renzi's character developed more and have him reveal his true identity..." === Jenifer Faulkner lives on the Isle of Arran, Scotland's most southerly island. Following an item in the October issue about memorable passages in the series, she emailed us with her favourite, from TENACIOUS, chapter 5. Says Jenifer "Julian wrote a detailed and enthralling description of clearing for action but he never lost the build-up of (gut-knotting) tension about the battle to come. Passing the magazine 'Kydd shivered in the fearful thought of being confined here in a blazing battle, with no knowledge of the outside world, the tons of powder in plain sight their [the magazine crew's] only company'. It lifts the hair at the back of my neck." Recently Jenifer came across a non-fiction book that was of particular interest to her, "Royal Tour - 1901", by Petty Officer Harry Price. It was a lower deck account of the world cruise of HMS "Ophir". Her great uncle was in command of one of the escort vessels that greeted the royal party in Victoria. Jennifer wonders whether Shipmates might have any further information on Harry Price. === Ken Erichsen in Rosamond, California, served in the US airforce, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant. He says the Thomas Kydd series reminds him of the wonderful sea yarns told to him by his grandfather, an Old Salt who had served in a variety of merchant vessels and also the Royal Navy. Ken has a very special memory of his grandfather visiting the USS "Constitution" in Boston a few years back. Although then walking with some difficulty, and having to use a cane, within minutes of coming aboard a transformation came over the old gentleman and he looked 20 years younger, the cane quickly discarded. Ken enjoys taking part in a Napoleonic naval role- playing game - and says Kydd's exploits have inspired several adventures for his characters! http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group?InHarmsWayRPG/ And when each new book in the series arrives, for Ken it is "Haze Gray and Underway" once again... ==================== 3 FEATURE - The Cradle of the Navy Although up to fairly recent times most British seamen were traditionally trained aboard ship in a sort of on- the-job training, there were schools that prepared young men specifically for a career at sea. In ARTEMIS, Renzi comes up with a plan to restore the Kydd family fortunes: "So we establish a school on naval lines - a captain assisted by a strict bo'sun and capable quartermaster. You see, your father will be the principal, you dear self as his assistant and your mother to provide for the infants..." Perhaps the most famous of the naval schools schools was the Royal Hospital School, established by Royal Charter in 1694 by William and Mary. The school became a great success through its teaching of mathematics, navigation and nautical astronomy, providing its pupils with sufficient knowledge for a number of them to join the Royal and merchant navies as master's mates. In the 1930s the school moved to purpose-built facilities in Holbrook, Suffolk. Today, the school is a co-educational boarding school, but still proudly retains a naval connection. All pupils are provided with a naval uniform which is worn at formal parades. And the boarding houses still bear the names of naval greats - Collingwood, Drake, Hood... Shipmate Richard Hardcastle was sent to the Royal Hospital School in the 1980s. "Nothing had prepared me for the massive change in my life. I have yet to recover! On arrival Matron handed out our kit. We then spent the afternoon learning how to do hospital corners and where our kit should be stored. The older boys took immense delight in treating us like scum... Dinner was an experience I will never forget. A few years ago I worked in a homeless hostel where the food was made by the same company that catered to prisons - it was a good deal better than RHS food! After dinner there was drill, then we were herded into a group shower. That was followed by prayers, and then bed with no talking... Over the course of my five years there I very slowly grew to love RHS. We were possibly the only school in Europe with a chief naval officer, Commander Lamb. Incredibly knowledgeable on matters nautical, he taught every boy in the school to sail. We nicknamed him Smiley as whatever the circumstances he always had a cheesy grin on his face. His assistant, Mr Dryden, was another matter. He was a retired Royal Marine WO and it is illegal for them to have a sense of humour. Overall, I couldn't recommend the experience to everyone, and the truth is that it's not available any more. The year I left, the school started admitting girls; it also had to drop the criteria that all pupils should be the sons or grandsons of serving or retired members of the navy." The school boasts some famous alumni, including the first Governor of Australia, Arthur Philip. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Windfall Today, a windfall is an unexpected stroke of good fortune. The origins of this word are definitely salty. At sea, a ship close in to land could sometimes encounter a strong gust of wind blowing out from high land. Canny captains would take this into account to maximise their speed. ==================== 5 CONTESTS Deadline: February 25 Bosun@Julianstockwin.com Don't forget to include your full postal address. + Geoff Hunt print For a chance to win "A Landing Party on Anti-Smuggling Patrol, 1803", signed and numbered by the artist, here's the question: Which work in the Kydd Collection is also offered in giclee on canvas format? www.artmarine.co.uk + COMMAND Julian's books are now available in many languages around the world. To go into the hat for a hardback UK edition of COMMAND, who is his Japanese publisher? === Winners all - the brace of sea books goes to Barry Houghton for identifying the author of Mariner's Book of Days as Peter Spectre; and the Kydd Tankard was won by Dave Williams. We asked which famous admiral is particularly associated with rum. The answer we were looking for was Admiral ("Old Grog") Vernon, but in the spirit of the question we also accepted Nelson, Penn, Benbow and Le Fanu. ==================== 6 KYDD'S WOODEN WORLD + Lignum vitae In SEAFLOWER, the master shipwright introduces Kydd to a special wood. "Lignum vitae - the hardest wood we know," said Caird, stroking the piece of smooth, olive-green timber. "You will see it as the sheave in every block aboard your ship and it grows right here in Antigua." Such was its value to the Royal Navy that the wood was allowed to be imported free of all duties. Lignum vitae derives its name from the Latin for "wood of life", due to its medicinal properties, and has been used to treat a variety of conditions from coughs to arthritis. The hardwood was prized by mariners for its density and strength (three times harder than oak). As well, it has natural lubricants, giving it exceptional resistance to moisture and fungal attack. Its main use aboard was as sheaves of wooden blocks (where it stood up to the chafing caused by ropes and its smoothness allowed the rope to pass through easily). A ship-o'-the line needed some 1400 blocks for the rigging and guns. Blocks were used to alter the lead of a rope around an obstacle or to serve as part of a block and tackle arrangement for lifting heavy weights. The simplest block had only one sheave, others had multiple sheaves. The rack block, for example, which was used on each side of the bowsprit, had five or six six sheaves in line. The variety in size and shape of blocks was enormous, around 200 different ones were in use in Kydd's day! As well as its use in sheaves, lignum vitae was favoured for other components of the rigging such as deadeyes, chesstrees and belaying pins. Fids (conical pins tapering to a point, used in splicing), too, were made from lignum vitae. And its use did not end with sailing ships: the shaft bearings on the WWII submarine USS "Pampanito", and the bearings in the original 1920s turbines of the Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, (in its day the second largest in the States) were made from lignum vitae. Today lignum vitae is a protected species, as it is now sadly threatened with extinction. ==================== 7 ASK JULIAN Tony Harvey wanted to know: "Where did the term 'nippers' come from?" Julian replies: "Today, the word is colloquial for a small boy, full of energy - and perhaps a little mischievous. In Kydd's day, when heaving in the anchor, the heavy cables were too large to bend around the capstan and a smaller line (in an endless loop) called a 'messenger' was used. As the capstan was turned, one end of the anchor cable was quickly temporarily bound to the messenger with short lengths of rope called 'nippers'. As the operation progressed the nippers had to be rushed from one end of the messenger to the other and this task was assigned to young boys who had to be nimble and fast in the task. They became known as nippers. [Julian gives a graphic description of the process of weighing anchor in KYDD.] === And Richard Smith was curious about various means of recruitment to the Royal Navy. And he also wanted to know if a landman could not stand heights would be forever in that role? Julian replies: "Basically there were three ways the Navy manned its ships - impressment, the Quota Act (which made local authorities responsible for supplying a certain number of seamen) and signing on volunteers. When a man was pressed into the Royal Navy he was actually given the choice of volunteering or being pressed. If he volunteered, he did get a monetary inducement and certain privileges, such as being allowed shore leave. To answer your question about a landman - he was the lowest rung on the scale at sea, pretty unskilled and could never be forced to go aloft, although persuasion was sometimes used. An able seaman, the third rate up (after ordinary seaman), could be expected to perform as a topman, if required. A topman was not a rate, but a functionary role - working on the yards and furling sails and so on." === Do you have a question for ASK JULIAN? We have a special mystery sea gift for every one published this year. =================== 8 "Teazer" update Many of you have told us you are fascinated to follow John Thompson's "Teazer" build on Julian's website. John started on the year-long project in August 2007 and now has the second layer of planking in place on her hull. www.Julianstockwin.com -> SHIPMATES -> BUILDING TEAZER We're planning a feature in the next couple of months on some of the other ship modellers among Julian's readers and would love to hear from you if you've caught the modelling bug... === Coming next month: Japanese translator Yoko Omori talks about her latest Kydd project; William Pitt the Younger features as the second of our great Georgians - and we have two Kydd Kits up for grabs... =================== Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++