====================================== S T O P - P R E S S UK release of MUTINY November 1 + Free KYDD offer extended + ====================================== "THE BOSUN'S CHRONICLE" --- emailed to Shipmates around the world --- VOL. 3, ISSUE 10, NOVEMBER 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, reviews, readers' comments CLIPPINGS FILE - a selection of recent articles and reviews from around the world +"From Ship to Shore", celebrity interviewer Judi Spiers talks to Julian in the UK monthly magazine, "Devon Life", October issue. +"Publish and be damned!" - a feature article on Julian's tips for budding authors in the Autumn issue of "The Seafarer", the magazine of the Marine Society. +Lead article in the November issue of the online magazine "Bowsprit" +"Seaflower", an article by the former development director at the San Diego Museum. October issue of "Elissa Log" BOOK APPEAL People are attracted to Julian's books for many reasons - the setting of the Great Age of Sail, the in-your-face realism of his writing, Geoff Hunt's covers... But when Shipmate Rick Wehmeyer emailed Julian about the series, his reason for being attracted to KYDD was one we had not come across before - Rick is a theatrical wig-maker! SEA WARRIORS "Sea Warriors - The Royal Navy in the Age of Sail" is a soon-to-be- released documentary about the Royal Navy of Kydd's day. Julian and fellow sea fiction writers Alexander Kent and Richard Woodman are interviewed, as well as leading naval historians. In the States, you can order from . UK outlets are yet to be confirmed. More details as they come to hand. ===================== 2) ASK JULIAN --- a forum for Shipmates questions --- David Porter from Hawaii asks "Could you please explain the steps in shipboard discipline at sea, for both sailors and officers." Julian replies: "To our modern sensitivities, shipboard discipline may seem harsh and brutal, but you have to look at it in the context of the times. On land, in the eighteenth century, you could be transported to Botany Bay for the theft of a handkerchief or hanged for stealing two shillings. At sea, the Captain was the king's representative, his rule was kept by the first lieutenant through the master-at-arms and ships corporals. The Articles of War was the legal basis for naval discipline but the severity of punishment varied greatly from ship to ship and from officer to officer. Admiralty regulations allowed the Captain to award a maximum of twelve lashes, but this was often ignored with the excuse that the man had offended several times at once. The Captain was not limited to the formal offences as specified in the Articles of War. He could punish "according to the laws and customs in such cases used at sea" and the punishments meted out could include flogging, an admonishment, stopping of grog or disrating of a petty officer. On punishment day, at six bells in the forenoon watch, the order was given, "All hands to witness punishment". The master at arms presented the offender to the Captain who questioned him about the offence and then delivered a verdict. The officer of the offender's division was asked if he had anything to say in mitigation. If this did not satisfy the Captain, he ordered the man's punishment. However, a Captain's jurisdiction was limited. He did not have power of life and death, or the authority to order some of the very extreme punishments like flogging around the fleet. Serious crimes had to be dealt with by court martial. An offender would be locked up in the bilboes until he could be court martialed. A captain could not punish officers, only confine them to their cabins until a court martial could be held. A court martial had to consist of at least five, and not more than thirteen Captains and Admirals. If a sailor was sentenced to death by a court martial he was hanged; an officer was shot. A number of punishments could be awarded by the junior officers or petty officers without the formality of a trial by the captain. The most common were "starting" (hitting the man on the back with a rope's end); gagging (tying the mouth open with an iron bolt between the teeth); and spreadeagling (being seized up to the shrouds). Some punishments were carried out by the men themselves, notably "running the gauntlet" for theft. Do you have a question for Julian? There's a signed set of series postcards for every published question! Please put ASK JULIAN in the subject line. Email: JulianStockwin@JulianStockwin.com. ==================== 3) RECOMMENDED READING --- books, magazines and journals about the sea --- Harland, "Seamanship in the Age of Sail" When Julian is asked what books he suggests for people to learn more about Kydd's world, he generally recommends Lavery's "Nelson's Navy" (see June 2003 issue) and John Harland's "Seamanship in the Age of Sail." Harland's work came out in 1984, and is a classic of its type. Every aspect of handling a man-of-war is detailed and illustrated with superb line drawings by Mark Myers. A definitive guide as to how the ships of Kydd's day were actually sailed. ISBN 0851771793 ==================== 4) SALTY SAYINGS --- what today's English owes to Jack Tar --- Cut and run To cut and run means to make off suddenly. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty - and we offer two explanations. If the enemy suddenly came on a ship when she was at anchor, or if a sudden storm threatened to force the ship onto a lee shore, the Captain would order the crew to cut the anchor cable and run downwind to escape. An alternate derivation of the phrase is the process of furling the sails on their yards and "stopping" them there with light spunyarn, which could be cut with a knife so that the sail fell and drew almost immediately. ==================== 5) WHO'S WHO --- bio details of the characters in the series --- Something different this month - and in the next two issues of the newsletter - can you identify a character from Julian's books? Here's the first one: He has "been aboard since the last age". Faded tatooes cover his body and he has a mild, seamed face. Who is he? 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 - TWO "MUTINY" CONNECTIONS PELLEW Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, First Viscount Exmouth (1757-1833) first makes his appearance in the Kydd series in ARTEMIS, thinly disguised as Powlett. In MUTINY, he is mentioned by name at the start of the book, as he and his officers see the approaching French fleet - heading toward England... One of Nelson's great fighting captains, Pellew has been somewhat overshadowed by the victor of Trafalgar. Pellew was a man of immense personal bravery and consummate seamanship. He was a hero of the wars against Napoleon and victor of the Battle of Algiers. He never lost a ship under his command to enemy action and had remarkably few crewmen killed over the period. Pellew was a gallant victor and often personally generous to the dependants of his enemy in defeat. Shipmates will recall in ARTEMIS the gift to the widow of the brave French captain. Pellew went to sea age 13 as Captain's servant in the frigate HMS Juno. Rising steadily in rank, he was made a Commander for fighting a successful action against a French frigate after his Captain had been killed. After a number of admirable achievements and further promotions he achieved the post of Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean from 1811 to 1814. Edward Pellew died in Teignmouth on 23 January 1833, Admiral of the Red, Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom, Peer of the Realm and holder of many foreign honours. Julian and Kathy recently visited the Teignmouth Museum in Devon to see Pellew's actual uniform and various personal effects. The Museum has recently acquired the flag flown by Sir Edward Pellew at the Battle of Algiers. Unfortunately the flag is in a bad state of repair and in need of restoration. An Appeal has been launched to raise funds. Details: +++ TRINITY HOUSE The Corporation of Trinity House also features in MUTINY, and with his typical attention to historical detail, Julian has taken pains to ensure its amazing role during the Mutiny at the Nore is portrayed accurately. Having as its prime objective the safety of shipping and the welfare of seafarers, the Corporation is a unique maritime organisation whose Charter dates back to Henry V111's days! Trinity House is led by a Court of Elder Brethren under the Master, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. It reports direct to the Sovereign. In Kydd's day the Brothers examined all RN sailing masters as well as pilots. A strong connection with the Royal Navy remains today. The Younger Brethren (about 300) are divided roughly equally between the red and white ensigns, with a sprinkling of RFA blue ensigns. The Elder Brethren (31) are similarly divided. Its headquarters is a magnificent eighteenth century building in London. ==================== 7) CONTESTS Apologies from the Bosun! In one of the questions last month I incorrectly stated that the answer was in chapter one of KYDD. Here's the corrected question - Name an evolution described in chapter two of KYDD. The first six correct answers win a signed paperback of SEAFLOWER. UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOKS We're delighted to offer two more contests, this month and next - for BooksonTape's KYDD and ARTEMIS audiobooks. For a chance to win KYDD email your answer to the following question: Name the 'reader' of Julian's audiobooks All contest answers to Pls include your postal address. First correct answers drawn on October 28 will be sent the prizes. === Winners all + Charles Vallor of Belmont, California won the unabridged BooksonTape audiobook of SEAFLOWER. The answer was Lt. Holbaek. + The six winners of signed First Editions of MUTINY were Don Kime of British Columbia, Canada; Tony Gibson of New South Wales, Australia; David O'Neill of Inverness-shire,Scotland; David Preston of Middlesex, UK; Nigel Loft of East Sussex, UK and Henry Armstrong of Northumberland, UK. They all correctly identified the Vice Admiral of the Blue in the Leeward Islands Squadron as Admiral Benjamin Caldwell. === FREE KYDD OFFER Following the popularity of the free KYDD for a Friend offer last month, Julian's UK publisher has kindly agreed to extend the offer to Shipmates themselves - so that's one present you can cross off your Christmas list! Just email your postal address to the Bosun (offer limited to UK and Ireland residents). It's hoped to extend this to Shipmates in other countries in the future. =================== 8) NEW ON THE WEB We've launched a new section on some of history's great sea heroes and kick off with Sir Edward Pellew; we'll add more on a regular basis. Olla>Links>Sea Heroes =================== NO REPLY TO YOUR EMAILS? ++ We've had some problems trying to reply to emails from Shipmates to Julian and the Bosun. If you do not receive a reply to your email, it could be that you have a spam filter active, in which case adjust your settings or inform your ISP to allow email from JulianStockwin@JulianStockwin.com and Bosun@JulianStockwin.com. Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Back issues of the newsletter downloadable from the website ++