Nice picture birdseye,I have long wanted to visit the South Street Maritime museum. Have you got any more pics, and is that brooklyn Bridge we can see through the rigging?
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Nice picture birdseye,I have long wanted to visit the South Street Maritime museum. Have you got any more pics, and is that brooklyn Bridge we can see through the rigging?
Two ship from our Imperial past, the P,&O. liners, S.S. Narkunda and S.S. Maloja. Built for the India ,China and Australia trade, they would have carried the people who ran our overseas Empire, from the solar topeed ,walrus mopustached officers of the Indian Army to the memsahibs who ran the hospitals ,schools and other necessary services. There would have been troops to man the frontiers and emigrants to build up our dominions, I cannot look at these ships without thinking of how Britain predominated world affairs in those long ago days. "Another brandy Colonel?" " I don't mind if I do!!"
Sorry Brian, that was the only shot I got there. It was our last day and it was a really fleeting visit. The museum is really well done, like everything else in the city. I had time to grab this postcard which I've scanned. The ship behind the Wavertree there is the Peking, which has quite a history too. I was interested to see just where all those thousands of voyages from the Princes Dock finished up. I hope to go back in the not too distant future and, having done all the major sights, I can concentrate on places like this.
Yes, that's Brooklyn Bridge behind the museum.
Wonderful shot birdseye, I had a painting on a plate of the Peking and the Taipei ,two of the tea clippers, it showed them in full sail scudding up the channel in a bid to be first home with the tea. What graceful vessels they were. Thank you,
BrianD.
A few years ago I watched the Gorch Fock going out of the Mersey and what a fantastic sight it was when it dropped all sail and took off like a greyhound. There's a really good account of life on a sailing ship called "The Last Grain Race" by travel writer Eric Newby, who sailed on the Moshulu in the 1930s. A tough life.
Hi birdseye, I read Eric Newbys book when I was at sea and was enchanted by his tales of the Moshulu, I also read Cracker Hash before I went to sea and that made me even more determined to have a life less ordinary.
I tried to post two pictures on here tonight,one of the Thermopylae and the other of the Cutty Sark, both with the bone in their mouths soaring along under full sail. Unfortunately they would'nt download because the browser wanted a security code? whats up?
The browser has accepted the Gunung Djati, Blue Funnels only full size passenger liner.
Formerly the Empire Orwell,she was purchased by Holts in 1958 and was used on the Hadj service from Indonesia to Djeddah and was renamed after an ancient Javanese Islamic holy man.
Nice picture Brian. Funny how ships always look better in paintings rather than photographs. Here's a link about sailing ships you might not have come across. Shows what happened to the Moshulu - a very swish dockside restaurant in Philladelphia now.
http://www.thesquarerigger.com/moshulu.html
Some good pictures there lads. I used to see the Gunung Djati at Tanjong Priok in 1960, our cadets and Mates used to go aboard to see their Blu Flu mates.
Gunung Djati once said ?Ingsun titip tajug lan fakir miskin?
The word Gunung means `Mountain` in Javanese. bagoos.
GUNUNG DJATI was built in 1936 by Blohm & Voss K.a.A. at Hamburg with a tonnage of 16662grt, a length of 578ft, a beam of 72ft and a service speed of 18 knots. She was launched as the Pretoria on 16th July 1936 for the Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie and commenced her maiden voyage from Hamburg to South Africa via Southampton on 19th December. In 1939 she was requisitioned by the German Navy as an accommodation ship based at Hamburg. She was taken over by the British Government as a war prize in 1945 for use as a troopship. Renamed Empire Doon she was managed by the Orient Line for the Ministry of War Transport but it was soon ascertained that she had problems with her boilers and was laid up. She was reboilered in 1949, brought up to troopship standard and renamed Empire Orwell in recognition of Orient Line management retaining also the MOWT's 'Empire', the Troopship's 'River' and the Orient Line's 'O' nomenclature. In 1958 she was chartered to Pan-Islamic Steam Ship Co. of Karachi to carry pilgrims and at the end of the season was laid up in the Kyles of Bute. Alfred Holt & Co. purchased her in November of the same year for pilgrimage duties. It was Holt's intention to rename her Dardanus but she entered service as the Gunung Djati, the name of the leading Javanese Haji and an Islamic missionary. Operated by the Ocean Steam Ship Co. she was refitted by Barclay Curle at Glasgow who replaced the troopship accommodation with space for 2000 pilgrims and 106 first class passengers. On 7th March 1959 she sailed from Liverpool bound for Djarkarta where she joined the Tyndareus which was operating a similar service. After three seasons she was sold to the Indonesian Government in 1962 who continued to operate her for pilgrimages. In 1965 she was sold to P. T. Maskapai Pelajaran 'Sang Saka' of Djakarta without a change of name and transferred to Pan-Islamic Steam Ship Co. who continued the Mecca Pilgrimage service. She was converted to diesel in 1973 and refitted at Hong Kong in 1975. She returned to the Indonesian flag in 1980 as a naval accommodation ship and was renamed Kri Tanjung, Penant 971. By 1984 she was no longer operating as a seagoing vessel.
Source: http://www.red-duster.co.uk/BLUEFUN19.htm
I have been on the Peking in South Street a few times. I have some photos some where. I`ll try to find them. When your on deck she is massive, UI was amazed at the size of her. The Vindi is no comparison.
The Moshulu, I have the book by Eric Newby and a photo book by him taken when he did the "Last Grain Race".
An interesting link about it there.
I did a painting of the Moshulu.
Here is the Peking, I found it on my computer, I think it belongs to a lady who put it on a site somewhere. If she sees it thanks for the use of it.I lost the details.
The steamship "Tregenna" was built for the Hain Steamship Co. in 1949 and is shown being berthed by an Alexanders tug on the London River. She has nice elegant lines,but I don't know what they were like to sail in.
The "Thermopylae" was one of the greatest tea clippers ,built in 1868,she set a record on her maiden voyage which has stood for all time .She left Gravesend for Melbourne in November 1868 and anchored off Melbourne sixty two days after passing the Lizard . She went on to greatness in competition with the Cutty Sark and the Peking in the China Tea "races"
Built in 1869 ,the Cutty Sark was designed to rival the Thermopylae.She made her maiden voyage from London to Shanghai in 104 days. She has come to personify the greatest in Maritime achievement and is currently being restored to her former beauty in Greenwich.
Thanks Brian. Yes, the Tregenna does have very elegant lines, a really sleek looking ship. I was just thinking, looking at the squareriggers, what it must have been like to be ordered aloft to take in sail when the ship was battering along in a gale. Just the thought of doing it is frightening enough.
Thanks for the Red Duster link Cap'n Kong. Never come across that one. I'm saving it for the next rainy Sunday afternoon.
Built Dumbarton Scotland 1939. For more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Royal_Daffodil_(1939)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/s...a2740187.shtml
Hi Taffy, I used to see the London Royal Daffodil regularly when I was working on the Thames,she was a very pretty ship much larger than the original owner of the name ,the Mersey ferry . They both perormed heroically in their respective wars and were worthy of the "Royal" sobriquet.
Tho it is not a ship it is the Merchant Navy Memorial in Cardiff, near the bottom of Bute St. on the dock side. Very unusal.
Some kids were jumping on it so I gave them a bollocking and ended up having to defend my title against some dads.
The Ariel of 1865 was one of the most extreme of the clippers built for the china Tea trade.She had a length of 195 feet, a beam of 33.9 feet,a depth of 21 feet ,and a gross tonnage of 1085. The vessel was unusually fast in some conditions ,but to this speed her after lines were so fine that it was dangerous for her to run before the wind in heavy weather. This probably accounted for her disappearance without a trace in 1872.(Ignore the Title Taipei on the picture, a mistake)BD.
This should bring back the memory Brian
The Star Ferry in Hong Kong. I took the photo last March while in Honkers.
They are still the same ones we sailed on 50 years ago. never changed.
The trip on them was free for pensioners.
Here is a superb painting of the Cunard Liner, FRANCONIA, built in 1922.
I sailed on her as Quartermaster in 1956, Liverpool -- New York run. then scrapped in December 1956.
This Painting is on board QE2.
Here is another memorable historic ship, photo taken in San Francisco.
the ARRANMORE, built in 1893 on the Clyde.
later the VINDICATRIX. I was Bosun on her in 1952
Here is the CERAMIC,
Built in 1913 for White Star Line, in 1934 when Cunard took over she was transferred to Shaw Savill,Torpedoed and sunk by U515. (The Captain was later shot in USA as a POW trying to escape, he was accused of being a war criminal.) on 6/7 December 1942
655 pasengers and crew were left in the lifeboats to perish. one man, Eric Monday, was taken prisoner.
Splendid collection there Cap'n Kong, the Ceramic was as ugly as the Franconia was beautiful. The one an ungainly old scow and the other a pretty lady. Perhaps the Ceramic would have looked nice in a painting though.
The Hong Kong skyline was a lot less crowded when I was there, the ferry is more modern than the ones that were there then too. Remember that film about the poor guy stuck on the ferry,"Ferry to Hong Kong". Now come on you quizzers , who starred in it?
BrianD
Ferry to Hong Kong, with Curt Jurgens, Sylvia Syms, Orson Welles, Noel Purcell
Curt Jurgens is the ferry boat skipper and Orson Welles a drunk on a trip to Macao
Orson Welles has no passport and he cant get ashore in Macau and cant get ashore in Honkers, so he is stuck on the ferry until they are attacked by pirates.
They were making the film in Honkers when I was there in 1959, on the Good Hope Castle, we had just taken her to Junk Bay for scrapping. We were there for two weeks hanging around. waiting for an old Dakota to find Hong Kong and take us home. I went into a tailors shop in Kowloon and there was Curt Jurgens being measured for a suit. I thought if the tailor is good enough for him then he is good enough for me. So I got the best suit I have ever had and so cheap.
A nice old picture of the White Star sisters in Gladstone dock in 1934. The Georgic is on the right and her appearance only differs from the Britannic in the shape of her streamlined bridge.The Georgic was slightlly heavier at 27,759 gross tons against the Britannics 26,943 gross tons. At the time they were the largest motor vessels in the world.
BrianD
Good ones of two famous ships,
Here is a different type of photo
It is me as a Captain over the bow rigging a sling on the anchor to remove it as it was damaged.
The crowd didnt want to go over the side in case they fell in and got their feet wet, modern "ABs".I was nearly sixty years old then so I had to show them what being an AB is all about, I must admit, I did enjoy doing it.
Thanks for showing the Britannic and the Georgic, Brian. I spent hours
along the Dock Road and the Pier Head in the 30's. Whenever I got to the
Landing Stage it seemed to be almost a certainty that one or the other would
be there - they were a wonderful sight. If by chance they weren't there it was
usually the turn of either the Apapa or the Reina del Pacifico. Any chance of
seeing a photo of either of these in due course,please? Stan H.
Here you are two views of the infamous Reina Del Pacifico and one of the APAPA
Glad you like the pics StanH, Cap'n Kong was quick off the mark there with those great shots. Let's hope we can keep digging in to those photo albums and revive some more memories.
Tonight we have a picture of a really special square rigger, the "Lightning".
She made her maiden voyage from liverpool to Melbourne in 1854 in record breaking time.Outward bound she did 2,188 miles in seven days.She served succesfully on the Liverpool Melbourne for over 10 years. She was destroyed by fire in 1869.
BrianD
Many thanks Cap'n for such a quick reply. You've left me not a little
intrigued concerning the Reina but I wont press. I only remember her as a
frequent visitor and very attractive looking ship. The Apapa was a recent addition to Elder Dempster, if I remember rightly- didn't she replace the Accra ?
Stan H.
Hi Stanley, the Accra and the Apapa were sisters, built in 1947 for the West African trade. Passenger and cargo. They were scrapped in 1967 and 68
here is a photo of the ACCRA
The Reina Del Pacifico was not always a popular ship to sail on as a seaman.
There was a Captain Whitehouse and Bosun named Lah Murphy, whose favourite saying was "Get up and be logged", which meant after a night on the ale in Valparaiso, you would end up adrift or in gaol and so you had to go up on the bridge in front of the Captain and be logged a couple of days pay. At the end of the voyage you always got a bad discharge in your discharge book, but if you sailed again in her he would wipe it out and give you a good one.
A DISASTER The Reina del Pacifico, after a refit in Harlands, Belfast to fit her out for peacetime service.
The accident occurred approximately 7 miles north east of Copeland Island in the North Channel of the Irish Sea at 16:46 on 11 September 1947."
The Belfast Weekly Telegraph reported a week after the accident, on 19 September 1947:
"In an instant the engine room was a shambles, the lighting extinguished, ladders and access platforms destroyed and the atmosphere thick with smoke. When rescuers entered the engine room they found fires breaking out and bodies everywhere. The appalling result was that twenty-eight people died, either instantly or from their injuries, and a further twenty-three were hurt. "
"HEROIC SERVICE ... For three hours, Dr. Hamilton, in his first medical appointment, worked like a Trojan. He had himself lowered into the devastated engine room and with the assistance of the First Officer waded knee-deep in oil and other debris while striving to free those who were trapped. Then he organised a first aid service in the second class lounge, while stewards tore sheets and tablecloths into bandages. He is estimated to have bandaged nearly 60 men himself."
a photo of the ACCRA
The Blue Riband started in 1838 for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. the first ship was the Sirius, the Hales Trophy started in 1933
The winners of the HALES TROPHY FROM 1933
1933-1935 Rex Italia Line 28.92 knots
1935-1936 Normandie Compagnie G?n?rale Transatlantique 29.98 knots
1936-1937 Queen Mary Cunard White Star Line 30.14 knots
1937-1938 Normandie Compagnie G?n?rale Transatlantique 30.58 knots
1938-1952 Queen Mary Cunard White Star Line 30.99 knots
1952- United States United States Lines 34.51 knots
The Queen Elizabeth 2 never went for the Trophy, Cunard always believed that safety was more important than speed. BUT if she had gone for it I think she would have won it. After leaving Japan last March, 2008, we did over 35 knots bound for Honolulu, she was then approaching 40 years of age. A fantastic vessel. that should have been retired to Liverpool instead of being turned into a Frankenstein Monster by the Arabs.
That is why I have includued her here.
I have just recieved this email from CUNARD, It should be interesting.
Cunard Features in BBC Documentary
Dear Captain Aspinall
As a valued Cunard guest we thought you may be interested to hear of an exciting BBC broadcast this weekend involving the world's most loved ship, QE2.
A BBC film crew joined our beloved QE2 on her Final Voyage last November and we are pleased to advise you that 'QE2 - The Final Voyage' will be broadcast on BBC TWO's Timewatch series on Saturday 28 February 2009 at 8pm. We hope you enjoy the programme and that it will bring back fond memories of QE2.
The vessel shown is a barque and the men are taking in the lowest sail on the mizzenmast. This was called the crossjack ( pronounced crojack).
This is from a painting by Claude Muncaster, a marine artiost who knew his rigging.
BrianD
This is a Nippon Yuson Kaisha liner ,the Chichibu Maru. She was built in 1930 for the Orient /California service. A motor passengerliner of 17,000 tons she was 560 feet in length and had a beam of 74 feet and a depth of 42 foot 6 inches. A nice solid looking vessel. I wonder if she was lost in the second world war, anyone out there know her fate?
Here is me leaping aloft over the futtock shrouds, to furl sail on the ship Leuwin in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia,, I was 72 years old then, not bad for an old timer
The NYK Chichibu Maru was built in 1930
In 1934 she was renamed Tsingtao Maru, In 1944 sunk by US air attack off Luzon in the Pilipines
I knew I could rely on you guys,united we could write the book on International Maritime history. Thanks Cap'n,
BrianD
Here is a painting of the `Lusitania` alongside the Liverpool Landing stage and the `Mauretania` out in the River.also a painting of the Mauretania
Also a painting of the `Queen Mary 2` sailing in tandem, past the Statue of Liberty, New York with the `QE2`
The last painting is the old `Queen Elizabeth` in the Clyde
These paintings are on board the `Queen Mary 2`.
Wonderful pictures Cap'n,they underline the fact that great old ladies looked so much better in paint than in black and White.
P.S.,when is it you and Anne set out for Antartica?
Hi Brian ,
We leave home next Tuesday, 3 March .
We fly to Paris and then to Buenos Aires, Stay in hotel, for two days , Have a romp with Cleopatra and then Fly to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, join the Minerva and then sail around Cape Horn and down to Anarctica. Deception Island, Elephant Island, South Georgia , Grytvicken , Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island and then to Cape Town.
The ship has a free bar. all the wine , beer and spirits are all inclusive. Nowt wrong with that. Get Home 27 March.
Cheers.Brian.
Hi Capt.Kong, Did you come across Iain Curphy when you were on the "Leuwin". He sails on her as Mate in between jobs on the Aussie coast and lives in Fremantle. He is the son of a mate of mine, Jack Curphy, who sailed on the Aussie coast for years and now has retired here to Dover.Quote:
Originally Posted by captain kong
Iain is now sailing as 2nd.Mate on a Scandinavian ship cruising the Caribean.
Alec.