Smile, You My Be On Camera!

Emerging from the Office,
You’re supposed to wear a smile,
There’s one for everyone in there,
it’s kept upon your file.

You may not feel like smiling
but that’s beside the point,
your face will still produce one
if your nose is out of joint!!

We’ve met unhappy visitors
we know there’s awkward Staff, (Surely not! - Ed)
but Volunteers – don’t kid me!
You’re just trying to make me laugh!!

The Volunteers are perfect (Of course - Ed)
“For what?” I hear you say,
“For keeping tourists happy,
so they’ll come another day.”

“Pointing Tourists to the Tower,
or the Café and the Loos,
explaining what they’ve come to see
plus all the DON’Ts and DO’s.”

A Volunteer must smile,
it may just keep him sane,
what can he do when “got at”?
Grit his teeth and smile again!!

The Museum Poet

New Cat on the block

This is the big catamaran that is sitting on Pendennis marina. She is to be finished in Pendennis shipyard and will be the biggest privately owned catamaran in the world.

SS Great Britain

A most lovely old lady; each time I see her she seems to get younger and more beautiful than before.

It had been some six years since I made my last visit, so in mid July this year I arranged to go again.

Lots of things had changed all around the ship, mainly some rather ugly buildings which seem to hem her in a lot. Changed too were the approaches to the ship and her museum, but the real surprise was that she appeared to be floating. The dock seemed to be full of water, with the old ship floating there quite serenely.

Now the full dock is of course an optical illusion, once up close it is easy to see that the water is only about three inches deep and beneath the water is a transparent bottom which shows steel scaffolding beneath.

A hasty look at the guide book reveals all: It had long been known that the ship’s plating below the waterline has been deteriorating rapidly. Over the years the iron has absorbed chemical salts causing it to rot away. Despite the very best of attention the problem was worsening. The only cure was to increase the temperature and decrease the humidity of the whole affected area.
This has been achieved by making a flat roof reaching from the actual ship’s waterline out to the dock sides and sealing it all the way around. The roof is made of transparent material and has been flooded, hence the ‘floating’ illusion.

Under this transparent ceiling the visitor can walk round the dock dry-shod and look at the hull and the mighty propeller. But now, due to a very large dehumidifier and heater, it is very warm and dry indeed, much too hot and dry for the unprepared visitor.

On board things have also changed. The first class dining room is even more splendid and many more cabins have been renovated and opened up for viewing. Probably the most interesting is the doctor’s cabin. The doctor himself sits at his table. All around are bottles with the customary ground glass stoppers and strange contents, nearby is a most grisly assortment of surgical instruments.

The engine space is very impressive. A full size replica of the engine takes up the whole area and the eighteen foot diameter flywheel and drive chains slowly turn; the pistons slide back and forth. Everything is polished steel and moves with great majesty. Doubtless, originally it would have been very noisy, hot and probably quite dangerous, but to watch it now is quite hypnotic. On the bulkhead, where the Chief Engineer stood, is the original instruction plate; it cautions the duty engineer never to allow the engine to exceed two revolutions per minute whilst the ship is alongside. How times have changed.

Racing Whalers in the Azores

During a recent visit to the Azores archipelago I visited the port of Horta on the island of Faial. At the top of one of the many slipways I came across a row of eight old-style open whaling boats. Close examination showed that, far from being used for whaling, these boats seemed to be used for racing. All were identical in size, all painted in the most lurid of colours, and all beautifully maintained. I sensed a story.

My enquiries directed me to the local whaling museum where, in addition to some very grisly videos and displays of harpoons and murderous lances, I found an original whaler. The curator was a most helpful chap who told me a lot about the boats and their construction and the way that they were sailed and hunted.

Originally, the whalers would carry six long sweeps of varying lengths, six short paddles for close contact work, a long steering oar and also a removable rudder and tiller. The mast is stepped in a hinged tabernacle. One or two sails were carried. Hunting gear included at least two harpoons and several lances, and there were two tubs of heavy line, 300 metres in each. The harpooner stands on a small platform in the bow. During the chase the whaler might be sailed, but only well off the wind. The boats have no keel, so all the crew must lean out to windward to keep the boat upright. A chase and kill could last six hours or more.

Nowadays whalers are still being built for racing. The original methods of construction are still used, the hulls are double-skinned and very heavily built, (see displacement spec). Racing takes place throughout the summer season and all the entrants race with regulation gear on board. On the island there are six parishes (counties), racing is between these. On board each: six 3.3 metre sweeps, and long steering oar – originally used whilst the whaler is closed up on its victim, and a set of sails. A rudder is shipped for use under sail. One or both sails may be used if the wind is right.

My informant had only rather limited English but I understood that a triangular course of some three miles is set, the crews may use oars, sail or both to propel the boat along. Competition is fierce. Training fuel is a very sharp red wine and lots of local grappa. Men only is the rule. Prizes are yet more booze. A local winery sponsors the event.

Whaler specifications: LOA 11.5m, beam 1.9m, draught 0.57m, Displacement 2.97 tons.
I have a full specification for a working whaler, which includes all the working gear. This is too detailed for inclusion here. It is lodged in the library.

A Journey Through the Heart of Sweden

‘Two seas, one river, three canals, eight lakes and 66 locks’. So says the publicity for the journey – and that is just what it is, though there is no mention of the fact that the canal also passes over two large aqueducts. If you are not expecting it, then it can be a bit unnerving to find your ship gently steaming over a motorway!

We started at Stockholm on the north-east coast of Sweden on the Baltic. The canal, on its journey south and west, links several lakes in the interior of the country, some large, some only about a mile long. The locks take the ships 93 metres above sea level, the highest point being Lake Vattern, then down again through many staircases of locks, to Goteborg on the north-sea. End-to-end the journey is 190 kilometres, and it takes four days. Leisurely progress, but wonderful scenery.

The canal has a long and interesting history. Work was started in the early 17th century, and linked Gothenburg to the interior so that farming produce might reach the sea ports. Over the next 200 years the canal was enlarged and lengthened. The locks were all improved and by 1800, ships of up to 300 tons could pass through. Today ships of 400 tons, plus a myriad of pleasure craft, run back and forth through the electrically operated and radio controlled lock system.

The ship that I travelled on was the JUNO. Built on the canal at Mottala in 1874 she has worked the canal continuously – apart from being laid up in the last war for four years. Originally built as a freighter, over the years she has undergone many changes. The steam engine was removed in 1950, at which time she also became mainly passenger carrying. Juno keeps her old-fashioned appearance and does the run, east-west and back every ten days. On board there are most of the creature comforts, though it has to be said that the lower deck accommodation is a mite cramped – and no ‘en-suite’ facilities either. It’s a long walk down the corridor to the heads!

The crew are few in number, but very versatile, even the chef can sling a good heaving line. Most of the staff seem able to speak several languages. Food throughout the journey was excellent. The bar system is unique. Take what you want – when you want it, and write the details in the bar book. The ship’s souvenir shop and library work on the same principles.

Juno – vital statistics: 31.45 meters LOA, 6.68m beam, 2.72m draught, 10 knots max speed, GRT 254. Engine power is two 460hp diesels driving through a common gearbox powering a single variable pitch propeller. Construction is 6mm plate, riveted throughout (this lasts well as the canal is only brackish). The ship is listed by the National Maritime Museum and this now limits the number of changes which the vessel may have. She is believed to be the oldest passenger vessel in regular service in Europe.

Full details of The Juno are now available from the Bartlett Library.

Titanic Quiz

by Clive Mathison, Volunteer & avid 'Eggheads' watcher

With all the collective hours our volunteers put in at the TITANIC EXHIBITION were they able to give the correct answer to a question on the Monday 22nd October edition of the 'Eggheads' programme?

Question "How many passengers lost their lives in the tragedy?" (The programme's challenging team knew the correct answer)

Stuart would guess that I certainly would know the answer to this one!

Grumpy Volunteer Corner

by Keith Evans (Gallery Volunteer)

Sensory disturbances have always intrigued me. I learned to sail in the 50s on the Norfolk Broads, following in the footsteps of Nelson – but there the similarity ends. We used to take a coach-load of staff from London, hiring a fleet of boats. We had to rendezvous on Ranworth Broad on the Sunday evening because the hospital chaplain had an arrangement with the Vicar of Ranworth, the ‘Cathedral of the Broads’, to take evensong. We had to rendezvous on the evenings because we sailed mixed crews, but had designated ‘snooze-boats’ at night – at least that was the theory. After a particularly rough day’s sailing a disreputable looking mob ambled up to the church – there was no excuse. During a quiet prayer session my pal Nick nudged me in the ribs and said ‘Keith, is that eagle on the lecturn flying up and down?’ I opened one eye and answered ‘ Yes’ ‘Thank God for that’ he said, ‘I thought it was me.’

The all too brief Titanic exhibition brought an amazing number of visitors with family associations, some with documentation, postcards, certificates etc. One old man knew of the newspaper boy on the placard. His name was Ned who was later killed in the war. The talks brought forth some entertaining comments, like the chap who insisted the ship sank because all its rivets ‘popped’. No wonder there were over 1500 victims with two million rivets flying about. But the highlight must have been when a certain volunteer gave his talk with a vital zip undone. He wondered why all the ladies’ eyes were down-cast. A strategically placed folder avoided a mass swooning!

Now we pride ourselves as being an educational establishment, one might say a centre of excellence, so we must stop confusing the little dears. In the winter we have icebergs either end of the pool, a polar bear on one and a penguin on the other. Polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic, we therefore should have a line half way down the pool to represent the equator. We could even evolve a ‘crossing of the line’ ceremony. I suggest chucking the little darlings in. That’ll teach them a lesson they’d never forget!

Romance came close to home recently with two nuptials. Congratulations to both Ben and Derryth. Must be something in the museum air – Trevor could you change the filters in the air conditioning system please? Offspring are arriving too, involving years of stress, demands and temper tantrums. The baby could create problems too. However there is a new treatment for depression – play your wedding video backwards. The bride processes backward down the aisle, gets into her car and goes back to mummy. Unfortunately it’s only effective in 50% of cases – i.e. the male gender. Any suggestions for therapy for females to the editor please on a postcard and would she please give me notice of publication so that I can take a month off!

Latest Museum Minnow

Benjamin Alec Nix Gibbs arrived safely to Tamsin and Mike at 10:17 on Friday 2 October weighing 8lb 13 oz (4kg). Mother and baby are doing very well and are now at home. Big sister Emma totally adores her baby brother and couldn’t be more hands on with nappies, feeding and bath time. Tamsin will bring her new bundle of joy into the museum for his first visit in a few weeks.

A boost for Anglo-French relations

Falmouth recently hosted a group from France who were here to meet with British veterans from World War II to commemorate the St Nazaire operation. Heather Campbell, Boat Collection volunteer, gave up her Saturday afternoon to practice her French and show the group round the Museum. This is her report.

The visit to the Museum went very well, though not entirely as anticipated! But I guess that was to be anticipated as well!!

The visit, which was expected to last for no more than 90 minutes, actually lasted for almost twice that time, due entirely to the enthusiastic interest in everything that Les Francaises encountered. They were very complimentary about the Museum, one gentleman commenting that 'over here you are so much ahead in this area, of anything we are doing in France'.

The nature of the visit was quickly shaped by the Mayor, M. Batteux who is a veteran of 5 Fastnet Races, including 1979, when he was towed into Penzance, dismasted. He had also sailed all the single handed dinghies on display. The French contingent were just 5 - the Mayor and his partner, the Deptuy Mayor(ess), another gentleman (and I never knew what was his role but his English was impeccable), and an add-on, a very serious young man in military dress. There were also two English couples.

Unfortunately, as is the tendency these days, introductions were made in first names, so I initially missed the fact that one couple were Nick and Sue Beattie, son of the Captain of the Campbeltown, whose father's letters are on display in the Falmouth Galleries. The other Englishman was his cousin, and his wife - they have recently found letters belonging to his mother which Cmdr Beattie sent to his sister shortly after his capture.

They mostly spoke English, so my French was not an issue! The Mayor strode off around the Museum, enthusiastically inspecting everything with the rest of the group straggling his wake. My job was really to keep everyone up to speed and and steer them onwards and upwards. We were treated to a magnificent scene at the top of the tower - the Falmouth Gigs and Working Boats out in force, the Working Boats schreeching towards us before turning just off the pontoons. A shoal of Mullet were strutting their stuff when we got down below, so the Tower was truly a tour de force.

It was when we got to Curlew that I realised the significance of the English couples present, as it emerged that the Beatties had lived on Curlew for two weeks and are old friends of the Carrs. Additionally, when looking at the Olympic boats, it emerged that one of the two cousins had sailed with Rodney Pattison when they were submariners - it was hard to keep up with all the cross-referencing !

There was of course a lot of interest in the letters on display in the Packet Ship Gallery (until someone spotted the two-headed piglet) and when we finally reached the original St Nazaire exhibit in the Cornwall Galleries, the Beattie contingent were intrigued with the pencil drawing of his father (they didn't appear to have seen it before) and the French were delighted with the cartoon - NAZI being blasted out of St NAZAIRE - this was much photographed, as was the whole visit!

We ended the tour on the pontoon - apparently there is a big Dragon Regatta at St Nazaire - which Tessa kindly unlocked for us - and it was a nice finale for the afternoon, group photos were taken. I left them in the shop, where the ladies found renewed energy!

They were a delightful group, most interesting and their enthusiasm for everything they saw and their complimentary comments about the Museum should be shared by everyone.

Many thanks for involving me in this visit, I enjoyed the challenge!

Exhibitions Update

by Sarah Riddle

Everyone is working very hard on the lighthouse exhibition for 2010. Perhaps some of us have been working too hard…

Which member of staff can be seen reading the Lamp magazine (of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers) in bed?

Answers on a postcard to Sarah Riddle

A great reward for volunteers

I, as an NMMC volunteer, was given earlier this year a 'Cornish Heritage Volunteers Scheme Pass' after a qualification period by the museum. At first I put it into my wallet and didn't think I would use it. But due to circumstances, and the need to again mix with people after a serious operation, I discovered what the card was all about. It helped me discover a great deal about myself and what Cornwall had to offer apart from the usual attractions. I realise that most of the volunteers at the Maritime museum, have lived down here all their lives, (some of them, tell us youngsters frequently, especially how long they have been at the museum). But even they can experience what I have learnt in my travels around Cornwall and its many interesting buildings, houses, castles etc. And you do get in FREE, which is unusual here in Cornwall! So in view of this, might I suggest that all the volunteers who have this wonderfull card, take advantage of my suggestion and visit these places as I have done. You never know, you may discover something you do not know.

by MartinSmith (youngish in mind) NMMC Volunteer

Please note: A Cornish Heritage Volunteers Scheme Pass is issued to volunteers on completion of 50 hours of voluntary work within a calendar year. Please see Sandie or Linda for more information.