Luebeck letter

If he had stuck to tennis at least he wouldn't have lost his head. William Wallace, even without the Braveheart hype, has all the endearing features of the Scottish hero, the brutal underlying savagery being totally submerged in the unjustness of his end. It would be nice to think that the image above, albeit done a few hundred years after his death, was reasonably accurate. He certainly looks like the sort of fellow you can expect to meet today in places like the Lismore Bar, but I wouldn't recommend commenting on his choice of hat.

Very little authentic material about Wallace survives and one of the few documents is the famous letter of 11 October 1297, a month after the defeat of the English army at the battle of Stirling. It was sent to Luebeck and Hamburg and the former survives. Here is an image:-

And here is a transcription of the original text:-

In looking for the text online, as my Latin is rusty, I was interested to discover that the letter is now being promoted as a teaching aid in Scottish schools. National Archives of Scotland helpfully provide teachers with a translation, as follows:-

"Andrew Moray and William Wallace, leaders of the army of the Kingdom of Scotland and the Community, to their worthy and beloved friends, the Mayors and citizens of Lübeck and Hamburg, greeting. We have been told by trustworthy merchants of the Kingdom of Scotland that you are giving help and favour in all business concerning us and our merchants for which we thank you. We ask that it be made known among your merchants that they will now have safe access to all ports in the Kingdom of Scotland, since Scotland, blessed be God, has been rescued from the power of the English by force of arms. Given at Haddington in Scotland, on the 11th day of October in the year of grace one thousand two hundred and ninety seven."

But hang on a minute, isn't there a bit missing? The whole thing actually translates as:-

"Andrew of Moray and William Wallace, leaders of the Scottish army, and the community of the same kingdom send to the prudent and discreet men, our good friends, the nobles and the commoners of Luebeck and of Hamburg greetings and a continuous increase of sincere affection. We have been informed by trustworthy merchants of the said kingdom of Scotland, that you on your own part have been friendly and helpful in counsel and deed in all things and enterprises concerning us and our merchants, even though we did not merit this. We are therefore the more beholden to you, and wishing to prove our gratitude in a worthy manner we ask you to make it known among your merchants that they can now have a safe access with their merchandise to all harbours of the Kingdom of Scotland, because the Kingdom of Scotland has, by the grace of God, been by war recovered from the power of the English. Farewell. Given at Haddington in Scotland on the eleventh day of October in the Year of Grace one thousand two hundred and ninety seven.

We also pray you to be good enough to further the business of John Burnet and John Frere, our merchants, just as you might wish that we should further the business of your merchants. Farewell. Dated as above."

I'm sorry to be an old cynic, but to me it looks as if the postscript is quite important and the  copy letter a much better teaching aid with it. It would be fascinating to know if letters like these were in fact issued in numbers to better the chances of merchants like Burnet and Frere. Perhaps  more letters will come to light in the archives of the other old Hanseatic ports.

P.S. For anyone confused by the first sentence of this post, it was first published just after the start of Andy Murray's recent spell of bad luck! 

P.P.S. The above postscript was added before his Gold!

A tide-rode social life

a very social regatta in Laboe

a quiet picnic spot in the skerry garden

an evening dram half a mile offshore at Salen

better just stay in the pub at Maldon

Pictures from the archives

Above is an image of the 1921 Fife gaff cutter Clio with William Fife III at the helm. When I scanned it from the Thom archive I thought I had found a rare treat, but in fact the picture had a fairly wide distribution. At present I don't know the identity of the photographer. I'm not at all sure why no less than three of the crew have left the safety of the cockpit in what looks like a nasty squall.

The so-called Scottish  Maritime Museum is not distinguished for the quality of its maritime research, but I was amazed to see that this image is described by them on flickr as of the famous designer on board his "twin-screw yacht."

Clio was WF III's personal yacht. As Sheevra she was found by Donn Costanzo and friends in the Mediterranean and restored. Renamed Clio once again she is now based in the United States. I had a chance to view her fine condition when her owners brought her across for the 2003 Fife Regatta.

 

Next is the 1928 Fife 8 metre yacht Cluaran, well reefed down, on another of those dirty Clyde days that give sailing in Scotland its distinctive quality. This yacht also survives today, as Miguell IV.

Now for a more peaceful scene. Here is the Islander Bernera getting close to the royal yacht Britannia in the Holy Loch during Clyde Fortnight, sometime in the early 1930s. As we all know Britannia went to the bottom after the King died, but now has several reincarnations worldwide. Bernera of course survives, like almost all of the Islanders. Their story can be read on my other blog http://www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com

Aspect Prize

Further to my last but one post, nephew Adam Kennedy, pictured here with writer and actor Bill Paterson, has won the Aspect Prize.

Herbert Thom's Canna

Above is a famous shot of Canna going like a rocket with, I think, Kilcreggan in the background, which would indicate she's in a stiff South-westerly breeze.

I'm not sure of the identity of the photographer, but guess it may have been Ian Gilchrist of Garelochhead and Windward Publications fame.

You can see the exposed propellor shaft of the wing engine. Also the mast is bending, so the luff of the mainsail has gone a bit slack.

Herbert Thom bought Canna in 1948, and it interesting that in 1952 she still had a painted hull, as he eventually had her topsides stripped and varnished, as with all his boats. He reasoned that they were lighter without numerous layers of paint.

I've just finished the fairly mammoth task of writing Herbert Thom's sailing biography. You can read it on http://www.scottishislandsclass.blogspot.com

Images of a forgotten Clyde

My nephew Adam Kennedy produces haunting images from our industrial past. He writes-

"While a student at Edinburgh College of Art in 2007 I took the opportunity to study oil and Japanese painting at Kyoto Seika University, Japan and as a result learned to work in a variety of painting mediums. I graduated from ECA in 2009 and returned to my native Glasgow.

My work ranges from site specific installation and sculpture influenced by the history of airline travel to drawings and paintings reflective of my childhood fixation with transport and growing up next to the River Clyde.

For the Aspect Prize, in which I’m a finalist, I have taken my inspiration from the UK shipbuilding industry, the relationship between this subject and the aesthetic quality of my paintings themselves. My paintings are developed from sketchbook drawings, old photographs and collage in an attempt to communicate many visual aspects of this subject: from the rusty textures of corroding iron to faded photograph and postcard images of ocean liners.

Combining oil, acrylic and water colour on the same surface the different mediums react to form textures suggestive of aged metal and tones not dissimilar to that of the blue greys found in a typical Glasgow sky. The work itself is not necessarily a visually accurate portrayal of any specific ocean liner but rather a slightly abstract, collage of mediums in order to communicate the atmosphere of being in the presence of these great structures and the nostalgia one might feel when coming across aged prints and monochrome photographs of these washed up objects. The works themselves are meant to look precious: corroding images protected only by the safety of their frames. It is an attempt to reflect this subject in an age where aviation has taken over a once highly used form of travel which has now been left to rust. Unknown until very recently, my ancestor Angus Kennedy was commissioned to design the engine shop for Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan shipyard in Glasgow (1868) making this chosen subject all the more personal.

It could be argued that the UK’s current economic climate echoes this loss of a once booming shipbuilding industry, so I think my work is quite topical. It may not be the easiest time for artists but like the artists of previous recessions, and the designers of these iconic vessels, hopefully the financial difficulties we face today will encourage us to push our creativity to its full potential.

The Aspect Prize exhibition will be open to the public from Jamuary 11^th to 20^th2011 at the Fleming Collection in London. The Fleming Collection is the largest private collection of Scottish Art and the overall winner will have their painting displayed within the collection. 

To view Adam's website click here and to view the Aspect Prize website click  here

Who would want a rubber dinghy?

They cost a great deal, don't sail, are difficult to row, don't tow properly and get stolen. When rubber dinghies have such features why did traditional wooden ones go out of fashion?

I admit that a badly designed pram dinghy is an abomination. It takes a great deal of skill to design a good one, but there are some good ones about. Above is Peigi, a Joel White Nutshell design, which I built in 1986 and she has followed behind Stroma on countless trips since. We don't have room on deck for her, but she tows beautifully and has been through the roughest seas without ever shipping a drop.

Not only does the nutshell row well, you can ship her sailing rig in a few seconds and be off to explore your anchorage. She's incredibly forgiving and stable under sail. Here is our young friend Johan doing well on his first ever sailing trip.

 

Here I am having a shot.

 

You won't be able to buy a nutshell in a shop, but making your own is an excellent introduction to boat building. There are only about 20 parts and they can be shaped and put together with the most basic tools, a jig saw and a small block plane being the main ones. The longest parts can be cut from a standard sheet of plywood, but there is a 9 1/2 foot version if you can find the larger sheets or are willing to do scarf joints.

Here is Peigi in the workshop.

Here is a beautiful version Peter made, also about 25 years ago. They last well.

 

If you're wondering what to do during the rest of the winter why not get a set of plans from Woodenboat and get going? The only disadvantage I can think of is that your next build may be much bigger.