"I saw a brave and determined team taking on, perhaps a more talented team. Boldness won out...."

Great result at the Stadium yesterday. I managed to get a last minute ticket for the game and for 90 odd minutes had my mind off the clipper. Even Ahab must have occasionally had whale free moments. I'm back in the office now though.

Ayrshire Metals and the Scottish Maritime Museum fell out years ago. For years they have only communicated with each other through their lawyers. Because Ayrshire Metals own the site where the Adelaide is positioned we have not been able to gain legal access to the ship. This of course makes it very difficult for us to be able to submit a detailed engineering recovery report to Historic Scotland. It would be a great, great breakthrough for SCARF if we were able to hold direct talks with Ayrshire metals. We would be able to come to a mutually advantageous business arrangement. We could, for example pay them a year’s slipway rent of £50,000. If we had a year’s grace, with technical experts and an army of useful volunteers, we would certainly be able to overcome all the engineering challenges as well as the political and financial.

Do you know any scrap iron men who could have business dealings with Ayrshire metals ? Do you know any smart legal people who would enjoy pulling off what no one else has ever managed; to set up a face to face meeting with SCARF and Ayrshire Metals. At the moment, in a way, we are hostage to whatever negotiations are going on between Ayrshire Metal lawyers and Scottish Maritime Museum lawyers. Historic Scotland and National Historic Ships are also included in those closed door talks.

Fortune favours the brave. That’s what I saw yesterday at the Stadium of Light. I saw a brave and determined team taking on, perhaps a more talented team. Boldness won out. I don’t like waiting for information and instruction to trickle down to us. That ship belongs to Sunderland. It is our property. We need that ship to kick start regeneration on our riverside. That ship will ensure our town becomes a city. It is never a good strategy to wait for things to happen; to boot the ball up the field and hope for the best. We need to steer our own ship. We need a scrap man with clout and connections and a lawyer driven by an aim rather than money. Do you know those people?

Kindest Regards

Peter