The contrast couldn't be greater this Easter – crowds flocking to Hartlepool marina and aboard the Trincomalee while, unbelievably, our fantastic opportunity to bring back The City of Adelaide is ignored and soon perhaps scuppered by our visionless council.
What a sop to tell the campaigners, striving to bring home one of the world's oldest clippers, that they would provide a place for her in the South Docks. How magnanimous.
Click here to read more
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Sunday, 4 April 2010
"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
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
Monday, 29 March 2010
Press article: End of the line for ships called Adelaide
From AdelaideNow:
ADELAIDE will be under water on Saturday. It also faces destruction within months. These are the fates which await the ships which bear our city's name.
One is the frigate HMAS Adelaide, which - after three decades of service - will be sunk off the New South Wales Central Coast on Saturday to become a habitat for marine life and a tourist playground.
Click here to read more
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
The Vasa Museum, Stockholm
Click here to view the website of the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.
It is a great example of how sheer hard work and determination can salvage a historical treasure and bring it back to life as a magnificent reminder of the heritage and identity of a place.
The Vasa is the world’s only surviving 17th-century ship and one of the foremost tourist sights in the world. The ship is displayed in a purpose-built museum in Stockholm.
Comment:
The comment about the Vasa is indeed a very valid one because she has been preserved under cover. I am not sure if you intend to berth the City of Adelaide inside one of the sheds at Sunderland or indeed if there are sheds large enough. I think I saw a picture of Manxman in a large shed.
The reason for mentioning this is that unless (as I have always hoped) you send the rebuilt ship to sea, you will need to preserve her in the best manner and that is under cover. She can be restored and rigged and be very impressive but the thing to guard against is falling between the conflicting possibilities represented by an
iconic presentation, which the Cutty Sark will be when finished, and an appropriately protected testament to the origins of build and fabric. If she is not to sail I would think the best thing is to adopt a stance in favour of preservation and develop a philosophy at an early stage so as to guard against the siren calls of funders for exciting presentation. Otherwise it becomes difficult to maintain a ship as she needs to be when in the open (ie with regular constant work) when she is also valued as an archaeological artefact.
Richard Titchener
It is a great example of how sheer hard work and determination can salvage a historical treasure and bring it back to life as a magnificent reminder of the heritage and identity of a place.
The Vasa is the world’s only surviving 17th-century ship and one of the foremost tourist sights in the world. The ship is displayed in a purpose-built museum in Stockholm.
Comment:
The comment about the Vasa is indeed a very valid one because she has been preserved under cover. I am not sure if you intend to berth the City of Adelaide inside one of the sheds at Sunderland or indeed if there are sheds large enough. I think I saw a picture of Manxman in a large shed.
The reason for mentioning this is that unless (as I have always hoped) you send the rebuilt ship to sea, you will need to preserve her in the best manner and that is under cover. She can be restored and rigged and be very impressive but the thing to guard against is falling between the conflicting possibilities represented by an
iconic presentation, which the Cutty Sark will be when finished, and an appropriately protected testament to the origins of build and fabric. If she is not to sail I would think the best thing is to adopt a stance in favour of preservation and develop a philosophy at an early stage so as to guard against the siren calls of funders for exciting presentation. Otherwise it becomes difficult to maintain a ship as she needs to be when in the open (ie with regular constant work) when she is also valued as an archaeological artefact.
Richard Titchener
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
City of Adelaide feature on Fyddeye
Click here to view the listing of the City of Adelaide on 'Fyddeye'.
This includes recent photos of the beautiful clipper on the slipway in Irvine.
This includes recent photos of the beautiful clipper on the slipway in Irvine.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
'Adelaide' by Jeff Butterfield
Click here to visit the 'MySpace' page of Jeff Butterfield, containing a song called 'Adelaide' written and recorded many years ago. See the top right hand corner of the page to listen to the song.
Nil Desperandum shipmates!
Nil Desperandum shipmates!
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Peter Roberts audio on City of Adelaide
SCARF are continuing to campaign to bring the Adelaide back to Wearside, and are extremely confident of doing so.
Peter Roberts of the (Australian) City of Adelaide Preservation Trust was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation today. No news to speak of; he recounted the history of the clipper City of Adelaide, and efforts to bring it to South Australia. No mention of Sunderland, UK's rival efforts to move the ship to its Wearside birthplace.
Click here to hear the clip.
Peter Roberts of the (Australian) City of Adelaide Preservation Trust was interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation today. No news to speak of; he recounted the history of the clipper City of Adelaide, and efforts to bring it to South Australia. No mention of Sunderland, UK's rival efforts to move the ship to its Wearside birthplace.
Click here to hear the clip.
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