Exciting development!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Declan has sent in an old picture of Great Eastern anchored off Telegraph Field

 

Ha! Ha!…..That had me fooled at first!

It`s actually another example of digital dodgin`!

Nice one Dec!

 

Bob

[Mark Beard 1Participant @markbeard1]

Beautiful!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Chaps

 

Progress at last!

 

The boating lake decision has been made……….New Brighton!

Rather small, but with access all round and in a lovely seaside setting.

Rockferry is about six miles away, where GE was broken up and I learned today that plating from GE still lies in the mud!

 

This is the pond, brand new, built by the Council last year to replace the old one and is part of a multi million building programme!

 

The sailing plan is to have a small dummy run next week, followed by a further serious dummy run with the BBC team, early August….followed by the official filming on August 22/23

 

Bob

[Mark Beard 1Participant @markbeard1]

Great to see you have a schedule, Bob. Looking forward to news of your location trials.

 

Mark

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

Hi Bob good to see you have the arrangements sorted.

Dave Wooley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Mark, fingers crossed for the Hi Tech trials.

Checked the circuits from the bum fluff wire ends to the terminals at the bow end and it`s all systems go!

 

Thank you Dave, we finally made a giant leap for mankind yesterday!

The delays were caused by staff reshuffle at the Beeb

 

Here is the new New Brighton pond layout, which may be of interest to our readers?

 

Just the job!………Bob

[Len OchiltreeParticipant @lenochiltree67043]

New Brighton? how far oop north is that then Bob.

 

Len.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Shame on you, Len!

 

New Brighton is on the south side of the Mersey!

Liverpool is on the north side

 

See here…..

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2328145

 

Nice or what?…….Bob

[Gareth JonesParticipant @garethjones79649]

During the war my father worked as a boiler maker in Cammell Lairds shipyard in Birkenhead. In the 1950s when I was a very small boy we used to go back there to visit the family he stayed with at the time. We often used to go on to New Brighton afterwards and the boating lake there was the start of my interest in model boats. Admittedly there was a fifty year gap afterwards when I did other things. My first model was a little Star yacht and after several months saving my pocket money I bought a small electric powered launch, possibly a Police launch, called Thames. I can remember quite clearly looking at it in the model shop window in Atherton for weeks and saying one day I am going to buy that Thames boat. I was convinced it’s name was pronounced as it was spelt and when people kept telling me it was called ‘Temms’ I thought they were daft.

 

Gareth

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you Gareth

 

Welcome to the thread

 

I like your trawler Shemarah II and have been following the build…..Nicely done

 

Bob

[Gareth JonesParticipant @garethjones79649]

 

 

Bob,

I am glad you are enjoying the Shemarah build. Progress is a bit slow at present as the main job at the moment is filling and rubbing down the hull prior to application of glass fibre so there is not much to see. I am also occupied with holidays and redecorating after a major plumbing job (replacement of central heating boiler and hot water cylinder) which is currently the priority task.

Gareth

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Just to keep you chaps in the picture, we are off the New Brighton tomorrow for a recce, with a sail to get the balance right and another attempt at laying the cable, which should be a piece of cake?

 

Hoping to get some pretty pictures and dramatic waterline shots too.

 

Unfortuneately, Duckie is still unavailable for service, due to family health problems

 

Bob

 

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Great news Bob, keep us informed – with pics.

 

Colin

 

Edited By Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 28/07/2011 21:42:38

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Capt Bob here reporting on today`s adventure into the unknown at New Brighton!

For this report, the pictures and stories will be fragmented slightly to make progess, rather than loading dozens of pix and blurb…. only to find that they`ve disappeared somewhere along the line, as a timeout sometimes comes into operation!

 

We got there quite early (9.00am) only to find the pond was in operation already!….. those NB boys are keen!

 

Got together an impromptu team in no time!….Don Morris (Chair), Jack Turner (Comm)… a NB member….and Geoff Abell…… .Not forgetting Capt Bobrunel at the controls

 

I know I`m making a song and dance about the trip, but it was such a light hearted affair, great fun and nice to meet the ever helpful NB boys

 

Capt Bob, Great Eastern and the Mersey estuary, ready to sail. Had a stiffish seaward wind at times and the lake looked quite daunting. with a long voyage ahead!

 

More to follow…..Bob

Edited By Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 28/07/2011 21:50:22

Edited By Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 28/07/2011 21:51:48

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Part two

 

GE steaming out of Valentia cove, Telegraph Field, County Kerry, Southern Ireland…. 1866…`ish!

Away the lads!

 

Jack is anchor man for the cable, Geoff at the helm. It was surprising and a bit worrying, how the motors laboured, driving forward and unwinding the cable drum …….Into wind!

Going forward. The wind blew GE to starboard and she would not answer to the helm!

Why was that, Capt?……… Because the cable was often taught and prevented the stern from steering.

 

What`s the answer?…….. Obvious! Stop the engines and allow the cable to sink!

Aye! Aye! Capt!

 

She`s coming about now Capt!
Three weeks later…………………………………… land ho!

 

To be continued……..Bob

Edited By Colin Bishop, Website Editor on 28/07/2011 21:47:10

[Mark Beard 1Participant @markbeard1]

Excellent Bob, and that waterline shot is fabulous!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Part Three

 

Great Eastern steaming proudly into “Hearts Content”….. Newfoundland….1866

(What a crackin` picture?)

 

Dropping anchor, waiting for the cable to be hauled ashore

(That`s the “Home Dome” on the skyline……The sailors knew they were home, when it was sighted)

 

First mate Geoff retrieving GE, coming in after the epic voyage!

The bubble trail was nice to see.

 

Coming next……..The journey home and cable rewind!

 

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Concluding part……Return trip and cable rewind

 

We made the return trip out of the wind, with Jack holding all the cable, where GE towed the cable instead of unwinding it off the drum.

Aye!….That`s the clue!….When GE sailed the Atlantic, the cable was unwound mechanically and allowed to sink to the sea bottom. But in our case, we are using the boat`s motors to unwind the drum…….That`s why the cable is forever taught!……..So the underwater gadget, to hide the cable would have caused too much resistance!….and could have even snapped the cable

Homeward bound in the slack waters, away from the wind

Sailing nicely, with no cable tension

Coming to shore

 

What a palaver! Four men to rewind the cable!

Why was that, Capt?

Because Jack had coiled the wire on his arm and created a multi twist in the cable!

Next time, we`ll rewind the cable from the wire end, end!….Another little lesson to be learnt

 

Here we are…rewinding and unwinding the twist!

Not much of a problem, but the twist slowed the process, but was great fun with all hands on deck!

 

With the trials over, we had a restful cruise around the lake before saying goodbye to New Brighton and the club members

 

We all had a great time and looking forward to the next trip, in early August, with the BBC Team

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Couldn`t resist this one!……

 

The Ghost of Great Eastern on her way to Rockferry

 

`Bye chaps…..Bob

[Mark Beard 1Participant @markbeard1]

Great write up and wonderful photos, Bob. Congratulations on your sea trials, good luck for the demo then filming in August!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello there Mark

 

Thank you for your comments and `gratulations…..Much appreciated!

I`m highly delighted that you enjoyed the photographs and hopefully, the joviality?

 

We didn`t try a live wire test yesterday, because we were unsure of the risks…..Don`t want to burn the cable out at this late stage!

 

My contact at the BBC has just phoned to say how pleased and amused they all are, at the Coast office and hope to use some of the photographs in the final film.

 

Kindest regards…..Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

And hopefully the ‘inside story’ will make a great article for the magazine in due course.

 

Superb pics Bob.

 

Colin

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thank you, Colin

 

That will give me something to do after the excitement has died down?

 

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Just another nice picture of the Great Eastern….

 

And a shot of the busy stern end, showing the cable and foam…..The visual rotation feature, the red and white wheel,  worked well and should look nice on the video?

 

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell on 29/07/2011 17:34:30

[DermisParticipant @dermis]

A wonderful set of photos, and I love the humourous account. That Geoff Abell looks a bit like my Dad! Oh, wait a minute….he is! Congratulations on your successful trial, and good luck for the filming!

 

Regards.

[Author]

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