"Coast"

[Guest]

One thing I can do here on the ship is watch DVD's of good British TV programs. Believe it or not, compared with the rest of the worlds offerrings, including the United States, the BBC produce some superb programs, with a lot of them put out on DVD.

Anyway I got hold of a set of an Open University series called "Coast". I had never heard of it but one of my colleagues here said it was good and I should give it a go.

I have just watched the first episode from Dover round to Exmouth and not only was the whole thing incredibly interesting but it contained an article about some structures just outside Dover called "Sound Mirrors" Barry would have found it fascinating. They were developed before Radar and were designed as a pre-warning system to detect incoming aircraft. They tested it on this 70 year old 200 foot long concrete wall and detected a Tiger Moth nearly a minute before the human ear could have detected it. Apparently the Radar superceded the development of the mirrors but the system of reporting that was developed with the mirrors was used with Radar and was one of the key factors in making the radar so succesfull.

Barry, and any one else for that matter, if you didn't see it try and get a copy, you will enjoy it.

[Guest]

Yes one of the Beeb`s usual high standard productions. The British coastline is a surprise to most people. The aerial photography in that programme was excellent but wait till you see the current masterpiece "Panet Earth". One episode on the subterranean world showed base jumpers free falling into a massive vertical hole hudreds of metres deep and wide enough to float in circles to the bottom. I would like to have seen the "making of" cuts on that piece. What were the landings like, anybody hit the sides etc. As for the crew that spent a month underground in a bat droppings filled cave teeming with cockroaches.....well I just hope they doubled their wages, YUCK !

[Guest]

Yes one of the Beeb`s usual high standard productions. The British coastline is a surprise to most people. The aerial photography in that programme was excellent but wait till you see the current masterpiece "Panet Earth". One episode on the subterranean world showed base jumpers free falling into a massive vertical hole hudreds of metres deep and wide enough to float in circles to the bottom. I would like to have seen the "making of" cuts on that piece. What were the landings like, anybody hit the sides etc. As for the crew that spent a month underground in a bat droppings filled cave teeming with cockroaches.....well I just hope they doubled their wages, YUCK !

[wonwinglo]

Yes Richard I watched this very programme a few weeks ago,did you also know that they used Cierva C.30/Avro Rota Autogiro's to calibrate the radar ? yes the autogiro played an important part in the build up to he Battle of Britain.

The story and history behind radar is a fascinating subject.

Thank goodness for DVD's it must make leisure activities aboard ship a lot more interesting,just purchased the 'Aviator' for £6 in Asda,still have not found time to watch 'Flight of the Phoenix' (2) yet,but one day when I have nothing to do,joke !

How do you receive the internet on board a ship Richard ?

[Guest]

Barry,

You have to be sharp to keep up with your avatars! Have you got a larger copy of the latest?

We get Internet via satellite, which isn't the fastest medium in the world. We are also constrained by bandwidth issues which also slow things down a bit. I would like to have ago at the new Internet Phone capabilities but we have had to say no to that as we would all come to a grinding halt.

Still I have internet and can send e-mails home on a daily basis and phone twice a week when we are in the States. When I first went to sea letters would take two-three weeks to arrive and a phone call was only possible from the radio room when you were within spitting distance of Lands end. Communications is one of the most dramatic changes in life at sea and has put us far closer to home than we ever were.

[wonwinglo]

***Thanks for explaining Richard,the full story behind this historic picture will be written in tomorrows blog.

Barry,You have to be sharp to keep up with your avatars! Have you got a larger copy of the latest?

We get Internet via satellite, which isn't the fastest medium in the world. We are also constrained by bandwidth issues which also slow things down a bit. I would like to have ago at the new Internet Phone capabilities but we have had to say no to that as we would all come to a grinding halt.

Still I have internet and can send e-mails home on a daily basis and phone twice a week when we are in the States. When I first went to sea letters would take two-three weeks to arrive and a phone call was only possible from the radio room when you were within spitting distance of Lands end. Communications is one of the most dramatic changes in life at sea and has put us far closer to home than we ever were.

[Guest]

i saw some of the coast episodes! have you seen the one with cardif castle in it? if not i wont ruin it for yo but what they tell you about that bit of coastline and the castle is amazing.

get even better when you get up to the north of scotland and the naval base (cant remember what it was called)

a "did you know moment"......

did you know not a single inch of coastline in scotland is publicly owned?

[Guest]

"get even better when you get up to the north of scotland and the naval base (cant remember what it was called)"

Scapa Flow or Invergordon or Rosyth? Funny that . I can always remember Portsmouth.

[Guest]

scapa flow i think, was that there all those people died on the ship that got sank? (bit like portsmouth actually)lol

[Guest]

HMS Royal Oak, that was Scapa Flow. She is still there, still leaking oil. Lest we forget,eh.

[Guest]

What a brilliant thread. I feel like I've just been around our coast AND half-way to the States! (It was an enthralling series, I must admit and shows how much we can enjoy and explore without getting our feet wet).

[Guest]

the bit that amazed me was the cardif castle bit.

the castle was actually right next to the sea and had a water entrance at the base. but due to long shore drift its now over a mile inland!amazing what particles of sand can do over time!

[Guest]

well, what a great thread, ive not seen the series, although i would like to!

I have actually lived by the coast since i was a wee boy! I used to have a relative who was a brigadeer, he lived in the witchs gate at dover castle, the views were amazing, better still having access to an entire castle was great! They actually have a MASSIVE diorama in there of the battle of waterloo, its even got sounds, and explosions with LED's inside so they light up! They used 1:72nd airfix figures as i remmber and the whole thing must be 10ft by 10ft enclosed in a glass cabin! Ill try and get some picys next time im up that way!

Do you know where abouts in Dover those masts were????? Its just that the ground we use to fpr Airsoft (like paintball crossed with re-enacting) is the "western heights" which includes the use of several old gun postions, pill boxs, a tunnel network and big concrete blocks with wires....(early radar?)

The station that was hit during ww2 is actually still there! some of the buildings are the same!

Theres also the Arch Cliff fort which, like cardiff is a underwater entrance to the city of dover during the napolionic period, well used by smugglers etc.

Moving round from Dover up the coast we join the rest of the "Cinque Ports" Walmer, Deal, Sandwich and Richbourough. Talking of the coast changing Richbourgh is a good example! Built by the romans to protect "the isle of thanet" it was a costline fort with an entire comunity round it! Its now about 6 miles from the see and the isle it was protecting is no longer an island, all of this in a few hundred years, a few hundrad more and it will be gone! The port of Richbough was well used throughout WW1 and 2 but is no longer used as the esturay is now much too shallow! The old moarings and some crane parts can still be seen!

The port sits on the edge of Pegwell bay, aside from the old gun emplacements and pill boxes, some of the old beach defences remain along with a lanc that crashed on the manston approach! (about 10feet under the sand). Also at Pegwell is the remains of one of last remaining German E boats. Its currantly rotting away in about 25ft of pure mud, the main guns and fittings went many years ago but the hull, superstructure and points are still there. I pass this daily so will try and grab some good photos!

Theres also the entirr kent countryside which is steeped in history and the manston/lydd airports, both of which see regular "old boy" visits from whatever planes are doing the airshow circuit. The manston spitfire musesm is also worth a visit, im planning one for the group build so will post a different thread soon!

As i hope you can see from my brief dyslexic rantings, the kent coast line has AMAZING amounts of history and not one beach doesnt still carry some signs of WWII!

I forgot to mention, just on from dover is St. Margrets Bay, where theres over 2 miles of tunnel systems and defences hand carved in the white chalk cliffs by members of the british napoelonic army! They are all borded up or colapsed now but one can easily explorer parts of them (with extreme caution!!!!)

[Guest]

Squiffy, I'll have a look again and find out exactly where the sound mirrors are.

I have always thought that our coasts are fascinating and this series would seem to do it justice. Being a seafarer I am looking forward to all the places I know and hoping to learn a bit more about them. The first episode was interesting enough containing Southampton where I have sailed out of a few times and Portmouth wher we got married on board HMS Warrior.

The Royal Oak was sunk by the U-47 commanded by Gunther Prien. If you have a close look at the harbour and how it would have been with its defenses how on earth anyone could get a U-boat in, sink a major battle ship, and out again is unbelievable.

[Guest]

Squiffy, I'll have a look again and find out exactly where the sound mirrors are.

I have always thought that our coasts are fascinating and this series would seem to do it justice. Being a seafarer I am looking forward to all the places I know and hoping to learn a bit more about them. The first episode was interesting enough containing Southampton where I have sailed out of a few times and Portsmouth where we got married on board HMS Warrior.

The Royal Oak was sunk by the U-47 (the same as the Robbe kit) commanded by Gunther Prien. If you have a close look at the harbour and how it would have been with its defenses how on earth anyone could get a U-boat in, sink a major battle ship, and out again is unbelievable.