RobRiley

The crews generally did a four hour 'shift' and the bell was rung once every half hour, 8 bells signified the end of the stint.

I read that the main bell of the Cutty Sark which was on the monkey fo'c's'le was a 50lb-er but there was another on the stern. You all know where the term, "It's 8 bells" comes from, don't you?

Fair enough , I imagined so, but, could they, and how would they fare at sea? I dunno, would they just fall over on the first bit of serious chop?

How did they get them there?

I lived in France, Spain, and Italy, for quite a long time, I must admit, when they go for it, they do it in a way that causes as much chaos and hardship as possible, as much for themselves as for anyone else. I believe it's called 'cutting your nose off, to spite your face'

lol

Thanks Guys, it may actually have been the 'other' place I joined, but no matter. We holiday normally twice a year on the broads, and it was Robin's blogs that urged me to try to become involved

Hi, My name is Rob, I think I joined this forum quite a while ago, but somehow forgot or lost track. (So joined again ) We are long time hirers, (as lads or couples) normally from HW. Either way, I am a quite experienced skipper, and hope to contribute to the forum more in the future. BTW, I'm a techie and network engineer, so, any little probs in that respect, then I may be able to advise. May the wind be in your sails, (if you like that kind of thing) I'd rather have no water in my diesel.

They should put this in the guide books

It scares me sometimes when you consider the value of what you have hired, if I hire a car it is normally a £200 deposit, I once hired a Ferrari for a friends wedding, that deposit was closer to £2000