My Day

[ScrumpyCheddar]

Our day today involved a Old BBC TV series what involved boats.. 

I expect you all remembered Howard’s Way what ran from 1985 to 1990 on Sunday nights.. A British Dallas 🤣🤣 Shoulder pads,  big hair and Boat building. 
Anyway we decided to visit where it was filmed. Basically any excuse to visit a pub is always a good shout. So off to The Jolly sailor at Old Bursledon Southampton. It’s on the river Hamble lovely location lots of boats. Right next door to the pub is a house where the character Jack Rolfe lived and next door to that is the Elephant boat yard but in the Tv show it was called the mermaid boat yard. We had a lovely afternoon it’s worth vist especially if you’re a big fan like me 😎😎

[BroadAmbition]

We both loved  that series. Watched every episode Sunday evening’s even taping it on the old VHS right up to Dec 86 (I got drafted to the Falklands) then we were both off to Norway for three years so we missed loadsa episodes. Wonder if it’s on catch up?

Thanks for bringing this back to us xx

Griff

[ScrumpyCheddar]

Just now, BroadAmbition said:

We both loved  that series. Watched every episode Sunday evening’s even taping it on the old VHS right up to Dec 86 (I got drafted to the Falklands) then we were both off to Norway for three years so we missed loadsa episodes. Wonder if it’s on catch up?

Thanks for bringing this back to us xx

Griff

Charlie Good News if you go UKTV play on Sky you can watch it on Catch up they have been running the whole series since January. Every Sunday we have a 5 episode binge watch. It’s still as good as it was.. I know sad some would say but it’s great 🤣🤣🤣 👍👍

[YnysMon]

We loved the first couple of series, but as with many long running shows the longer it went on the more sensational the story lines got, so we lost interest. Shame really, as it started off so well. 

[FlyingFortress]

1 hour ago, ScrumpyCheddar said:

Our day today involved a Old BBC TV series what involved boats.. 

I expect you all remembered Howard’s Way what ran from 1985 to 1990 on Sunday nights.. A British Dallas 🤣🤣 Shoulder pads,  big hair and Boat building. 
Anyway we decided to visit where it was filmed. Basically any excuse to visit a pub is always a good shout. So off to The Jolly sailor at Old Bursledon Southampton. It’s on the river Hamble lovely location lots of boats. Right next door to the pub is a house where the character Jack Rolfe lived and next door to that is the Elephant boat yard but in the Tv show it was called the mermaid boat yard. We had a lovely afternoon it’s worth vist especially if you’re a big fan like me 😎😎

Blimey.

A real blast from the past.👍

When I was at Warsash School of Navigation ( basically marine college as a Navigation Cadet) it was our mission on a weekend to take one or more of the college boats up there for an afternoon session. Did it successfully several times but of course as navigators we knew stuff about tides and all that 🤫

I do remember one time either mis calculating the tide or more likely staying for one or three too many and ending up high and dry.

It took a load of muscle to shift that boat back onto the wet stuff as the boats were around the size of ships lifeboats I would guess around 7 to 8 meters. 🫣

The mud up that way took an awful lot of Dhobying to get out of our clothes.😫

[FlyingFortress]

1 hour ago, ScrumpyCheddar said:

Our day today involved a Old BBC TV series what involved boats.. 

I expect you all remembered Howard’s Way what ran from 1985 to 1990 on Sunday nights.. A British Dallas 🤣🤣 Shoulder pads,  big hair and Boat building. 
Anyway we decided to visit where it was filmed. Basically any excuse to visit a pub is always a good shout. So off to The Jolly sailor at Old Bursledon Southampton. It’s on the river Hamble lovely location lots of boats. Right next door to the pub is a house where the character Jack Rolfe lived and next door to that is the Elephant boat yard but in the Tv show it was called the mermaid boat yard. We had a lovely afternoon it’s worth vist especially if you’re a big fan like me 😎😎

Also went another time when our college was tasked with trialling Fast Rescue Craft for the offshore industry. The brief was to let the Cadets play with the at The time revolutionary water jet boats as the theory was is Cadets couldn't break them nobody could.

So as young men and women ( around 19 to 20 Ish) we were let loose with these 30+ KTS boats.

We were banned from terrorising the ferries and stopped from jumping their bow waves as they went innocently up Southampton Water but we found great sport slaloming through the multi million pound yachts on swinging moorings in The Hamble and then applying the brakes, yes brakes on a boat 🤣 before hitting the Director of the college's yacht 🫣

I do have one vivid memory of when one of our girls got it wrong.

We were actually strapped in on a 4 point harness in a tandem configuration when she hit one of the mooring buoys at high speed. I distinctly remember looking up and seeing water and thinking, this is not going to end well, but thankfully the bow dug in first and we ended up upright. Shaken but not dead 🤣

Probably over refreshed from The Jolly Sailor 🤫

[ChrisB]

The Real Life Drama.

We kept our boat at Cobbs Quay, Poole. Back then Sadlers were based there but moved into bigger premises as Martin and his father David somehow got swept into the national hype surrounding Howard's Way.

I knew Martin quite well and his friend Rodney Patterson the double Gold Medalist. Sadlers were riding the crest of a wave with their 25 to 34 footers. The punters lined up for a demo sail with an Olympic Champion.

Trusting in the publicity the up-market kitchen sink drama created Martin became involved and produced the very advanced, for the time Barracuda 45 for the show. That 12 foot leap cost them a fortune, less than 20 Sadler Barracudas  were built and Sadlers as conceived by father and son passed from their hands. 

[Vaughan]

When that series first came out, I was working in the North Sea on a gas platform and the crew all used to get together and watch it on TV in the evening. They would all turn to me and ask "is that really what boatbuilding is like, Vaughan?"

I advised them that a better fantasy was just to watch his daughter, in her bikini.

You remember the one, who didn't need to wear a lifejacket - if she fell in, her chest would keep her floating face up.

[Gracie]

Yes well some of us are not that well endowed and have to use a life jacket. Causes awful tan lines  x

[FlyingFortress]

48 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

When that series first came out, I was working in the North Sea on a gas platform and the crew all used to get together and watch it on TV in the evening. They would all turn to me and ask "is that really what boatbuilding is like, Vaughan?"

I advised them that a better fantasy was just to watch his daughter, in her bikini.

You remember the one, who didn't need to wear a lifejacket - if she fell in, her chest would keep her floating face up.

Don't suppose any of you remember a series on the TV called Roughnecks? Would have been early to mid 90's and about the crew of a drilling rig.

It started when I was on leave and when I went back to sea we were servicing a Rowan Drilling Rig. We used to tease the crew on the radio that we knew what life was like up there as we had been watching Roughnecks. I even got to calling the crane op Archie after the character in the series. One of the plot lines involved this big rufty tufty Scottish crane op finding a bunny rabbit in some drill casing (pipes) and for the remainder of the series he carried it around tucked into the neck of his overalls.

We started having a break regularly at the time it came on so we could go and watch it and we would then discuss it afterwards. What you do on a long stint at the controls.🤣

Anyway when back in Yarmouth I asked Mrs FF to see if she could find a stuffed rabbit which she did. The next time we had casing to discharge we put the stuffed rabbit in a box and put him in a section of casing with a note saying his name was Archie and he ate Barites ( a drilling powder). Apparently the crane op carried this stuffed rabbit around tucked into his overalls for the rest of the hitch.

What platform were you on Vaughan? I probably brought your supplies out.

[Vaughan]

17 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

What platform were you on Vaughan? I probably brought your supplies out.

I did 18 months in the Rough Field, on British Gas 47/3B, as HLO and rig clerk, then another 18 months as HLO off Yarmouth, on British Gas 27/E.  Flying out of Easington for the first one and then North Denes heliport.  I know what you mean about the crane ops! They were great people.

I shall have to look up some photos - they were good times.

 

[FlyingFortress]

4 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

I did 18 months in the Rough Field, on British Gas 47/3B, as HLO and rig clerk, then another 18 months as HLO off Yarmouth, on British Gas 27/E.  Flying out of Easington for the first one and then North Denes heliport.  I know what you mean about the crane ops! They were great people.

I shall have to look up some photos - they were good times.

 

Never worked The Rough field but one of my Ships did for a long time before I joined it. Cumbria Service. Although it's in my discharge book as Master I never actually worked The Cumbria as it was only a delivery job to drydock. I was Mate on there for around 2 years. 

The famous story on there was the Chief Engineer bump starting the Starboard Engine. It was always rumoured to be possible but as far as anyone knew never been done. But needs must when the air starter on that engine failed. They took the ship out of Yarmouth on Port engine only then went to full power with the Starboard Prop de clutched and windmilling. Put fuel on and clutched in and the momentum of the windmilling prop turned the engine over enough to allow it to start 👍

Not being an engineer I don't know how they managed the shaft brakes. Must have disabled them I suppose 😳

[Wussername]

Here we go! Here we go! 

A couple of geriatric roughnecks chewing the fat! I bet you both had sports cars, went to the Washington Club. Tropical Lynda? Ranworth Country Club. 

All our yesteryear's. Black Anna, Ber Street. StudioFour, Jazz.

Norfolk was an isolated place,it really was. In some respects a place of mystery in the day. 

Stories to be told. 

My brother now lives in Australia, he refers to it as our Glorious Sarah Titch. 

Our Glorious Heritage.

I really do hope, that at least, for that, we will be remembered.

[Vaughan]

6 minutes ago, Wussername said:

I bet you both had sports cars, went to the Washington Club. Tropical Lynda? Ranworth Country Club. 

All our yesteryear's. Black Anna, Ber Street. StudioFour, Jazz.

Yes, that ticks all the boxes!

The sports car was a Triumph TR2.

[Vaughan]

41 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

The famous story on there was the Chief Engineer bump starting the Starboard Engine. It was always rumoured to be possible but as far as anyone knew never been done.

During the war, my father was skipper of a 60ft British Powerboat Co. motor torpedo boat, with 3 Napier Sea Lion engines.  Part of the 2nd MTB Flotilla, based in Hong Kong. 

Very often there was not a lot of battery power, so the centre engine was started, then the other two had to be "towed in".

I have just found quite a few photos of my time on the platforms, which may be of interest to the forum.  I shall see how they scan up, and probably post them on a separate thread tomorrow.

[Wussername]

5 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

Yes, that ticks all the boxes!

The sports car was a Triumph TR2.

Ah! Wet arm motoring. My MGB, wire wheels, convertible, all the gear, would have given you a run for your money through the bends, Ketts Hill, Mousehole, Salhouse Road. However, I suspect you would have had the edge!

Forgive us both in reminiscing. It was a long time ago.

Andrew 

[Vaughan]

2 minutes ago, Wussername said:

would have given you a run for your money through the bends, Ketts Hill, Mousehole, Salhouse Road.

Don't forget the "Belaugh Bumps", on the old road to Coltishall!

[floydraser]

Reminds me of the coffee morning I take my 91 year old mother in law to on a Wednesday... At 66 I'm the baby on a table of blokes.  

[Wussername]

8 minutes ago, floydraser said:

Reminds me of the coffee morning I take my 91 year old mother in law to on a Wednesday... At 66 I'm the baby on a table of blokes.  

Your time will come mate. Trust me.

[FlyingFortress]

4 hours ago, Wussername said:

Here we go! Here we go! 

A couple of geriatric roughnecks chewing the fat! I bet you both had sports cars, went to the Washington Club. Tropical Lynda? Ranworth Country Club. 

All our yesteryear's. Black Anna, Ber Street. StudioFour, Jazz.

Norfolk was an isolated place,it really was. In some respects a place of mystery in the day. 

Stories to be told. 

My brother now lives in Australia, he refers to it as our Glorious Sarah Titch. 

Our Glorious Heritage.

I really do hope, that at least, for that, we will be remembered.

Never got past Molly's in Yarmouth or the FBI in Gorleston 😳

Mind you we were a bit posh when on Shell Lowestoft and we used to skip The Bank Stores and wander up to The Commadore at Oulton.

Did sometimes frequent The Nobs and Snobs but only with the Lifeboat crew until they opened The Hut at Corton. A converted public toilet 😳 Yes really 

Simple Sailor me. 😁🍺😁

Never had a sports car either.

It was big coupés for me. 

Audi Quattro and Jaguar XJS 🤣

[Ray]

That's better 👍

[MauriceMynah]

Wow, those pictures could be a "before & after" of MY boat.

[Ray]

34 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

Wow, those pictures could be a "before & after" of MY boat.

You have an "after" photo MM?

😁😂😁

[Smoggy]

There's MM's boat just beside the speedboat, can you spot it?

Mine's not much better at the moment.

[Mouldy]

12 hours ago, Ray said:

That's better 👍

And it was such a lovely shade of green!!  I’d better get up there and give ours a scrub up!  I don’t want to be shown up by your shiny boat!