May 2015: At our May meeting, David Eeles continued a presentation from last year; we saw a range of photographs of ships at locations in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany, supplemented with videos to take us closer to the action. The highlight was a series of photos taken in Maassluis showing tugs from the last century under way. Many thanks to both speakers for enjoyable evenings.
April 2015: In April we were visited by Roland Whaite, who presented "Mostly from the Mediterranean", a journey around various Mediterranean islands shown in the form of ferries, old coasters and cruise ships. Roland presented an enjoyable and informative talk as usual, and we look forward to his next instalment. It was particularly good to see some familiar faces that had moved on to new careers in the Mediterranean, before inevitably ending up at the scrapyard in many cases.
March 2015: In March Tom Walker opened his archives to present a talk covering his sixty years as a ship spotter. The evening was spent viewing excellent photographs, mostly taken by either Tom or his father, showcasing scenes in Teignmouth, Avonmouth, Southampton and further afield on the continent. There really was something for everyone, from war-built cargo vessels to the newest container ships with almost every conceivable type in between. The talk was meticulously researched, complemented with Tom's excellent local knowledge of the ports he showed. We thank him for his efforts, and hope that he can be persuaded to return next year.
February 2015: In February we again drew on the WSS's library of slide shows. This time we viewed photographs from the collection of Sid Belham. Our members had a most enjoyable evening viewing a selection of ships from the 1960s and 1970s, enhanced by an excellent script. Those members who remember the period were pleased to see some familiar faces, and those who could not enjoyed seeing what they had missed! We are looking forward to Part 2 next year. Our thanks to all those involved in the production of this excellent show.
January 2015: the Christmas period members again visited the ship with the most calls in Teignmouth through 2014 - this year the winner of the "trophy" was Frisium. Four members visited the Frisium in port on 1st January where the master, Captain Gerle Blaak, was presented with a certificate, a photograph of the ship arriving and some Christmas chocolates. The party was then given a tour of the ship and took coffee with Captain Blaak in the mess. During 2014 the ship visited Teignmouth on 11 occasions, bringing agricultural products from European ports such as Amsterdam, and Lillebonne in northern France. She was the first and last vessel to call in 2014. The Frisium, built in 1992 with a capacity of over 2,000 tonnes, is owned in the Netherlands and had arrived the previous day. She sailed on 2nd January for Amsterdam.
For our January meeting David Hawkins presented his last 15 months as a skipper for Gardline, showing locations such as the Norwegian fjords, Singapore and Kaohsiung from unique vantage points. David explained the various types of offshore vessels, as well as describing the work undertaken by the vessels he worked on and providing an insight into his life at sea. We hope that he will return with a sequel. Thanks to David for an informative and interesting presentation.