May I be the first to welcome Dr.Maturin to the UK Fleet. So lets set up the first round of port on me and give this fine sailor a real sailors welcome.
One of our newest mess member
May I be the first to welcome Dr.Maturin to the UK Fleet. So lets set up the first round of port on me and give this fine sailor a real sailors welcome.
Did I hear Port mentionedwelcome to you from Bristol
Welcome Dr! - I hope you don't have too many casualties to treat!
Welcome to the Anchorage, Dr Maturin. That is a distinguished choice for your 'nomme de guerre'.
Is the good doctor out on house calls? I'd like to say hi.
What's up, Doc? Welcome aboard, I hope you have plenty of sand!!
"War is the greatest game Man can play!" BG George B. McClellan
Greetings Doctor. Welcome aboard!
"It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
–English Proverb
A very warm welcome me hearty.
There is booze aplenty in the Wardroom so do join us for a noggin or three.
Bligh.
Welcome from Sweden, too.
Thank you all for the warm welcome. Should you have any medical questions I'm afraid you must first see your own on-board surgeon else you may well upset him and that would never do, would it?
I did write a post on the Welcome Aboard Forum but I'm D---d if I can find it so I will say something here. I will be with you as soon as I have finished saluting the quarterdeck. (Long way up, short way down. Although I suspect that Napoleonic times are a bit early for that salute. More of a 'touching the forelock' motion I would think.) Glad to be aboard.
Although I have been an Aerodrome member for some years I have only just discovered 'SAILS' so at the moment am still on the basic rule set. Had two games so far with another planned for this Thursday evening about which I will report back if I survive
Well that's enough about me apart from inviting you all into the Ward Room for a drink. On me of course!
I think you may have mistaken me for somebody else. I do not have big ears and I hate carrots!Originally Posted by John Paul
There are certainly no carrots in this Diamond Reg, but I think you may find it entertaining.
Rob.
HMS Diamond Rock.
This steep rather small and sharp-looking mountain shoots 175 meters of rugged rock straight out of the sea and is a remarkable sight indeed.
What makes it even more so has to do with seamanship.
The story in short. The French and the British were not so fond of each other, for quite a while as you know. In the Caribbean they were fighting on, around and about the islands. Martinique was (still is) French and was the first landfall for the French supply ships from the continent.
A blockade of Fort-de-France (originally named Fort Royal) capital and main port on Martinique, would therefore disquiet the French , all over the Caribbean. We British of course did everything we could to keep the blockade up, but one fellow went a little further.
In 1804 Commodore Samuel Hood, who at the time was responsible for blockading the French in Martinique, reported to the admiralty that he had taken possession of Diamond Rock (Rocher du Diamant).
“I think it will completely blockade the coast in most perfect security”,
reported Hood after landing sailors and 5 cannons, three 24-pounders and two 18-pounders.
Unfortunately he gave the admiralty very few details of how he put the 24-pounder guns to the top – but it was seamanship of epic proportions.
The garrison held the rock for seventeen months and the episode has become one of the legends of the Royal navy in the Caribbean.
The rock was commissioned as a sloop by Hood and was called, HMS Diamond Rock.
Apparently the island is regarded by the Royal Navy as still being in commission, and HM ships are required, when passing, to show due respect (Personnel on the upper deck to stand to attention and face the Rock whilst those on the the Bridge salute.)
The French faced an unenviable time, with the British, from their elevated position, blockading Morne du Diamant, the passage between rock and mainland and entrance to Fort du France.
There is a tale of how the French launched an attack on the rock and managed to land troops, who finally succeeded in capturing it.
There is also another story about how the French, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to capture the island, came up with a brilliant plan. According to the story, they wrecked a ship full of rum on the Diamond. The next morning little effort was required to evict their troublesome neighbours.
Footnote:-
The author Mr. Dudley Pope sailed past the rock and was intrigued by Sir Samuel Hood's feat. He understood what kind of great seamanship it must have taken to land on the rock.
For Pope this ended up in a book, “Ramage’s Diamond”. The adventures in the book “bear out the adage that truth is stranger than fiction”.
You can see more about Diamond Rock here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nCBGJ6VjsE
Rob.
Very interesting Rob. I wouldn't want to live on there for any length of time especially during the winter. I presume the 'Garrison' was regularly relieved and re-supplied?
Been digging for a few more diamonds and found these Reg.
French attack on Diamond Rock.
Caves on Diamond Rock.
The camp.
The landing beach.
The battery.
Rob.
Last edited by Bligh; 11-18-2015 at 05:04.
It's bigger than it looks from the long range pics.
Welcome to the Anchorage, Dr.Maturin.
...and this rock story is very interesting.
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