Maritime Media Awards 2014 Brochure

Kathy Mansfield

Maritime Media Awards 2014

Welcome Welcome to the 2014 Maritime Media Awards. It is wonderful to see that the number of nominations is larger than ever, and perhaps this is the clearest sign of growing awareness amongst the media of our island nation’s dependence on the sea. Congratulations to all those who have contributed.

Our principal theme this year is the leisure use of the sea – from dinghy sailing and yachting to the marine industries involved in boat building and equipment manufacture.

Our film to introduce proceedings, Boat Nation, has been produced by our in-house film team, Maritime Films UK. The company is now making short films for other organisations and slowly building up a respectable portfolio of clients.

Another success this year has been the third Britain and the Sea conference, organised in association with Plymouth University, and plans are already in hand for 2015. We have also made progress developing the software for an interactive online facility to extend the reach of the Memorial Book for those lost at sea. An appeal for funds to bring this to fruition is under way, and I hope you will be able to support it.

Perhaps the most encouraging development is government recognition that the maritime sector is a vital part of the UK economy, contributing to our exports and worldwide reputation for design and innovation, while providing significant employment and skill regeneration. The naming of the first of the new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will hopefully mark a new era not only in the fortunes of the Royal Navy, but also in the revival of essential engineering skills. Our security and economic prosperity depend on both.

Countess Mountbatten of Burma CBE MSC CD DL President, The Maritime Foundation

Maritime Media Awards

2014

Foreword Admiral Sir George Zambellas KCB DSC ADC DL First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff

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n July this year, Her Majesty the Queen named the nation’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. At 65,000 tons she is the largest ship ever built for the Royal Navy and will be a national instrument of power. But at the other end of the spectrum there are many thousands of small leisure craft which regularly take to the water off our nation’s shores. They too, like our powerful new aircraft carriers, are part of the strong maritime fabric of the United Kingdom. I am therefore delighted that the theme for this year’s Maritime Media Awards is ‘Boat Nation’.

Leisure boats and craft which fly the Red Ensign are true ambassadors, both in educating our own citizens about the sea and also in promoting the United Kingdom around the world. Just as our Navy is world class, so too is our maritime leisure industry.

But it is not just the maritime leisure sector and the Royal Navy which serve as ambassadors of the sea. The Maritime Foundation remains a focal point for promoting maritime matters in the United Kingdom, as demonstrated by its recent Britain and the Sea conference. It also organises these annual Maritime Media Awards, which continue to go from strength to strength. This year there has been a record number of entries. That provides me with a welcome opportunity to thank the sponsors and salute all the entries, winners or not, because you are all at the forefront of informing and educating, and so have all made a truly valuable contribution in promoting maritime understanding.

I am particularly delighted to inaugurate the First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award this year. As the twenty-first century unfolds, we must all embrace twentyfirst-century technologies if we are to make the most of the opportunities for modern understanding which lie ahead. But one thing remains unchanged – and that is our nation’s dependence on the sea, for both its prosperity and its security. .

CONTENTS 2

Programme

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Looking to the sea The Maritime Media Awards

5

Award nominations 2013

9 Ambassadors of the seas David Glenn 12

Influence, expertise and inspiration Louis Nicholls, RYA

16 Trinity House: the first 500 years Captain Richard Woodman 19 The role of the aircraft carrier Commander Sue Eagles 20 Britain afloat Kathy Mansfield 25 From decline to recovery Julian Parker OBE 28 Britain and the Sea 3 Paul G Wright FNI 31 The Maritime Volunteer Service David Hughes

Maritime Media Awards

Nash Room • Institute of Directors • Pall Mall • London Wednesday 5 November 2014

Programme

2014

18.45 Guests arrive

Welcome by Julian Parker OBE, Anthony Harvey and Gillian Wettern

Reception

Waterloo Room

19.30

Proceed to dinner

Nash Room

19.45 Grace 21.15

Loyal toast

21.25

Welcome and introduction

Julian Parker OBE, Chairman, Awards Committee

21.30

Première of DVD

Boat Nation

21.40

Desmond Wettern Fleet Award

Crystal ship’s decanter

21.45

Maritime Fellowship Award

Athena bowl

21.55

The First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award

Whitechapel bell

22.10

Donald Gosling Award for Best Television or Film Contribution

Crystal dolphin trophy

22.25

Mountbatten Maritime Award for Best Literary Contribution

Silver Armada plate

22.35

Desmond Wettern Media Award Crystal ship’s decanter for Best Journalistic Contribution

22.45 Presentation of port

Admiral Sir George Zambellas KCB DSC ADC DL First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff

22.55

Vote of thanks

Guests depart

Music: string ensemble from Her Majesty’s Royal Marine Band, Portsmouth Guard of honour: City of London Unit, Sea Cadet Corps

The Maritime Media Awards

Looking to the sea Many signs point to a growing awareness of maritime issues, and of the vital importance of the maritime sector to Britain’s economy payments. The Marine Industries Leadership Council has been working hard to convince the government that support for exports and research is a sound investment for the future.

The naming of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in June was a major cause for celebration.

The carrier construction project has not only regenerated vital industrial skills across the country, but it has also produced a whole raft of new technology.

The Marine Management Organisation is making steady progress in designating protected areas to guard against overfishing in territorial waters, and in changing EU Common Fisheries Policy concerning the wasteful discard of bycatch.

This year marked the centenary of the start of the First World War, and there were many events and lectures to commemorate the crucial role played by the Royal and Merchant Navies. This year the Royal Naval Air Service also celebrated its centenary, and the Royal Marines 350 years of unbroken service.

Make no mistake. Few of these events would be known without the contribution of the media in all its forms. This year sees the introduction of the First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award, extending recognition to this rapidly developing sphere of influence. In so many ways, the sea matters to Britain, and public engagement and media coverage are a vital part of the equation.

Contributing to this important work are the nominees for this year’s Maritime Media Awards, whose exceptional range of talents is a cause for great celebration. n Kathy Mansfield

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his year we received a record 95 nominations for the Maritime Media Awards – and comments from the judges indicate that the standard was higher than ever. This is just one sign of what looks encouragingly like a steady increase in maritime awareness.

2014 has seen several important reports and noteworthy events. In March, the UK government published A National Strategy for Maritime Security, a truly all-encompassing study of the threats we face and the responses available. Shortly afterwards the Global Ocean Commission released From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean.

In June, Seafarers Awareness Week, organised by Seafarers UK, attracted wide media coverage, and next September London will again be hosting International Shipping Week. The Maritime Foundation, in conjunction with the Marine Institute of Plymouth University, ran the latest in a series of conferences entitled Britain and the Sea, generating widespread discussion on the development of maritime education.

The boat shows in London and Southampton are always popular with the public, attracting much interest from all over the world. Our DVD this year, Boat Nation, highlights this important part of Britain’s national economy – which is also the key theme of this brochure. The nation’s involvement in all aspects of ‘messing about in boats’ and seafaring training is respected throughout the world.

Britain remains a world leader in boat-building technology and innovation.

Less in the public eye but equally valuable are the marine equipment manufacturers who export their products to shipyards in China, Japan and Korea. This sector is a major contributor to the UK’s balance of

Few of these events would be known without the contribution of the media in all its forms

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THE MARITIME MEDIA AWARDS

Desmond Wettern Fleet Award (Royal Navy)

The award for maritime journalism is made to the writer, broadcaster, academic or other person who has made the most constructive contribution to generating public awareness of the United Kingdom’s current maritime issues. The award has been presented annually since 1995.

The prize is an engraved crystal decanter and a cheque for £1,000.

The award is presented to the HM ship, submarine, Naval Air Squadron or Royal Marine Unit that has made the best contribution to a positive image of the Royal Navy. Sponsored and nominated by RN Fleet Media, the award has been presented annually since 1993.

The award is a cut-glass ship’s decanter mounted on a plinth of oak from HMS Victory.

MF

Desmond Wettern Media Award for best journalistic contribution

Desmond Wettern on HMS Exeter in 1983. A celebrated writer on maritime affairs for over 30 years, he was also the Daily Telegraph’s naval correspondent. In 1993 the Royal Navy established the Desmond Wettern Fleet Award in his memory. The Maritime Foundation, of which he was a founder member, created the Desmond Wettern Media Award to commemorate his dedication to the belief that the United Kingdom’s economic wellbeing and security are inextricably bound up with the sea.

Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution The award is made to the author of the work of literature (fact or fiction, prose or verse) that has contributed most significantly to public awareness of maritime issues. The award has been presented annually since 2001.

The prize is an engraved silver Armada plate.

Donald Gosling Award for best television or film contribution The award is made to the director, producer or other person responsible for making the television programme or film that has made the most significant contribution to the public understanding of a maritime matter relating primarily to the United Kingdom. The award has been presented annually since 2006.

The prize is a pair of crystal dolphins mounted on an engraved marble plinth.

Maritime Fellowship Award The award honours an individual who has made a truly outstanding contribution to stimulating public engagement in maritime issues in a manner that has a special or cumulative value, and is not covered by the other Maritime Media Awards. This contribution may have been made either through a lifetime of dedicated service or through a leading role in realising a particular project, such as, for example, a major nautical festival, the consistently imaginative editing of a well-respected maritime publication, or the development of a particular maritime sector.

The prize is an Athena bowl with an engraved silver base.

The First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award The award is made to the team or person who, in the opinion of the Awards Committee, has made the most constructive contribution to generating awareness of current maritime issues specifically produced and uploaded through digital media outlets.

The prize is a Whitechapel bell.

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Maritime Media Awards

2014

Award nominations 2014 Desmond Wettern Media Award for best journalistic contribution Kate Adamson – Editor, Futurenautics Iain Ballantyne – Editor, Warship International Fleet Review Sam Bannister – Defence Correspondent, Portsmouth News Sam Chambers – Editorial Director, Asia Shipping Media John Clandillon-Baker – Editor, UKMPA Pilot Mike Critchley – Editor, Warship World Richard Fisher – Editor at New Scientist Sam Llewellyn – Editor, Marine Quarterly Bernard McCall – Editor, Coastal Shipping Magazine Cathy McLean – News Editor, BYM News, Gibraltar Louise Nicholls – Communications Manager, RYA John Roberts – Editor, Scuttlebutt Hamish Ross – Editor, Sea Breezes Admiral Lord West – Britain at Sea: the RN in the 20th Century, BBC Radio Four series, June 2014 Howard Wheeldon – Strategic Defence Analyst

Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution Andrew Adams & Richard Woodman – Light upon the Waters: the History of Trinity House – Celebrating 500 years (The Corporation of Trinity House) David Barrie – Sextant: a Voyage Guided by the Stars and the Men Who Mapped the World’s Oceans (William Collins) Jessica Berry – South Devon’s Shipwreck Trail (Amberley Publishing) Rip Bulkeley – Bellingshausen and the Russian Antarctic Expedition, 1819 –21 (Palgrave Macmillan) Horatio Clare – Down to the Sea in Ships (Vintage/ Random House) Ian Collard – Modern Mersey Shipping (Coastal Shipping) Quintin Colville and James Davey – Nelson, Navy and Nation: The Royal Navy and the British People 1688 –1815 (Conway Publishing) Tilly Culme-Seymour – Island Summers (Bloomsbury) J D Davies – Britannia’s Dragon: a Naval History of Wales (The History Press) Alistair Deayton – Directory of Clyde Paddle Steamers (Amberley Publishing) Steve R Dunn – The Scapegoat: the Life and Tragedy of a Fighting Admiral and Churchill’s Role in His Death (Book Guild) Geoff Dyer – Another Great Day at Sea (Visual Editions) Mike Farquharson-Roberts – A History of the Royal Navy: World War I (I B Tauris) Roy Fenton – Tramp Ships: an Illustrated History (Pen & Sword) Howard J Fuller – Empire, Technology and Seapower: Royal Navy Crisis in the Age of Palmerston (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group) Dr John Gould, Gerald Siedler, Stephen Griffies and John Church – Ocean Circulation and Climate : a 21st Century Perspective (The Academic Press/Elsevier) Captain Okke Grapow and Tony Westby-Nunn – A Tug at My Heart (Safmarine) Guy Grieve – Sea Legs (Bloomsbury) David Gunn – Sailor in the Desert (Pen & Sword)

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MA R I T I M E M E D I A AWA R D S 2014 – N O M I N AT I O N S

Simon J Hall – Under a Yellow Sky: A Tale of the Sea and Coming of Age (Whittles Publishing) Captain Peter Hore, editor – Through Albert’s Eyes: the British Navy at War and Peace, Volume 2 of a Bentley-Buckle Series (Whittles Publishing) Steven Jones – Stowaways by Sea (Nautical Institute) Nicholas Leach – The Lifeboat Service in Scotland (Amberley Publishing) Jan Martin Lemnitzer – Power, Law and the End of Privateering (Palgrave Macmillan) Matt Lewis – Last Man Off: a True Story of Disaster and Survival on the Antarctic Seas (Viking/ Penguin) Michael Lloyd – Convoy Ship (Witherby) Owen Matthews – Glorious Misadventures (Bloomsbury) Janette McCutcheon – RMS Queen Elizabeth: the Beautiful Lady (Amberley Publishing) John McWilliams – The Cornish Fishing Industry (Amberley Publishing) Nigel Millard – The Lifeboat (Conway/Anova Publishing) Graeme Ogden – My Sea Lady: an Epic Memoir of the Arctic Convoys by the late Graeme Ogden (Bene Factum Publishing) Lincoln Paine – The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World (Atlantic Books) Chris Parry – Super Highway: Sea Power in the 21st Century (Elliott & Thompson) Adam Rackley – Salt, Sweat, Tears: the Men who Rowed the Oceans (Viking/ Penguin) Duncan Redford – A History of the Royal Navy: World War II (I B Tauris) Duncan Redford and Philip D Grove – The Royal Navy: a History since 1900 (I B Tauris) Peter Reese – The Men Who Gave Us Wings (Pen & Sword) Martin Robson – A History of the Royal Navy: the Napoleonic Wars (I B Tauris) Professor Helen Sampson – International Seafarers and Transnationalism in the Twenty-first Century (Manchester University Press) Roz Savage – Stop Drifting, Start Rowing (Hay House) Bob Shepton – Addicted to Adventure: Between Rocks and Cold Places (Adlard Coles/ Bloomsbury) Professor Miles Taylor – The Victorian Empire and Britain’s Maritime World, 1837–1901: the Sea and Global History (Palgrave Macmillan) Simon Wills – Lifeboatmen (Pen & Sword) Andrew Wiltshire – Tugs in Colour: Worldwide (Coastal Shipping) Witherby Publishing Group – Ship to Ship Transfer Guide for Petroleum, Chemicals and Liquefied Gases (Witherby) Witherby Publishing Group – Passage Planning Guidelines, 2nd Edition (Witherby) Witherby Publishing Group – Marine Fuels and Emissions (Witherby)

MA R I T I M E M E D I A AWA R D S 2014 – N O M I N AT I O N S

Donald Gosling Award for best television or film contribution Will Anderson – Hugh’s Last Stand (Keo Films) Tom Beard, Keo North – Britain’s Whale Hunters: the Untold Story (Keo Films) David Belton – The Silent War (BBC History) Paul Bozymowski, Jon Kamen, Justin Wilkes – ‘When the Last Ship Sails’ Concert (Radical Media) David Briggs – Clydebuilt Series (BBC Science) Jane Cameron – The Harbour Series (Tern TV) Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel – Leviathan (Dogwoof Distributors) Jeffrey C Chandor – All is Lost (Universal Pictures International) Simon Davies – Monty Halls and the Kaiser’s Gold Four-part series (Seadog Productions) Heather Forbes – The Billion Dollar Wreck Hunt Series ( JWM Productions) Paul Greengrass, Alexander Cooper, Captain Phillips (Sony Pictures UK) Eamon Hardy, Ruth Caleb – The Whale (BBC History) Edward Hart – Dive WWII: Our Secret History (BBC and 360 Production) David Harvey – Marchioness: Party Boat Disaster (Circle Films) John Hodgson – Britain and the Sea Series (BBC Arts) Adam Keelan – Sea City Series 2 (BBC Productions South) William Naylor – Shipwrecks: Britain’s Sunken History (BBC Arts) Peter Oxley – The World’s Biggest Ship Series (Windfall Films) Simon Paintin – Ade at Sea Series (Shiver – ITV Productions) Lee Reading – Huge Hovercraft: Monster Moves (Windfall Films) Crispin Sadler, Producer – Deep Wreck Mysteries Series (Mallinson Sadler Productions) Jules Seymour, Producer – The Cruise: a Life at Sea Series (BBC Religion and Ethics) Tim Taylor – The Lost Submarine of World War I (Picturehouse Television with VideoText Communications and Wildfire TV) Dan Trelford – PQ17: an Arctic Convoy Disaster (BBC History) Anthony Wonke – Piper Alpha: Fire in the Night (STV Productions and Berriff McGinty Films)

The First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award Tomer Ben – http://www.ukmaritimetv.com Gillian Churchill and ACA Communications Team – http://www.aircraftcarrieralliance.com Barrie Deas – http://nffo.org.uk/responsible-fishing/hake-initiative Dr John Gould, M Sparrow, P Chapman – http://woceatlas.ucsd.edu Nick Harvey – http://capture.seafarersawarenessweek.org Kate Pain, Yannick Guerry, Ian Hislam – http://www.ihsmaritime360.com Louisa Swaden – http://www.sea-web.com

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Maritime Media Awards

2014

RECENT AWARD WINNERS

From previous Awards. (Top) Rose George receiving her 2013 Mountbatten Award for Best Literary Contribution from the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambellas. (Middle) Adrian Evans, joint winner of the 2012 Maritime Fellowship Award, receiving his award from HRH The Princess Royal.

(Bottom) Tom MacSweeney, winner of the 2010 Desmond Wettern Media Award.

Desmond Wettern Media Award for best journalistic contribution 2004 Manuela Sarris 2005 Prof. Nicholas Rodger 2006 Dr Colin White 2007 Brian Lavery 2008 Julian Bray 2009 Peter Elson 2010 Tom MacSweeney 2011 Caroline Wyatt 2012 Richard Hargreaves 2013 David Glenn

Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution 2004 Tom Pocock 2005 Prof. Roger Knight 2006 Nicolette Jones 2007 Andrew Welch 2008 Tim Clayton 2009 Kate Lance 2010 Richard Guilliat and Peter Hohnen 2011 Prof. David Abulafia 2012 Prof. Callum Roberts 2013 Rose George

Donald Gosling Award for best television or film contribution 2006 Andrew Thompson 2007 Crispin Sadler 2008 Marshall Corwin 2009 Ross Kemp 2010 Dan Snow 2011 Spencer Kelly 2012 Andy Attenburrow 2013 Will Anderson and Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall

Desmond Wettern Fleet Award 2008 HMS Illustrious 2009 HMS Illustrious 2010 HMS Kent 2011 845 Naval Air Squadron 2012 HMS Somerset 2013 HMS Monmouth

Maritime Fellowship Award 2008 David King 2009 Charles Clover 2010 David Mearns 2011 Richard Woodman 2012 Richard Doughty

and Adrian Evans 2013 Andrew Linington

Lifetime Achievement Award for journalism 2011 Peter Greenfield

AWARDS COMMITTEE Julian Parker OBE (Chairman) • Commodore Mike Beardall RN • Patrick Carnie Debbie Cavaldoro • Sarah Fletcher • Rose George • David Hall • John Johnson-Allen Kathy Mansfield • Martin Muncaster • Captain James Nisbet RN (ex officio RN) Professor Sarah Palmer • Alison Rayden • Jonathan Roberts (ex officio CoS) • Brian Thomas Rob White • Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks CB DSC DL

PAST AND PRESENT SPONSORS BAE Systems • Babcock International • The Bristol Port Company British Marine Federation • Chamber of Shipping Daily Telegraph • Gosling Foundation Great River Race • Joseph Strong Frazer Trust • Kelvin Hughes • Livanos Trust Lloyd’s Register • The Mærsk Company • The Marine Society and Sea Cadets Nautical Institute • Offshore Marine Medical Services • Plymouth University Port of London Authority • Rolls-Royce • Royal Navy • Sea and Water • Seafarer Books Sea Vision UK • Swire Group • UK Hydrographic Office • Wettern Trust

Success at home and around the world

Ambassadors of the seas David Glenn, winner of the Desmond Wettern Media Award in 2013 and former editor of Yachting World, examines Britain’s diverse leisure marine industry

Staying afloat It is perhaps the breadth and depth of the UK’s leisure marine industry, based on a long history of boat building and yachting expertise, which has helped keep it in reasonable shape and maintain its reputation around the world.

From outstanding performances in successive Olympic Games, thanks to the Royal Yachting Association’s exceptional training regime, which benefits from significant National Lottery funding and is the envy of the world, to the international sales success of companies like the Dorset-based motor yacht builders Sunseeker, the sector has been re-energised and is far removed from the trading landscape of thirty

ywpix/David Glenn

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ir Ben Ainslie’s recently announced challenge for the America’s Cup and the government’s unprecedented £7.5 million funding package for his team base in Portsmouth comes on top of encouraging news about the UK’s leisure marine market, which exported goods and services worth £1 billion last year. The confidence being shown in an America’s Cup bid could be seen as a reflection of the wider marine industry’s stability and is a call for the whole country to get behind Ainslie’s effort.

As the industry continues to accelerate out of recession with overall sales of around £2.9 billion in 2012/13 – a 1.7 per cent rise compared to the previous year, according to the British Marine Federation (BMF) – the sector has proved its maturity by managing its way through the worst financial downturn in history. Thirty years ago such a recession would have decimated what was then regarded as a ‘cottage’ industry, but now it is highly professional and robust enough to punch above its weight around the world.

The number of failures since 2008 has been remarkably small, considering the adage ‘nobody needs a yacht.’

years ago, when it was hobbled by high labour costs and an inexperienced approach to export.

In fact Sunseeker has so impressed the Chinese with its build quality and design that it is now in Chinese ownership. The Chinese and Asian markets continue to be significant export growth areas for Sunseeker and equally successful motor boat brands such as Fairline and Princess, but as yet the Chinese cannot match the British standards of technical innovation, design and build quality to produce yachts Made In China.

An evolving industry On the sailing yacht front an interesting evolution has taken place over three decades. The UK used to pride itself on mass production, with iconic brands like Westerly, Moody and Sadler leading the way in encouraging more people to get afloat.

But the economic difficulties of the late twentieth century saw the mass production of sailing yachts move to the Continent – and in particular to France, where governmentbacked schemes supported companies based

En route to Savusavu, Fiji, aboard Eddie Jordan’s Oyster 885 Lush, one of 25 yachts which took part in the Oyster Round the World Rally in 2013.

The sector has been re-energised and is far removed from the trading landscape of thirty years ago

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AMBASSADORS OF THE SEAS

Some of the 25 Oysters which took part in the 2013 Oyster Round the World Rally, pictured here in the remote Lau islands 140 miles east of the main Fijian group.

ywpix/David Glenn

in unemploymentstricken swathes of the country where the mechanisation of agriculture had left thousands out of work.

Back in Britain we had a highly skilled boat-building workforce, whose roots could be traced back to the shipwright skills of the early 1900s, with little to do until a growing demand for high-quality, high-value yachts began to emerge. This was due in part to growing ‘boom-time’ personal wealth apparent in the UK and other European nations, and to the ambitions of individuals who wanted to literally broaden their horizons and immerse themselves in the appealing pastime of longdistance or ‘blue-water’ ocean cruising.

As a result, demand for the bespoke, go-anywhere, high-value production sailing yacht increased, and companies like Oyster, Discovery, Rustler and wooden yacht specialists Spirit Yachts were able to re-kindle invaluable skills inherent in Britain. These UK companies are now world leaders in this sphere, displaying high standards of build and design and also an appreciation of precisely what the blue-water customer wants. Companies have learned to listen to sailors’ needs and invest appropriately. Moreover, British companies began to understand the need for after-sales service, crucial for those taking their yachts long distance. Customers did not mind paying a premium if they knew they had a quality product and that help was at Princess

Companies have learned to listen to sailors’ needs and invest appropriately

A Princess V39 motor yacht at speed.

hand when required. It is a formula which has helped establish these companies as leading blue-water brands, attracting customers from around the world.

Much of the popularity of the longdistance cruising phenomenon can be put down to another British ‘invention’, the ocean-going rally, the first and most successful of which is the ARC, short for Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. This British-owned transatlantic event sets off every year from the Canary Islands and heads for St Lucia, almost 3000 miles away. Now in its thirty-eighth year, it attracts well over 200 entries and 1200 international amateur sailors, and many of the yachts taking part are designed and built in the UK. Perhaps surprisingly, demand for the event strengthened rather than weakened during the global economic downturn, proving two things – increasing numbers want to escape the rat-race, and those that do can afford to do so in high-quality sailing yachts. The Cowes-based World Cruising Club, which owns the ARC and several other events, is another example of how UK-driven innovation and organisation can attract customers from around the world.

Niche markets There are many less well-publicised, behindthe-scenes UK companies which lead the world in niche sectors of the leisure marine market – companies like Lewmar, whose winches, hatches and other fittings can be found on the decks of most yachts in existence, and Halyard Marine, who are market leaders in the less glamorous but absolutely essential world of exhaust systems for yachts, which in recent years have played crucial roles in improved efficiency and emissions control.

UK-based clothing manufacturers like Musto, Henri Lloyd and Gill have

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Pendennis

Pendennis

AMBASSADORS OF THE SEAS

Superyachts: world-class design and innovation More recently the global growth of super­ yachting has played a significant role in the overall performance of the UK’s leisure marine market. The UK is Interior Design Central for superyachting, arguably one of the most understated sectors in the industry. London remains the hub for yacht interior design, with many smaller companies spinning off from stalwarts like Bannenberg and Winch – all of whom benefit from London’s vibrant design and innovation environment.

Some of the world’s leading naval architects, including Ed Dubois, Bill Dixon, Malcolm McKeon and Rob Humphreys, have enjoyed great success and have been highly influential in superyacht design, having started with smaller yachts. Dubois is a founding member of the SYRA (Super Yacht Racing Association), which has worked hard to improve safety on the superyacht race courses of the world and has identified areas which need more attention to improve safety.

Sadly the UK has not been able to replicate the new-build scenario evident a century ago, but a number of yards – most notably Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth and SYS in Southampton – have identified the growing need for refit as the expanding global superyacht fleet needs constant upgrading and regular surveying to remain in class.

Pendennis is now a leading light in the global superyacht firmament, and apart from a very impressive, constantly upgraded worldclass facility in Falmouth Docks – where

Pendennis

revolutionised foul-weather clothing, cleverly combining technical design with comfort and aesthetics so that yachtsmen and women can actually enjoy being out in inclement weather.

In a way this has helped to extend the sailing season.

they refit some of the world’s best-known superyachts – they run an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, thereby ensuring a steady stream of highly skilled young professionals being fed into the business, locally and beyond. Pendennis has also been impressive in its marketing initiatives, hiring the Red Arrows for a dramatic annual display at the Monaco Yacht Show to draw attention to Superyacht UK and running its own highly successful superyacht regatta in Falmouth, the only regular event of its kind in the country.

A return to confidence When the respected business-to-business journal International Boat Industry interviewed Howard Pridding, CEO of the BMF, recently he said that there was a return to confidence for the entire industry, including the small commercial sector which was benefiting from the government’s offshore renewable energy initiatives.

With almost 10,000 boats over 2.5 metres in length built in the UK in 2012/13, fulltime employment at almost 31,000 and only marginally down year on year, and 4200 marine businesses in existence, the prospects for these figures improving look good.

All the industry needs now is for Sir Ben to win The Auld Mug in 2017 and the industry will be set for another major leap forward.n David Glenn worked for over forty years as a marine journalist, retiring from the post of editor of Yachting World in April 2014

(Above left) CGI visualisation of Pendennis’s upgraded yard, as planned, at Falmouth.

(Above) the 46m ketch Christopher, launched in 2011 and the largest sailing yacht built by Pendennis to date, shown here competing in the Pendennis Cup off Falmouth in May 2014.

The importance of the RYA in promoting and protecting successful British boating

Influence, expertise and inspiration Louise Nicholls, RYA Communications Manager, reviews the key role played by the Royal Yachting Association in the leisure marine sector

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RYA

s Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup campaign takes shape at its new, stateof-the art Portsmouth base, creating hundreds of jobs and potentially injecting multi-millions of pounds into the local and maritime economies, it is worth reminding ourselves that this landscape-shifting vision started with a boy sailing an Optimist dinghy in the RYA Youth Programme.

The RYA (Royal Yachting Association) is the national governing body for all forms of recreational, competitive and professional boating. It is an association with over 100,000 members whom it represents and serves, and whose interests it promotes.

It has set and maintains an international standard of training in the leisure marine sector, both for recreational boaters and for those wishing to work in the industry. And lastly, it provides the opportunities for people to get on

Public right of navigation These days the UK’s coastal and inland waters face increasing pressure from competing commercial, environmental and leisure interests. National security, public safety, economic pressures and progressive regulatory initiatives from Europe and the international arena create competing interests and place a significant burden on the public right of navigation.

The RYA maintains the belief that the public right of navigation is paramount, underpinned by the established tradition of self-reliance and individual responsibility within UK recreational boating.

The RYA follows clear principles, set out in Kathy Mansfield

Activity thriving at Gurnard Yacht Club.

the water and progress, to either an RYA Ocean Yachtmaster or an Olympic gold medallist.

The diverse and far-reaching work the RYA does in lobbying, training, advising and campaigning across all areas of boating interest, often under the radar, means you only have to scratch the surface a little before the RYA’s role is revealed. The organisation’s marks – of influence, expertise and inspiration – are indelibly printed on almost every aspect of leisure maritime life as we know it today.

The RYA equips people not only for sailing as a competitive sport, but also for the pleasure and freedom of cruising and day-sailing.

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I N F L U E N CMEE, RE CX P H EARNT TI S ES HA INPDP I N N SGP I R A T I O N

Lloyd Images

RYA

Team GBR sailors sail past the crowds on The Nothe in Weymouth at the 2012 Olympic Games

Promoting safety The RYA aims to maintain and promote safe boating through providing clear information, advice and guidance on a wide spectrum of topics, improving recognised training, developing pragmatic standards for safety equipment and providing a wide range of educational material.

It provides specialist and technical advice

covering boat ownership, regulations, safety, environmental issues, and boating abroad. This is supported by a comprehensive range of titles covering all aspects of recreational boating and an extensive website (www.rya.org.uk) with over 8000 pages of information.

The RYA plays a lead role in improving safety standards for marine equipment. But, while equipment can comply with all the latest safety regulations, if an individual is not using it correctly it is still not going to work.

So the RYA dedicates as much time and effort to promoting safety and educating boaters as it does to getting safety recommendations ratified and implemented by standards bodies and manufacturers.

Our recent ‘Think – Wear Your Kill Cord’ safety campaign has received industry backing and has been adopted not just nationally but by boating organisations worldwide.

This campaign is just one of many included in the RYA Safety Advisory Notice, launched by the Shipping Minister in 2014 to bring together key safety issues, including those arising from incidents in the past year, into the first safety digest to be produced for recreational boaters.

The underlying ethos is that the best bit of safety equipment you have is your brain – but safety equipment is important, and it is vital that people are confident that the kit they purchase does what is expected of it. This applies to lifejackets, gas appliances, liferafts and all other safety equipment.

The underlying ethos is that the best bit of safety equipment you have is your brain

RYA

its manifesto, which work to ensure legislators and regulators – at national, European and international levels – understand and take account of recreational boating activity in decision-making. Politicians don’t understand the nature of recreational boating, and they need organisations like the RYA to inform their decision-making.

Take offshore renewable energy. Over the past twelve years the RYA has worked with the maritime community, notably the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the General Lighthouse Authorities, the Chamber of Shipping and the UK Major Ports Group, in an effort to limit the impact of offshore renewable developments on the navigational rights and safety of recreational boating. We have built a position of influence with the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Transport (Df T), and with the offshore wind, tidal and wave developers.

The result has been the widespread acknowledgement of the importance of navigational safety; and as a member of the Government Nautical and Offshore Renewable Energy Liaison (NOREL) group we have regular engagement in the consultation process at the strategic level, as well as with developers on a site-by-site basis. The RYA position papers on renewable energy and the RYA’s UK Coastal Atlas of Recreational Boating are regarded as essential reference documents for developers.

Nick Bailey/Pendennis

Sir Ben Ainslie with the America’s Cup, at the launch of his challenge this summer.

Navigation is among the core maritime skills covered by RYA courses.

I N F L U E N CMEE, RE CX P H EARNT TI S ES HA INPDP I N N SGP I R A T I O N Louis Mackay

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Every year more than 220,000 people complete RYA training courses

Answering the call of the sea and a fresh breeze.

Through the European Boating Association and UK, European and international standards organisations, the RYA monitors and comments on the standards applied to marine safety equipment and recreational craft – bringing the user’s perspective to bear on this vital process.

We are currently working with the British Standards Institute on a five-yearly review of safety equipment, in particular examining what in essence constitutes an offshore lifejacket.

We have also developed and proposed a draft standard for yacht charter services to the International Standards Organisation.

Our objective is to ensure that those Louis Mackay

Members of the Shanklin Sailing Club racing catamarans and dinghies off the Isle of Wight. Such local clubs, offering RYA certified instruction to children and adults, do a huge amount to foster maritime skills and understanding of the sea.

standards which support safety on board, as well as the construction of recreational craft, are robust – and that they achieve what they set out to achieve.

Setting the standard Every year, more than 220,000 people in Britain and internationally complete RYA training courses, both practical and theory, through a network of 2500 RYA Recognised Training Centres in over 47 countries.

This goes from newcomers learning the earliest, basic skills in their chosen boating discipline – be that sailing, windsurfing, motor and powerboats, personal watercraft or inland waterways vessels – to the highest international standards for commercial boating, recreational safety and navigation, coaching and instruction.

With the RYA’s global sphere of influence, its training schemes have set the standard internationally for safe, enjoyable boating, while at the same time providing access to, and pathways for, the huge variety of careers within the leisure marine sector – from working on superyachts to running an RYA training centre at an inland club.

RYA courses – of which there are more than 100, meeting all recreational and professional needs – never stop developing to take into account the dynamic world of boating, not only in terms of popular activity trends but also to keep abreast of

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RYA

I N F L U E N C E , E X P E R T I S E A N D I N S P I R AT I O N

RYA courses cover powerboat handling as well as sailing.

changes in legislation and regulation.

With modern lifestyles dictating that leisure time is precious, the RYA has sought to ensure its courses remain relevant and accessible to all by introducing such innovations as online learning and specialist short courses. The intense practical, higher-level courses will always, rightly, require a significant time commitment from participants. But engaging people in the process of training, and giving them opportunities to learn new or refresh existing knowledge at home, shows that the RYA understands and is responding to modern boaters’ varied needs.

So we come back to Sir Ben, arguably Britain’s most revered sailor and certainly the most successful sailing Olympian of all time, with four gold medals and one silver.

Ben’s America’s Cup campaign shows how interwoven all the strands of activity the RYA supports can be. His own journey has taken him from a youngster excelling in the junior Optimist class to a major global brand, and has had a hugely positive impact on Britain’s whole recreational marine sector.

Ben inspires at the grassroots, with the RYA’s carefully managed participation programmes nurturing and encouraging wideeyed youngsters to get involved in boating and giving them the opportunities to stay and develop in the sport, while he remains the iconic poster boy of Britain’s phenomenally successful Olympic pathway.

The RYA’s Youth and Junior Programmes are the bedrock of Britain’s Olympic success, developing and feeding sailors into the British Sailing Team’s Podium Potential and Podium Performance programmes.

Meanwhile, for those sailors whose passion is big boats, the RYA has well-established

Kathy Mansfield

The Gold Run

keelboat and match-racing initiatives, with RYA-supported sailors frequently competing at major national and international regattas.

Team racing is also well supported as another alternative for dinghy sailors not following an Olympic path.

This drive for excellence resonates throughout the areas of race management, race officials, coach education and professional development, to ensure that it is not just on the podium that Britain is writing the headlines.

Olympic and Paralympic medal success is just the high-profile tip of the RYA iceberg.

Every area of boating activity supported by the RYA could not exist without the others, and this envied network of knowledge, experience and excellence has enabled the RYA to establish itself as the world leader and the voice of reason that it is today. n

Six Metre class yachts racing.

Buoys, beacons, ballast … and lighthouses

Trinity House: the first 500 years Captain Richard Woodman, maritime historian and Elder Brother of Trinity House, reviews the continuing evolution of the essential services provided by the Corporation

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his year marks the 500th anniversary of the incorporation of Trinity House, a guild of mariners which had existed long before it submitted a petition to King Henry VIII, the purpose of which was to impose regulation on the conduct and pilotage of all shipping on the River Thames. Prior to this date the members of the fraternity, besides providing pilots, pledged themselves to the relief of those ‘shipmen’ who had fallen upon hard times. But in 1513 the chaotic state of unregulated navigation on the Thames called for some intervention by the State, and a plea to this end was laid before the King by the then Master of Trinity House, Thomas Spert.

In 1514 Henry granted Spert and his fellow ‘brethren’ a charter of incorporation, connecting Trinity House with the administration of the nation, a connection that has continued to this day.

An expanding role

GOC

The steady increase in merchant shipping using the port of London placed new demands upon the Corporation of Trinity House, and in 1566 Queen Elizabeth I gave the Royal Assent to the Seamarks Act, empowering Trinity House to establish buoys, beacons and other such marks as were considered desirable for the safe navigation of shipping entering and leaving the Thames. The efficacy of such seamarks soon extended this requirement beyond the river’s wide estuary, while the demand

Original engineering drawing for the Wolf Rock lighthouse, 1869.

for lighthouses added to the Corporation’s responsibilities. A partial solution to the knotty problem of funding for all this was reached in 1594 when Trinity House took over the monopoly of providing ballast to shipping in the Thames, a charge it executed until the introduction in the nineteenth century of iron and steel hulls with integral water-ballast tanks, which rendered it redundant. By this time, however, the poor quality of the ballast, combined with the use of the Thames as an open sewer, rendered the reputation of the Brethren of Trinity House as noxious as the ballast itself!

Despite this poor public image, the Brethren had nevertheless done their limited best, erecting lighthouses in some few locations but largely relying upon private enterprise to do so. To avoid a proliferation of private lights, they were limited by licence – and while the owners could levy a fee on passing ships, they were obliged to pay Trinity House a rent for the privilege. However, all these licences were in the form of terminal leases, and by the end of the eighteenth century these were expiring, compelling a change in the system of management.

All the while Trinity House was also maintaining almshouses – first at Deptford, later at Mile End, and today at Walmer, Kent – relieving acute poverty with ‘doles’ and by providing for annuitants, and licensing pilots not only for the Thames but for many other ports. The Brethren also examined the sailing masters of the Royal Navy, so that men like James Cook and William Bligh were obliged to submit themselves to Trinity House for certificates of competence.

Naval duties From time to time the Corporation was required to come to the aid of the State in time of war, most notably during the American

TRINITY HOUSE: THE FIRST 500 YEARS

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The Trinity House vessel Alert at Beachy Head, where the lighthouse, unmanned since 1983, continues to operate automatically with a reduced light range and no fog signal.

The red-and-white paint job, no longer considered necessary for maritime safety, now depends on charitable subscription.

Trinity House

War of Independence when the American rebels formed alliances with France and Spain and an invasion was threatened, and during the Napoleonic War when a further invasion seemed imminent.

On the first occasion a number of small ‘lookout cruisers’ guarded the Thames estuary and gave warning of any enemy activity; on the second Trinity House took over ten naval frigates and manned and moored them to form an armed cordon across the Thames near the village of East Tilbury.

This – the Royal Trinity House Volunteer Artillery – was a fully commissioned military entity in which the Brethren, both the senior, or Elder Brethren, and many Younger Brethren, held commissions from the King.

The force was maintained between 1803 and 1805, by which time the possibility of an enemy descent upon the Thames had receded.

Originally composed of senior seacaptains, the Elder Brethren by this time also included honorary figures, both naval and political, and the Colonel of the Royal Trinity House Volunteer Artillery was the Corporation’s Master, at that time William Pitt the Younger, sometime Prime Minister.

The connection with both the Royal Navy and the political establishment continues today, the Elder Brethren generally being elected from among the Younger Brethren, some 380 commanders of major warships or masters of merchant ships, the political appointees being made on their retirement from high office.

Into the modern era The termination of the lighthouse leases in the early decades of the nineteenth century required the Elder Brethren of the day to up

Trinity House

their game considerably. The events of the Napoleonic War had significantly changed matters; the Corporation found itself required to erect more lighthouses, sometimes in odd locations, such as the island of Helgoland in the German Bight. The long period of relative peace that commenced with the defeat of Napoleon saw an immense increase in British merchant shipping – half the world’s total ships, carrying half the world’s trade, by 1912.

This in turn demanded greater provision of aids to navigation: buoys, beacons, lighthouses and lightvessels, along with improvements in lights and lenses, and the development of fog signals.

Matters thus gained a momentum; reform and improvement marked the whole century between Waterloo (1815) and the beginning of the First World War, and what grew into the Trinity House Service rapidly assumed a lead in this first technological age. An Act of 1836 enabled the Corporation to buy out all existing private lighthouses in England and Wales, and almost immediately an ambitious programme was launched whereby existing lighthouses were updated, new stations were established – particularly upon such long-term hazards as the Wolf Rock off Land’s End – and increasing numbers of buoys and lightvessels were placed

An Act of 1836 enabled the Corporation to buy out all existing private lighthouses in England and Wales Trinity House maintains some 500 buoys, but inspects 10,000 aids to navigation maintained by harbour authorities, utility companies, wind-farm operators and others.

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TRINITY HOUSE: THE FIRST 500 YEARS

Trinity House

A maintenance crew retuirning from a visit to the unmanned Channel light vessel, one of 22 that provide data to the Meteorological Office and for the BBC shipping forecasts.

All those stations formerly manned are now operated from a central control facility

on station to ‘guard’ the shoals.

To facilitate all this, Trinity House fully augmented its own service, adopting steam-powered support vessels manned by uniformed sea-staff. Keepers and lightsmen were also put into uniform and properly remunerated with permanent, pensionable employment. An Engineerin-Chief ’s Department was established in the Corporation’s new premises on Tower Hill (built in 1794) and the whole business was brought rapidly into the modern era.

Methods of raising revenue were overhauled, particularly the system of Light Dues whereby a levy was taken from all ships putting into British ports. The ‘working’ Elder Brethren responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Service were properly salaried and required to give up the commercial interests many of them had formerly had.

In short, Trinity House thereafter constantly improved its service to the international mariner passing our shores.

Initially possessing a supervisory role over the lighthouse services in Ireland and Scotland, today Trinity House works in close association with the other two General Lighthouse Authorities for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

In recent years, reflecting the emergence of a second technological revolution, and in particular the common use of global navigation satellite systems, Trinity House maintains a constant watch on the necessity

Trinity House

Helicopter operations at the Smalls lighthouse, off the Pembrokeshire coast.

for its aids to navigation, a process that is seeing the closure, or reduction in capacity, of many lighthouses and other offshore aids.

For those that remain, the use of solar power, light-emitting diodes, sophisticated telemetry and computer-controlled systems means that all those stations formerly manned are now operated from a central control facility at Harwich, Essex, the principal operational base of today’s Trinity House Service.

The next half-millennium As the utility of some aids to navigation fades, others require greater attention. Today offshore wind-farms, gas and oil production platforms and traffic separation schemes all require buoying and monitoring, requiring the Corporation to be agile in its management, modern in its philosophy, and astute in its financial planning.

Both its licensing of deep-sea pilots and its charitable work continue apace. The latter includes not only the relief of poor seafarers and their dependants, but also the education of the public on maritime matters, the development of safety at sea through innovation, and the provision of cadet schemes to encourage young men and women to take up careers at sea. For these worthy and diverse causes the Corporation disburses the rents it generates from its portfolio of properties.

Underpinning all its activities, whether they be charitable grants, the licensing of a pilot, the routine maintenance of a buoy, the location and marking of a vessel sunk in collision, or the attendance of Elder Brethren in the Admiralty Court, the Corporation is ever mindful of its great charge – the safety of the mariner passing through the waters for which it has responsibility. Modern and proven, today it faces the challenges of the next half-millennium. n

Independent, formidably powerful, infinitely flexible

The role of the aircraft carrier Commander Sue Eagles QVRM RD reviews the history of the Royal Navy’s carriers, and looks to a future in which they remain a key strategic resource

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rom the Middle Ages to the dawn of the twentieth century, the fighting effectiveness of the Royal Navy was dominated by the gun. In the early 1900s, however, the development of the aeroplane ushered in a dramatic new military advantage – the ability to fly above the fleet and see over the horizon.

Aircraft became the eyes and ears of the fleet, extending the striking range of maritime forces far beyond the reach of naval guns. The radical and transformational capability of naval aviation also led to the replacement of the battleship by an entirely new type of warship – the aircraft carrier – as the most powerful capital ship afloat.

Wood and fabric beginnings The importance of air power was first recognised by the Royal Navy from the earliest use of aircraft at sea. The first four naval pilots completed their flying training in 1911, and the first launch of an aircraft from a Royal Navy battleship was achieved the same year.

The early naval aviators faced many hazardous unknowns but were always experimenting, pushing the boundaries and breaking new ground. Flying wood and fabric biplanes, they launched themselves from temporary structures on the upper decks of warships, attached floats to aircraft, attacked airships with explosives, fired guns from aircraft, dropped torpedoes, sent radio messages to report their findings and even built the first armoured car – to pick up downed pilots behind enemy lines.

Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, and within weeks the Royal Naval Air Service had pioneered the first strategic air raids against Zeppelins in their bases many miles from the sea. The then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, saw the potential of naval aviation from the outset, and the Royal Naval Air Service raid on Cuxhaven in December 1914

was a defining moment in naval history. It was the first attempt to exert sea power upon land by means of the air – ‘projection’, as it is known today. This was the birth of what would become the ‘carrier strike’ concept.

The Royal Navy developed the first experimental seaplane carrier in 1913.

Seaplanes could take off from the ship using trolleys, but they could not land back on board.

And landing on the sea and being craned back on board was a laborious business. Seaplanes were a hostage to the weather, and losses were high.

What was required was a ship capable of launching wheeled aircraft and recovering them again without stopping.

The first aircraft carriers The first use of aircraft in a sea battle was at the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and the first successful landing of an aircraft onto the flight deck of a moving ship was made by Commander Dunning on HMS Furious in 1917. The impetus of war had advanced the aircraft of 1918 to a weapon of potency – the drawback was the lack of suitable decks from which to operate it.

Most early aircraft carriers were conversions of merchant ships or warships with a ‘flat top’ erected over the superstructure.

HMS Ark Royal was the first ship designed and built as a seaplane carrier. She was launched in 1914, to be followed by HMS Furious – but the

HMS Vindex, laid down as a freighter, but bought in the yard by the Navy, and launched as a carrier in 1943.

Landing on the sea and being craned back on board was a laborious business

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Britain afloat Photographs by Kathy Mansfield 1. A water-ballasted Sea Raider, from Swallow Boats in Wales, sailing on Loch Ness.

2. Six Metres and similar Darings race towards Ryde in a centenary recreation of the 1908 Olympics.

3. A Swallows and Amazons race on the Walton Backwaters attracts families.

4. An Orkney boat at the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Portsoy.

5 Six Metre racing in British Championships at Falmouth..

6. Swallow Boats water-ballasted Bay Raiders sail on the Caledonian Canal.

7. Community-built St Ayles skiffs of the Scottish Coastal Rowing Project have encouraged competition around the world.

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THE ROLE OF THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER

Hawker Sea Fury and Fairey Fulmar aircraft on deck in heavy weather.

Aircraft carriers and carrier-borne aircraft revolutionised naval tactics

Fairey Gannets on board HMS Eagle in the 1950s.

first true aircraft carrier, with a full-length flat deck and a large compartment below to act as a hangar, was HMS Argus, completed in 1918.

The Royal Naval Air Service fought with great distinction on all fronts during World War 1, winning two Victoria Crosses and numerous awards for gallantry. In four short years, the zeal, ingenuity and endeavour of the early naval aviators had built the RNAS into the finest naval air arm in the world, and by the end of the war it had 55,000 personnel, 3000 aircraft and 103 airships.

Birth of the Fleet Air Arm Just as naval aircraft were beginning to prove their effectiveness, the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Flying Corps were combined, to form the Royal Air Force, in April 1918.

This pooling of resources was frustrating for the Royal Navy, because the Admiralty had been at the cutting edge of aircraft development during World War 1. Although the development of aircraft carriers continued throughout the inter-war years, the specific requirements of embarked naval aircraft fell behind. As a result, in 1939, despite its impressive history of innovation and achievement, the Fleet Air Arm faced going into combat with old and barely adequate aircraft, or new inadequate ones.

The term ‘Fleet Air Arm’ came into being in 1924, and the first ship to be purposedesigned and built as an aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes, was commissioned in the same year.

She was the first aircraft carrier to display the

two distinctive features of a modern aircraft carrier – the full-length flight deck and starboard-side bridge and control tower.

During World War 2, aircraft carriers and carrier-borne aircraft revolutionised naval tactics and enabled the Royal Navy to play its leading part in the Allied victory at sea.

For example, the pressing need to provide long-range air cover in the Atlantic to protect convoys against attack by German U-boats was met by Royal Navy Swordfish crews operating from the pitching, rolling decks of converted merchant ships. These ‘Merchant Aircraft Carriers’ served as a stop-gap measure until escort carriers could be built in the USA. Over 40 Naval Air Squadrons took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, flying some of the most hazardous missions imaginable during the arduous six-year campaign.

As well as protecting Atlantic and Arctic convoys, the Fleet Air Arm played a major role in hunting and disabling the heavily armed German Battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. In the Mediterranean, too, it proved a tenacious offensive force, relentlessly taking the battle to the enemy, attacking and destroying enemy shipping, harbours, fuel installations and airfields. In the closing stages of the war, carrierborne aircraft also ensured the successes of the British Far East Fleet against the Japanese.

At its height in 1945, the Fleet Air Arm comprised 78,000 people, 3700 aircraft, 59 aircraft carriers and 56 Naval Air Squadrons around the world.

The post-war years During the Korean War in the 1950s, no fewer than five Royal Navy carriers delivered formidable fighter air power, flying thousands of missions. The demands of flying from decks of ships require naval aircraft to be robust as well as light to manoeuvre, and the Sea Fury proved particularly successful in high-intensity

THE ROLE OF THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER

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Sea Hawks and Sea Venoms with wings folded.

carrier operations. She was designed specifically for service in carriers, with a strong point for a catapult strop, an arrester hook, folding wings and an energy-absorbing undercarriage – all naval engineering innovations.

Over the next 30 years, development in carrier aviation was rapid. The first jet to enter service with the Royal Navy was the Attacker, followed quickly by the Sea Hawk and Sea Venom. Both the Sea Hawk and Sea Venom were involved in the Suez campaign in 1956, where they more than proved the effectiveness of carrier aviation, being able to remain on station for considerably longer than landbased aircraft operating from Cyprus.

With the introduction of the high-speed strike aircraft of the 1960s and 70s – the Scimitar, Sea Vixen, Phantom and Buccaneer – came many pioneering new technologies that were to make an enormous contribution to the safety and effectiveness of carrier aviation. Among these, the angled flight deck, mirror landing site and hydraulic arrester wires assisted landing, and the steam catapult, powered by steam from the ship’s boilers, launched aircraft with far greater acceleration.

The Cold War and jet aircraft The Cold War was an important time for the Fleet Air Arm, for in addition to maintaining a constant front-line readiness to engage the forces of the Warsaw Pact, it was a period of huge and demanding transition in carrier aviation capability. During this period naval aviation progressed from the last of the propeller aircraft through to the peak of fixedwing carrier operations when the Royal Navy eventually acquired purpose-built fighter and strike jet aircraft and anti-submarine and airborne early warning aircraft.

Driven by Cold War tensions and the need to penetrate Soviet naval groups and if necessary deliver a nuclear payload, it was

the Royal Navy jets of the 1960s and 70s that really quickened the pace. Naval aviation came of age with the Buccaneer, a long-range strike aircraft built to fly fast and low to avoid detection by enemy radar, and the Phantom, an impressively versatile fighter which had formidable range and performance and was capable of carrying air-to-air missiles and nuclear bombs. The complexity and performance of these aircraft greatly increased the noise levels on a congested flight deck, leading to the invention of the flight deck induction loop communication system, developed by naval and Admiralty engineers.

HMS Ark Royal , with Phantoms and Buccaneers in the 1970s.

VSTOL success Probably one of the Royal Navy’s greatest carrier aviation successes, however, was that of the vertical/ short take-off and landing (VSTOL) Sea Harrier, which made its first flight from HMS Hermes in 1978. The innovative vertical take-off capabilities of the ‘jump jet’ were matched only by the capability of the Harrier to take on and out-manoeuvre far faster jets.

When the British task force set out on its 8000-mile journey to retake the Falklands Islands in 1982, it not only faced enormous logistical challenges but was totally reliant on carrier and ship-borne aviation, unlike the Argentinians, who possessed a land-based air force of over 200 aircraft. Despite these odds the Fleet Air Arm played a pivotal role,

A mirror landing aid of the 1950s, used with lights as part of the Optical Landing System, to help pilots correct their glidepath as they came in to land on a carrier.

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THE ROLE OF THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER

A Sea Harrier in transit between the hangar and the flight deck in HMS Illustrious.

winning the crucial battle for air superiority and contributing greatly to the successful outcome of the campaign.

During the 1990s, Royal Navy aircraft carriers participated in air strikes against Iraq, Kosovo and Serbia. They were in the front line again in 2001, delivering UK forces into Afghanistan, and in 2003, delivering spearhead forces onto the Al Faw peninsula.

Looking forward The enduring capability of carrier aviation remains central to Britain’s ability to protect UK interests anywhere in the world. Aircraft carriers are independent, formidably powerful,

Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers At the naming ceremony for HMS Queen Elizabeth on 4 July 2014, Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord, described the new carrier as: l a platform with unbounded use for any amphibious operations

anywhere in the world with a deck big enough to lift a thousand troops

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base for humanitarian relief operations – with enough storage space to make a real difference to lives

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a strike asset to deter our enemies and to comfort our friends

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platform for the next fifty years of accelerating technological imagination and world-famous British invention

l a tool

of diplomacy and commerce in support of HM Government policy world-wide

infinitely flexible, and able to provide a wide range of tailored responses to unfolding crises and potential threats many thousands of miles from our shores.

The great significance of carrier aviation is that a carrier takes its aircraft, fuel, spare parts and aviation workshops with it. It does not have to wait many weeks for support facilities to be established ashore. Furthermore, the deck space can be used to operate everything from jet fighters, helicopters and unmanned aircraft to amphibious and land forces. The ability to land troops ashore and continue to support them many hundreds of miles inland is a key role of the Fleet Air Arm. The first Naval Air Squadron to operate the F35 Lightning II from the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will be the Fleet Air Arm’s historic 809 Naval Air Squadron, which flew the Buccaneer in the 1960s and 70s. ‘This squadron number is the golden thread which weaves its way through the proud history of carrier aviation,’ said First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas, ‘telling the Fleet Air Arm jet story from World War 2, through to the Buccaneers flying from the post-war HMS Ark Royal, to the iconic Sea Harrier which served with such distinction in the Falklands in 1982. It could not be a more fitting squadron to deliver the new era of UK carrier strike.’

As mobile airbases from which to mount the widest range of operations, from the offensive punch in battle to global disaster and humanitarian relief operations, aircraft carriers have proved their worth time and time again.

And today the Royal Navy is once again in the vanguard of an extraordinary quantum leap in maritime air capability, with the QE class carriers, together with their squadrons of F35 fighter jets and Merlin helicopters, providing a high-readiness joint force capability to meet any contingency anywhere in the world for the next fifty years. n

A rescue package for the global ocean

From decline to recovery

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he Global Ocean Commission was established in February 2013 as an independent organisation with the objective of formulating politically and technically feasible recommendations to address four key areas on the high seas: overfishing, large-scale loss of habitat and biodiversity, the lack of effective management and enforcement, and deficiencies in high seas governance.

The Commission is a group of seventeen prominent individuals, and, as their Executive Secretary Simon Reddy stated in last year’s Maritime Media Awards programme, ‘the status of the Commissioners provides a unique opportunity to elevate ocean concerns up to the highest echelons of government and business.’ He went on to point out that ‘the Commission understands full well that in a global society of seven billion people, shortly rising to nine billion, there is limited scope for idealism. The real issue is how we can govern and manage the global ocean so we can derive the maximum sustainable benefits from it while allowing nature to flourish.’

The Commission published its first major report in June 2014 under the title From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean. The report contains eight key proposals, based on rigorous consideration of the latest scientific analysis from ocean experts, combined with broad stakeholder engagement.

Eight proposals for action Proposal 1. UN Sustainable Development Goal for the ocean – putting a healthy living ocean at the heart of development Given the importance of the global ocean to issues of environmental sustainability, social justice, equity and governance, the Commission strongly supports and wishes to add its voice to the proposals made at the

Derek keats

JulianParker OBE outlines the Global Ocean Commission’s eight proposals for stimulating a cycle of ocean recovery

UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at a standalone Ocean SDG. Target 1 Ensure that all fish stocks are being fished sustainably.

Target 2 Protect vulnerable marine areas.

Target 3 Reduce biodiversity loss.

Target 4 Eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Target 5 Reduce by 50% quantities of plastic debris entering the oceans.

Proposal 2. Governing the high seas – promoting care and recovery Current ocean governance arrangements do not ensure sufficient protection for high seas biological diversity, nor do they foster the sustainable and equitable use of marine living resources.

Aim 1 Strengthening UNCLOS (the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) through a new implementing agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond national jurisdiction.

Aim 2 Universal ratification of UNCLOS and UNFSA (the UN Fish Stock Agreement of 1995) and the establishment of an annual meeting of States Parties to UNFSA. Aim 3 Prompt entry into force and implementation of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Port State Measures Agreement 2009.

A reef in the Red Sea. Sustainable development means ‘putting a healthy, living ocean at the heart of development’.

Current ocean governance arrangements do not ensure sufficient protection for high seas biological diversity

(Above) A Taiwanese fishing vessel suspected of illegal fishing off West Africa, and (above right) inspection of an illegal catch by a boarding party of Portuguese and Gabonese naval personnel working in partnership with the US Navy.

Aim 4 Appointment of a UN Special

Representative for the ocean.

Aim 5 Creation of regional ocean

management organisations to promote ecosystem-based management of the high seas.

Aim 6 Appointment of ocean envoys or ministers by heads of state or governments.

Proposal 3. No more overfishing – ending harmful high seas subsidies

The size of the world’s fishing fleets is two and a half times bigger than what would be sustainable

The size of the world’s fishing fleets is currently two-and-a-half times what is necessary to sustainably catch global fish stocks. The Commission asks WTO (World Trade Organization) Member States to urgently adopt a three-step approach to dealing with this problem.

Step 1 Transparency: full disclosure of fisheries subsidies. WTO Member States are under an obligation to report on specific subsidies, but they do not all report on the details of their fisheries subsidies.

Step 2 Classification of fisheries subsidies in order to identify those that are harmful, as an essential step in the phase-out of negative incentives.

Step 3 Immediate capping and then phasing out of high seas fishing subsidies within five years.

Proposal 4. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing – closing seas, ports and markets Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing on the high seas has significant negative ecological, economic and social impacts, and disproportionately affects developing countries.

At sea – Mandatory IMO (International Maritime Organization) numbers and tracking, already in place for merchant vessels, to be extended to fishing vessels fishing on

US Navy

FROM DECLINE TO RECOVERY

US Navy

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the high seas. Ban at-sea transhipment of fish. All flag states to be party to UNCLOS and UNFSA. RFMOs (regional fisheries management organisations) to maintain coordinated lists of illegal fishing.

In port – Ratify and implement PSMA (the Port State Measures Agreement). Illegal fishing vessels should have their flags removed, be refused access to ports and not be allowed access to markets.

Port states should cooperate with RFMOs and monitor all fishing vessels entering their ports.

Fish to table – Stakeholders to work together to build a real-time global information-sharing platform on high seas fishing. Seafood retailers and food processors to commit to sourcing sustainable seafoods including full traceability. Civil society organisations to step up their role as independent watchdogs.

Proposal 5. Plastics – keeping them out of the ocean Plastics are a major source of pollution on the high seas and a threat to humans and the environment. This reflects poor handling and waste management practices on land and requires a combination of political and regulatory action supported by an increase in consumer awareness. In particular, the Commission calls for coordinated action by governments, the private sector and civil society to eliminate plastics entering the global ocean – including by: n Minimising single-use plastics by direct government intervention and consumer incentives. n Creating incentives to promote recycling, including single polymer products and extended producer responsibility. n Establishing time-bound, quantitative reduction targets.

27

The Commission seeks binding international standards and protocols to cover both safety standards and risks to the environment from offshore oil and gas operations.

Hannes grobe

Crown Copyright Expired

FROM DECLINE TO RECOVERY

Improving waste management. n Promoting consumer awareness. n Addressing lost and discarded fishing gear. n Exploring taxation and other levies to establish a Global Marine Responsibility Fund to build waste management capacity, coordinate action to combat marine plastics, grow sustainability initiatives, and change the behaviour of industry and consumers.

Proposal 6. Offshore oil and gas – establishing binding international safety standards and liability The Commission supports efforts to adopt and improve international safety and environmental standards for offshore drilling on the continental shelf, including regional protocols to establish and implement such standards, with provision for response-preparedness and capacity building in developing countries.

In line with the polluter-pays principle, the Commission also supports the development of an international liability convention to cover damage to the marine environment from offshore oil and gas installations.

Proposal 7. Global ocean accountability board – monitoring progress toward a healthy ocean The Commission recommends the establishment of an independent Global Ocean Accountability Board to monitor and assess whether sufficient progress is being made towards achieving the proposals recommended by the Commission through which to reverse the degradation of, and then regenerate, the global ocean and to secure effective and equitable governance. The Board would benchmark, on a regular basis, the progress being made by the international community towards meeting the specific proposals contained in this report, and make this information public.

Proposal 8. Creating a high seas regeneration zone The Commission is concerned to ensure that if the health of the global ocean does not improve, then consequences should follow to save this vital natural resource.

The Global Ocean Accountability Board should provide independent monitoring of progress. If it reports continued decline after a period of five years, or a similarly short period, then the world community of states should consider turning the high seas – with the exception of those areas where RFMO action is effective – into a regenerative zone where industrial fishing is prevented.

Observations This comprehensive report addresses the threat to the health of the oceans through over-exploitation. It argues persuasively that the tipping point has passed and action needs to be taken by the international community to respond. The wastage is unaffordable, and the loss of maximum sustainable yields by overfishing loads an unethical burden on societies across the world.

The Commission is now working towards implementation, but first the focus is on presenting the findings in international forums, including the United Nations; at government level, particularly among developing countries; and at major conferences concerned with international and regional fishing issues, the environment and climate change. The next phase will be to develop an implementation strategy based on the consultative process carried out during the presentation phase. This strategy will be driven strongly by the Commissioners, who are committed to seeing their findings turned into action. The call for action is being promoted as Mission Ocean. n

NOAA

n

Plastic refuse washed up on a beach in Hawai’i. The Commission proposes both a Global Marine Responsibility Fund to build waste management capacity, and measures to limit the production of plastics and to promote recycling.

The full report can be downloaded from the Mission Ocean website at http://missionocean.me

Conference review: ‘Enriching Britain’s Maritime Capability’

Power, resources and environment Paul G Wright FNI, Master Mariner and Associate Director of Plymouth University Marine Institute, reports from the third Britain and the Sea conference

T

he third conference in the Britain and the Sea series, held at Plymouth University in September 2014, considered three key areas of concern to our island nation: sea power in an age of uncertainty, the maritime human resource challenge, and marine environment matters.

Opening the conference, Professor Ray Playford, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Plymouth

and demographic changes which will be seen during the operational lives of the new aircraft carriers under construction. He described the need for fresh thinking about their deployment and the challenges faced in developing future officers and personnel. In this respect he welcomed the establishment of the Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy, stating that ‘an independent and inclusive centre will meet the needs for raising knowledge, awareness and understanding of issues relating to marine and maritime affairs.’

Plymouth University Marine Institute

Sea power in an age of uncertainty

The conference in session.

University, pointed out that it was being held during the Ocean City Festival, highlighting a core area of Plymouth University’s mission – the development of marine and maritime education. Julian Parker, Chairman of the Maritime Foundation, outlined the aims of the conference as seeking to increase maritime awareness and hence opportunities for industry across the United Kingdom.

Rear Admiral Ben Key, Flag Officer Sea Training, gave the keynote speech. He welcomed the developments taking place in the region which are encouraging naval officers to recognise the interdependency of the different marine and maritime disciplines within a world that has increasingly become ‘more connected but more contested’. Admiral Key referred to the importance and longevity of strategic decisions made today, reflecting on the military, political, technical, environmental

In the first session, Professor Graeme Herd, Head of Plymouth University’s School of Government and newly appointed Director of the Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy, introduced the vision and development opportunities which the Centre will embrace, with the aim of bringing added value to the marine and maritime sectors of the United Kingdom.

Professor Steven Haines of Greenwich University spoke to a paper entitled ‘The end of the Grotian era? Maintaining order and good governance at sea’, in which he considered that solutions to conflicts over the rights to use the seas will be resolved by an evolving body of international law. He considered that the scale of globalisation has undermined the possibility of economic warfare at sea and that in the future the world’s navies would mainly take on constabulary duties.

Professor Gwythian Prins, Emeritus Research Professor at the London School of Economics, argued that the role of a navy is to project national power, and its purpose, when confronted, is to fight to win. He was critical of the Western political class which believes that peace is the default condition of international relations, where soft power has replaced hard power and thus eliminated the need for a grand

POWER, RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

strategy. By deciding ‘not to have a strategy’ he claimed that the West has ‘decided to cede control over defence spending to its enemies’.

He reiterated that the key element of naval commitment is the capability to use the sea in pursuit of national interests and deny others disruptive influence.

The third speaker of the session was Philip Grove, a lecturer at Britannia Royal Naval College. The content of his talk was pragmatic.

He stated that world politics are less predictable than in the past and argued the desirability of having naval forces to provide presence and demonstrate flexible response.

In a long discussion, delegates considered the relative roles of military power as a means of defending maritime interests, and world trade as a means promoting peaceful coexistence. The session demonstrated that political solutions to world problems depend on outlook and circumstances. It recognised that the new independent and inclusive Dartmouth Centre would supplement learning from defence college lectures and business school syllabuses.

The maritime human resource challenge The first speaker in this session was Glenys Jackson, head of the Merchant Navy Training Board, an industrial body designed to support the supply of well-trained merchant navy personnel and develop professionals to meet the wider needs of the maritime industry.

Her presentation provided a detailed insight into present issues of concern, including recruitment, training, retention and future career development.

David Dearsley, formerly Deputy Secretary General of the International Shipping Federation, gave an informative talk on ‘Maritime career path mapping’, including an insight regarding the needs of the seafarer and the problem of retention. He had recently

China Marine Surveillance/ Wikimedia Commons

Chinese and Japanese coastguard vessels in the disputed area of the East China Sea surrounding the archipelago China and Japan both claim, respectively, as the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands. Growing hunger for resources as well as strategic advantage is likely to fuel maritime territorial disputes of a sort that Britain is also a party to.

29

undertaken a study which showed that the average seafarer spent between twelve and fifteen years at sea. The study examined how retention might be extended, and he had come to the conclusion that ‘if you want seafarers to stay, help them to leave.’ He claimed that ‘career path planning’, which recognises the limitations of seafaring as a long-term career, is an effective tool to help retain seafaring staff.

The theme of completeness was taken up by Commodore Barry Bryant of Seafarers UK. He described the role of Seafarers UK. Whilst its charitable work is well known, like Sea Vision UK it is able to help map out maritime career paths and give advice and information on career opportunities within the maritime sector.

The last three speakers of the session provided presentations on maritime skills training available in the Southwest of England.

Mary Cox, Principal of University Technical College Plymouth, established in 2013, spoke about the role of the College in addressing the serious skills shortages in the area of marine engineering and the use of composite materials. She reminded delegates that to remain competitive the UK needs to produce more than 400,000 scientists and engineers each year. Currently it provides only a quarter of that number.

A new approach to the training of hydrographic surveyors was described by Dr Richard Thain, Director of the recently established Hydrographic Academy. The use of e-learning to upskill surveyors and make best use of their time whilst at sea was explained.

The Academy has been nominated for the Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative at the 2014 Times Higher Education Awards.

Lieutenant Commander John Hunnibell of Britannia Royal Naval College described the Royal Navy’s provision of basic skills to

The aims of the conference were to increase maritime awareness and hence opportunities for industry across the United Kingdom

30

POWER, RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Petty Officer 3rd Class William B Mitchell / US Coast Guard

An officer from the US Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Detachment working with a crew member to get a sample of ballast water from a vessel in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The US Coast Guard inspects all vessels’ ballast water before they enter the Great Lakes to protect the ecosystem from invasive species.

The global oceans are becoming more of a shared responsibility

A visualisation, from Windship Technology, of a bulk carrier fitted with fuel-saving computer-controlled sails.

‘deliver courageous leaders’ for the future. He covered the practical and academic demands of programmes associated with the ‘militarisation’ and ‘marinisation’ of recruits, and the import­ ance of mentoring during the early career.

The discussion which followed considered greater liaison between the Royal and Merchant navies, opportunities for e-learning at sea, a role for ‘active retired persons’ and the value of continuous professional development.

Marine environment matters The first speaker of the final session, Captain David Smith of Plymouth Marine Laboratories, described the risks associated with the carriage of alien species in a ship’s ballast water.

An interesting paper presented by Richard Caslake of the Seafish Industrial Authority gave an overview of problems associated with the UK fishing industry, including the economics of fishing and the difficulty of providing profitable returns. He also covered actions being taken to reduce the amount of discards and improve the selectivity of fish types caught.

The need for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) was explained by Dr Jason Lowther of Plymouth University’s School of Law. The role of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, which covers the establishment and enforcement of MPAs to redress ‘centuries of failure in marine stewardship’ was discussed.

The final paper, ‘Wind power: a British

solution to an environmental challenge’, was presented by Lars Carlsson of Windship Technology. He stated that wind power has a place in the international shipping business, as confirmed by research work recently undertaken. It has been established that on the right trade routes, computer-controlled sails retrofitted to bulk carriers could reduce fuel costs by up to 30%. He suggested that the use of new technologies combined with the financial power of London could once again make the United Kingdom a major maritime nation.

Summing up Bringing the conference to a close, Julian Parker said: ‘This has been a fascinating conference because of the wide-ranging subjects presented and the realisation amongst the discerning and questioning audience that the relationship between defence, education and the environment presents new opportunities for shared cooperation.

‘Perhaps the most enduring theme to emerge from this vibrant conference has been the interdependence of all the elements in maritime activity. The global oceans are becoming more of a shared responsibility, and the security of nations depends not only upon their national protection but on secure relationships with global partners in pursuit of trade.’ n The conference was organised by Paul Wright, assisted by Sally Bishop-Hawes and members of the Plymouth University Events Team, with the support of the Maritime Foundation, Seafarers UK, Plymouth University School of Government and Plymouth University Marine Institute.

The Britain and the Sea 4 conference will be held in September 2015, with the theme ‘Maritime risks and security – the threats to global trade and fisheries’.

Looking forward to the next twenty years

The Maritime Volunteer Service Freelance shipping journalist and MVS Trustee David Hughes PhD MNI explains how the Service is meeting the challenges of the 21st century

B

ack in 1994 members of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) founded a charity that would continue to use their expertise when the RNXS disbanded at the end of the Cold War. The Maritime Volunteer Service was born.

The twenty years since 1994 have seen a transformation in the environment in which charities operate, and, in addition, some major changes in the regulatory regime that governs the operation of small craft. Today, the trustees of the MVS are thus facing a far more demanding environment in the field of charity governance, and also a more stringent regulatory regime for their maritime activities.

The MVS also faces the same challenges that beset all charities – an ageing membership base, a shortage of volunteers and, in recent years, a lack of funding as individuals, companies and foundations feel the effects of the global financial crisis.

The trustees are responding to these challenges in many ways, redefining the charity’s aims and objectives and putting in place new structures to meet the requirements of the twenty-first century. The MVS is also taking positive steps to work more closely with other organisations, with the aim of further developing the delivery of its mission.

The MVS sums up its mission as: ‘We change lives by training people in maritime skills and we support communities in and around all UK waters and waterways.’

In support of the community The MVS has two stated aims – training its own members and members of the public in maritime skills, and using those skills to protect and preserve life and property. These aims are delivered in a variety of ways that are as diverse as the volunteers who make up the charity.

MVS

Changes and challenges

Some units work closely with local youth groups, while others support the community by using their craft to provide safety patrols.

For example, the Poole Unit works closely with the harbour authority to ensure the safety of people on the water within the busy port, while other units are closely involved with their local resilience forums and provide an invaluable additional resource in emergencies.

Although the MVS is not, and never will be, a ‘blue light’ responder or a rescue organisation, having the craft and expertise of the charity available to them enhances the ability of local organisations to respond when necessary. In recent years, several MVS units have provided practical assistance during floods in their localities.

The MVS also acts as a valuable resource for organisations such as Scouts, Sea Cadets, Police Cadets and other youth movements, providing both expertise and craft. The leaders within these organisations can also make use of the charity to enhance their own skills and gain valuable experience.

During the recent summer season, a number of MVS units have worked with Scouts around the country. East Sussex

TS East Sussex 1, one of the larger vessels in the MVS fleet of some 60 training craft.

The MVS faces the same challenges that beset all charities

32

THE MARITIME VOLUNTEER SERVICE A Sea Scout leader gets to grips with chartwork during an intensive weekend course on an MVS vessel.

MVS

Members and non-members

MVS

Because the MVS is a registered RYA training school, training can be given to non-members

Sovereign Harbour Unit has been providing experience afloat to Bexhill Sea Scouts for several years on board the Training Vessel East Sussex 1. In addition, this summer, the unit ran a weekend sea-experience trip for scout leaders. Elsewhere, Thanet Unit and Liverpool City Unit regularly provide experience afloat and simple boating training for their local Scouts. More such projects are in the pipeline around the country.

Adult organisations can also profit from making use of the facilities that we have to offer, whether it is to gain qualifications that will increase career prospects or to improve confidence and general life skills. In addition, we are now starting to work with vulnerable adults and people who could benefit from taking part in our activities to develop their social skills.

MVS Thanet Unit is leading the way in this area, engaging in various activities to promote awareness of the sea and the local environment, from beach cleaning exercises to carnivals and beach events.

The unit holds short training sessions covering boat handling, sea safety, radio, fire precautions, first aid and diesel engines.

Man overboard exercise – fun with a serious purpose.

As a national charity we deliver our training objective in two main ways. We encourage adults to join the MVS and attend our regular, usually weekly, training meetings, and to gain experience afloat in our fleet. Additionally, because the MVS is a registered RYA training school, training can be given to non-members either on an individual basis or to improve the skills of members of other organisations.

The trustees have also recognised that membership of the charity makes other demands on its volunteers that are not directly concerned with maritime skills. Units and regions need management and administrative skills, and a training programme has been set up to train members in the largely unrecognised field of charity administration.

The MVS ultimately aims to have this administrative training recognised through outside certification. Volunteers who attain the appropriate qualification will be able to transfer these skills into other walks of life, which will enhance their employability.

In search of sponsorship There are around thirty MVS units located around the UK, operating a fleet of some sixty training craft, ranging from small inflatables to the 17-metre East Sussex 1, which is capable of undertaking coastal and cross-Channel trips.

Inevitably, operating this fleet, running our training programmes and maintaining a national administration does not come cheap.

In general our local units fund their activities through local initiatives, but we are now at a stage where there is a need to launch nationally funded programmes – and to this end the MVS is now seeking corporate sponsorship.

For more information about MVS, visit www.mvs.org.uk.

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Blue-chip clients we have worked with in our first two years include Associated British Ports, the Jubilee Sailing Trust, Mission to Seafarers, Nautilus International and Seafarers UK. To find out more about us, visit our website: www.maritimefilmsuk.tv Click on ‘Films’ at the top of the page to see some of our productions, and ‘Clients’ to find out what our clients think of our work.

Maritime Films UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Maritime Foundation For more information, telephone: 07771 837423 or email: rob@maritimefilmsuk.tv

Seafarers UK is a charity that helps people in the maritime community by providing vital funding to support seafarers in need and their families.

To find out about our work or to make a donation visit www.seafarers.uk phone 020 7932 0000 or email seafarers@seafarers-uk.org Seafarers UK (King George’s Fund for Sailors) is a Registered Charity, no. 226446 in England and Wales, incorporated under Royal Charter. Registered in Scotland, no. SC038191.

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Published November 2014 by The Maritime Foundation Charity No. 286784 202 Lambeth Road, London SE1 7JW www.bmcf.org.uk Editing: Hugh Brazier Design: Louis Mackay / www.louismackaydesign.co.uk Advertising: SDB Marketing Printed by Swan Press, Shoreham

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All articles in this brochure are the copyright of their named contributors and may be reproduced only with the contributor’s permission. Any opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers are their own and do not necessarily represent views or policies of the Maritime Foundation. The Maritime Foundation is a registered charity which promotes Britain’s interests across the maritime field. Its purpose is to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of the UK’s maritime industries, commerce and defence, through education, training and research. All photographs in this brochure are copyright, and may not be reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder.

n Creating media interest in the sea ighlighting the economic n H importance of maritime activity ringing maritime knowledge n B and skills to the young n Remembering seafarers lost at sea n Working with like-minded organisations

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