In my efforts to get in as much sailing as possible before the end of the sailing year, I headed out solo last Saturday for a pleasant afternoons sailing...(it would seem that a new 'Jonas Brothers' [click here] DVD purchased just that morning - with four free pairs of 3D glasses apparently - seemed to be a bigger attraction than the opportunity to sit on the boat with her Dad for two or three hours! 
)
Started out with two reefs, got as far as we had the weekend before, where I then had to shake the reefs out (wind was dropping all the time). By the time I was half way up the harbour it had dropped to almost nothing so the donk was switched on and we motored home through a very quiet, very still, gloaming...
A huge sunset, a pleasant cigar, and a can of Tanglefoot [click here] just underlined what was a memorable sail. Winter approaches though - it was dark when I moored at 7.30 in the evening!
Distance: 10 miles (105 miles year to date - there's the century)
Wind: "Changeable" (Started out Force 4 dropped to nothing)
) Started out with two reefs, got as far as we had the weekend before, where I then had to shake the reefs out (wind was dropping all the time). By the time I was half way up the harbour it had dropped to almost nothing so the donk was switched on and we motored home through a very quiet, very still, gloaming...
A huge sunset, a pleasant cigar, and a can of Tanglefoot [click here] just underlined what was a memorable sail. Winter approaches though - it was dark when I moored at 7.30 in the evening!
Distance: 10 miles (105 miles year to date - there's the century)
Wind: "Changeable" (Started out Force 4 dropped to nothing)
Pegasus Bridge holds something special for me.
ReplyDeletefor many years there was a winged Pegasus painted on the hotel on the corner of corporation Road in the town. it was put there by the men of the airborne forces as they trained for their attack on the bridge by using the Corporation road bridge in grimsby. the two bridges are of exactly the same design and dimensions. I cross this bridge eveery day on my way home from work - as do thousands of others - and often wonder how many know of its history and significance?
I am very pleased to see the new museum, and that the old bridge has been treated with more respect than when I last saw it. The Horsa repro looks brilliant the markers showing where the 3 gliders landed really demonstrate the skills of those glider pilot regiment pilots & when you look at the size of those gliders...incredible! Tanglefoot a fine pint of badger!! Did you know that Johnny Woodhouse who used to run the Panda Soft drinks division of the badger empire was the ex CO of the SAS!
ReplyDeleteCrikey - you guys are a font of knowledge this evening.. I had no idea about either of those facts - thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was at Pegasus Bridge earlier in the year during a visit to the Normandy Beaches ... and it was the best bit as far as I was concerned. My father was in 6th Airborne - he was a gunner with 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment RA - and they actually had a picture of the entire Rehgiment on display in the museum. It brought a lump to my throat just seeing them all together.
ReplyDeleteI took a photo of the Horsa replica home to show him ... and he was beside himself to think that they had actually made one! He and the rest of the gun team went into action in a Horsa, with a jeep, ammo trailer, and 75mm Pack Howitzer chained down behind them. Apparently they all knew that if the landing was rough, the whole lot could break free and squash them during the landing. He said that he was petrified of that happening, and that getting out and fighting was far less of a worry .. in fact he felt safer outside the glider than in it!
Nice blog entry Steve. My parents in law lived in Normandy so I was lucky enough to see Normandy en toto before all the 1994 Hoo-ha! Before they moved the original bridge and things generlly started to sprout more roundabouts, dual carriagewats, momnuments.
ReplyDeleteNot denying it's all still a very stirring place! One of the best bits in the movie!
Cheers
Mark
Excellent post and pics, Steve. I went to the Normandy beaches as a child but never to Pegasus Bridge.
ReplyDeleteGiles
Nice post Steve.
ReplyDeleteAny idea why the Centaur had measurment numbers all over its turret?
The people who own it should paint it, it does look sad and neglected.
Moif - agree w.r.t the state of the Centaur... it desperately needs to be "looked" after especially as I now find that it is a relatively rare tank...
ReplyDeleteThe markings are interesting; the Centaur was the close support version of the Cromwell and according to Wikipedia (which has a picture of this tank in it's article) this is a Mk IV Centaur armed with a 95mm howitzer (with 51 rounds of ammunition).
Apparently this was the only version of the Centaur known to have seen combat & 114 were produced.
I *believe* the markings are to assist with it's primary purpose which was to take out German pillboxes from the landing vessels on D_Day ie. for accurate direction finding - my assumption is that there must be a mark on the deck that they can line the degree markers against?? These tanks were given their targets on the beaches by naval observers who could use the turret calibrations to indicate targets accurately - useful in situations where the tank commander can't see the target because of smoke etc. Would love to know more!
By the way - check this out - absolutely stunning!
http://anzacsteel.hobbyvista.com/Military%20Models/centaurivbg_1.htm
Very nice model. I wish I had the time and patience to try something as detailed as that. Not sure what I'd do with it afterwards though...
ReplyDelete