Hi All,

This forum as well as a talking shop can also be a "doing" shop. I know that from the number of contacts that I have had re 506. It is also apparent that there are a number of owners of old war boats who are quietly getting on with the preservation and enjoyment of their boat and a number of them are subscribers to this forum.

Why you ask is he going on about this well the answer is, in short, that we all know we are slightly weird but I was recently asked what we will do with 506 once she is restored and back in "fighting trim". I was stumped for an answer that made any sence to my questioner. Other than to say that it will be nice to go to sea and do shows etc. Why don't you all get together in one place so the public can see what you are doing? He asked. I don't know I replied.

Well why don't we do that.  Why don't we get all the seaworthy boats in one place at one time for say a week one summer and make a lot of noise about our Maritime Heritage. You never know if the Navy cuts go through we may have more boats in our Navy than the government has in it's Navy.

If it works great, if not well all who go will have had a great time and an interesting topic on the forum. PEHAPS MEMBERS OF THE TRUST could organise it at Poole  or some other suitable location, 2 years notice should give everyone interested time to organise things (and hopefully get 506 there). What about it guys?

Hi all,

Regards Sentley's post above, could be quite a site to say the least, as you say, give it a couple of years and hopefully both Poole and 506 can be in order, also re-fit of Medusa will be done, see other posts and thier excellent web-site under links, not forgetting MTB 102 of course, Gay Archer? also perhaps Chatham a possible venue. Such a gathering on the Thames might be quite a site, but lets not forget the rest of the UK of course!. Logisitics especially fuel could be an issue, we have this season and next on current duty rates then... who knows. Anyway, at least the idea is there, now that "someone" to do it...

John

 I know they are toys to us in these peaceful times lads. What they stand for though is what keeps us putting countless hours in before we even own a warboat, let alone the hours of restoring a compost heap or bringing a good one with more cold war history thousands of miles home.

Some of us had family who served on them, a few of the interested were actually there. Some of us just look at boats like whalebacks & fairmiles & wonder how such pretty boats could go to war until we come face to face with one! The modern navy may run rings around these old boats but how many modern sailors would put their trust in sailing one of these boats from blighty to gib? We still have hero's but not the devil may care ones who put thier trust in these boats. Lest we forget our history are we condemmed to repeat its mistakes

Amen to that Don!

 Just to back up Sentleys original post.

 I had involvement with a local charity a while back & they were more bothered about working out the plan to do something to fund them & who would take credit than they were about actually securing the future. Suffice to say the last of their funds are being payed to a storage facility & pride stops them going to the £10pm storage i found them on a farm with guarddogs & armed owner thrown in for free. Dont think we're here for politics though as we fly in the face of the euro utopia that history makes so inconvenient to them.

 I've been on this forum for a year or so & i'm proud of the amount of people who either offer thier time or funds & ask nothing in return but people trying to save these boats along side them!

Just imagine several warboats shoulder to shoulder reminding people that freedom isnt free! I know nothing about publicising these things or funding them but if we can do it then the EU has to take notice! When they are lost there are plenty of euro beaurocrats that would happily write them out of history, lets not give those garlic loving surrender monkeys the chance to rewrite our history & save these boats! Show the bulldog still has its teeth & bite the poodle when we have to.

Sorry to rant chaps but you probably know what i mean

Jimmy,

You have the point. The Government of the day doesn't give a dam about our historical boats, war or otherwise and indeed are threatening to mothball 44 navy ships. The schools teach cowboys and indians as History; my God America isn't old enough to have any real history. Trouble is it's not pc to remember that some of the people we are now in bed with nearly wiped us out. I still can't bring myself to buy a German or Japanese car and I wasn't in the war.

Perhaps it's just me that's got it wrong but I don't think so. I just keep imagining what "our" group of boats would look like moored at say Poole or any other similar place and how modern parents would explain them to their children, then when I get reealy wistfull they are all powering out of harbour.............

I wish.

The Government has no plans to reduce the size of the Royal Navy, to withdraw warships from operational service earlier than scheduled, or to place warships in 'mothballs'.

Far from making cuts, the Government is investing heavily in the construction of new warships for the Royal Navy. We are introducing the new and highly capable Type 45 Destroyers, the first two of which have already been launched. We are building the advanced and powerful Astute class nuclear attack submarines, of which three are now on order. Above all, we are buying two new aircraft carriers which will be the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy and which will provide the UK with the most powerful carrier force outside the USA. The Navy has also recently taken delivery of new amphibious assault and support ships which are vastly more capable than the ships they replaced.

It is wrong to imply that the costs of operations in Iraq and elsewhere are being met at the expense of the Navy. The additional costs of these operations do not fall to the defence budget, but are met from the Treasury reserve.

Only one Royal Navy ship, HMS Invincible, is being held in a state of readiness from which it would require up to eighteen months to return to operational service. She is being held in this state of readiness prior to her final withdrawal from service, as scheduled, in 2010, by which time she will be over 30 years old. The Navy has no plans to place any other ships in such a state of readiness.

Hi Don,

It's good to know that the government read this forum and have reacted so quickly to justified criticism.

Had little influence over the Range Rover as it's a Company Car.

See you in Malta.