Hello all, The following stamps issued by Wallace and Fortuna, a pair of islands in the South central Pacific about 500 km North-East of Fiji. Lomipeau canoes. Regards, James.
This is a bit of a confusing stamp. A stamp issued by Granada, in honor of the American Revolution, featuring a British vessel.
I agree a little confusing. I think the stamp designers may have been a little confused too. The Ships register lists the HMS Roebuck (26 gun - 5th rate) as being launched 17 April 1690 and listed as sunk 23 February 1701 on Ascension Island while returning from Australia. There were 20 "44 gun - 2 deck - Roebuck Class" ships built specifically for coastal warfare for the American revolution and were also used during the Napoleonic wars. The first of which was named "Roebuck" Completed 4th August 1775 - Broken up at Sheerness in July 1811. Regards, James.
Thanks James. If they built 20 of them to fight, the Roebuck Class of ships must have been an awesome fighting vessel.
Hello Gunny, Yes they were fighting ships but their primary duty would have been blockade duty, to stop America and her allies ships leaving port to transport goods or troops to the war zones. America at that time had six Frigates of 44 and 36 guns, plus French, Spanish and Dutch ships of the line all trying to deprive England of its colonies. The six American frigates were built between 1794 - 1800 at a total cost of about $689,000. They also used superior materials, most European ships were made of European Oak. The American ships used White Oak and Southern Live Oak, very tough wood indeed. Regards, James.
I love these stamps and anything nautical is fantastic. We live on the coast and I have never seen one of these, it would've been a good idea for us here to have created at least one for tourists to remember the beauty of our oceans
Hello Z, I agree, knowing more about the subject increases the interest. Most of my knowlege about the history of this period is because I download MP3 books, mainly nautical history/fiction or Napoleonic period or British India etc. I listen to them in my car whilst driving. I also have a large number of books for waiting rooms etc. My current book is David Gemmell's "TROY - Shield of Thunder" -- 640 pages about the Peloponnesian War period - 431–404 bce. James
This is the Santa Maria, Columbus' flag ship which didn't quite make it to mainland America she ran aground off Hispaniola and had to be abandoned. The ship type is a Nao (cargo ship) with a deep draft, not suitable for shallow waters. She was probably about 250 tons and had a crew of 54. Her average speed was about 2 knots and probably could only make about 100 miles (161 km) per day. Columbus' other ships were the Niña (70 tons) and Pinta (50 tons) crews of 18, captained by the Pinzón brothers, these were much faster Caravels This stamp issued 1893-01-02 James.
Two more ships prominent in American history, the Ark and the Dove. The Ark was a 400 ton merchant ship hired by Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert) to bring about 140 colonists and their supplies to the new colony and province of Maryland. The Dove, purchased by Lord Baltimore, was a pinnace, a light, fast and manoverable ship capable of traversing quite small rivers using oars or sail. The Ark returned to England later in 1634, the Dove stayed in Baltimore. Date of issue 1934-03-23 Regards, James
Hello all, some more ships, this time from Barbados. Issued - 1979-02-08 The 50c - Ra II is probably the oldest known ocean going ship design. In 1970, Ra II was sailed accross the Atlantic from Morrocco to Barbados in 57 days by Thor Heyerdahl and an international crew. 12,000 year old petroglyphs in Azerbaijan show reed boats with 15 rowers on each side. Regards, James.
Hello, todays offer of Sailing ships - vessels, these from the Cook Islands. This pair from a set of seven issued - 1973-09-17 And these two from a set of 8 - Captain James Cook - Bicentenary. Regards, James.
Hello all, these stamps issued by the RSA depict the true story of Wolraad Woltemade a hero of South Africa. You can read the story below. Issue date: 1973-06-02 Wolraad Woltemade was an early Hero of the Cape, he was born in Hesse-Schoumberg Germany in around 1708 and emigrated to the Cape Colony (now South Africa) as an adult. He was employed by the Dutch East India Company as a dairyman. One winter night in 1773, during a heavy gale, A ship named Jonge Thomas (one of the five ships anchored in Table Bay), broke her moorings and began to drift towards the rocky shore at Salt River. The ships captain Barend Lameren was extremely concerned for the 270 passengers including women and children, also a valuable cargo from the East. He ordered a cannon to be fired so that people ashore would be aware of the impending danger to passengers and cargo. When the ship hit the rocks she broke in half and many passengers and crew were thrown into the sea and drowned attempting to swim ashore. There were thirty soldiers ashore warning people who wanted to help, not to attempt a rescue in the turbulent waters. The officials of the Dutch East India Company present seemed only intent on rescuing their precious cargo. Then Waltemade rode up on horseback and immediately rode into the waves and came back with two men, he repeated this dangerous act of bravery seven times rescuing 14 people, on his final attempt he was overcome by the waves and drowned. Only 53 of the 270 souls aboard survived the shipwreck, 14 of those rescued by Wolraad Woltemade. The Dutch East India Company honoured his memory by naming a ship Die Held Waltemade (the hero Waltemade) and provided sufficiently for his wife and children. Regards, James.
That's a sad story. Why they stopped people from helping, there could be be survivors and Woltemade might not be drowned because he will not think of going back that many times if there were lots of other who are rescuing.
