HMS Victory

[trackend]

I didnt know you where that evil CC, a hex upon you

[Medvedya]

I'm still in post-traumatic stress counseling over it.....

[cheddar cheese]

Ooooo CC what a nasty idea you just had...

[Medvedya]

MY EYES!!! MY BEAUTIFUL EYES!!!! AGHHHH!!! NOOOO!!!!

[Nonskimmer]

Those are truly outstanding shots, Lee! ( If I may call you Lee, tracks. Wouldn't wanna be presumptuous, eh? )
That's a great ship! And y'know? You're not half as butt ugly as I'd imagined.





(Joking, m8! )

[trackend]

Well thats very kind of you Skim how ugly did you imagine me too be then it must have been a pretty frighting nightmare
Ive been called just about every name in the book so Lee is fine Skim I think its better than bleeding trackend
(what on earth made me pick such a prattish handle).
When I used to caddie for the local golf club all the US players didnt know what to call me because my last name is Miles
so I was called Miles, Lee or even my middle name Brandon.
CC you are one sick individual nice legs though .
Like a transvestite Bill Murrey in Caddie Shack

[plan_D]

Yeah, you aren't that bad, Lee.

Nice pictures, by the way. That Iron Clad looks much more capable than the first U.S ones.

[HealzDevo]

Yes interesting the early vessel design. Now all ve need is for somevne to go nd photograph the Mary Rose if vey can. Vould be very interesting, vouldn't it?

[trackend]

Very hard to photograph as the ship is kept in twilight and it is in a constant cloud of waxed water as part of the preserving process and no flash is allowed

[lesofprimus]

Guys, there is a great pic of Lee in the Mugshots Gallery....

And for the record, after seeing u posing for pictures, pointing ur finger like Patton, I have to wonder:

"Is his wife taking the picture and FORCING him to pose???"

[trackend]

You're bleeding joking Les (on all three counts)
I couldnt get her to go on something like that if I stuck stuck half a pound of C4 in her knickers. Give her an old mansion or gardens and she's off like a rat up a drain pipe, but say the words military,naval or airforce and I get the silent treatment.

[Hobilar]

Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, at the battle of Trafalgar, had a crew of 441 English, 64 Scots, 63 Irish, 18 Welsh, three Shetlanders, two Channel Islanders, one Manxman, as well as seventy one foreigners made up of 22 Americans, seven Dutch, six Swedes, four Italians, four Maltese, three Frenchmen (probably Royalist volunteers), three Norwegians, three Germans, two Swiss, two Portugese, two Danes, two Indians, one Russian, one African and nine West Indians.

"One can't beat a truly British crew."

[Airborne]

Terrific in every way Trackend.
Great pics, great camera, great subject matter.

Just like to add my little bit here that I gleaned when I visited the ship.

There are only 9 iron cannon left on the ship today. All the rest are made of soft wood and painted black.
This was for two reasons.
Firstly because Britain was so short of raw materials and metal of every sort in 1940, all the other 91 cannon were melted down for the war effort.
Secondly, because the old hull is so frail, they concluded that the weight of the cannon was so great that they would all finish up on the sea floor and sink the ship.