CKD Boats cc wishes all our readers and customers world wide all the best of the season!

Many thanks to Norman Dunn for the use of the christmas logos from his web site to be found at http://hebburn.org/

Roy and Jean.

Vesper Marine sends a Christmas Greeting

What a fine Christmas Greeting,its from Deirdre and Jeff of Vesper Marine,designers and manufacturers of the Watchmate AIS Ssystem down in New Zealand.


103 Westhaven Drive, St. Mary's Bay
PO Box 91164, Victoria Street West
Auckland, New Zealand

Phone: +64 (0)9 950 4848
Fax: +64 (0)9 950 4085

www.vespermarine.com

CKD Boats cc are proud to be the South African importers of Watchmate AIS systems from Vesper Marine,contact kits@comlumber.com for information and pricing.

Swopping beers in mid atlantic

Left click the picture to view full screen size,the Camera was a Canon FT with a 50mm 1.4 lens,picture by Roy McBride.
The Barens Seatrader 39s,built in Durban and fitted out by Dick Schipper,the family of four became the boats name 4 Schippers.Meeting mid ocean is not as easy as you may think,Dick had radar,we both has Sat Nav,after the VHF radio contact was made we found each other about mid way between Ascencion Island and Salvador,Bahia,Brasil.

This was a later crossing,the event was to swop a six pack of cold Castle beers from our boat Ocean Cloud,whos fridge and deep freeze worked,to 4 Schippers whose fridge did not work.Simone on board our boat took a 6mm line we had an made a Turks Head knot in one end,we threw that line across and they are tying it to a B Canvas water bucket we sent over too,the exchange beers were Lions,not produced anymore? I still have that same heaving line,the bucket too!
Roy

Sailing the South Atlantic Ocean in 1977

Dennis,with at very large tuna we bought when in St Helena Isle.

Roy,32 years ago!

Becalmed,we never had those clouds in the distance reach us.


Claire


Arrival in Salvador early morning.

This must be the boats owner and skipper,Dennis,as I was holding the camera!

Trixi and Dennis


Dennis O,Brien our skipper,he had done a transatlantic on Brer Terrapin from Rio de Janerio to Cape Town a year before,he had to learn celestial navigation (no sat nav or gps back then) and it was up to Dennis to get us across the ocean safely,he did a splendid job of navigation,we arrived spot on and in the right place each time!

The voyage of Brer Terrapin to St Helena Isle in 1977

Left click any picture to view full screen size,the camera was a Canon FT with a 50mm x 1.4 lens and 35mm film, using Kodaks Proffesional Ektachrome slide film.
The trip took 13 1/2 days from Cape Town.

Commercial Lumber cc,34 Glynn Street,Cape Town

With a move to Glynn Street,we found ourselves in a very good position for retail timber sales,the only timber specialist in the city propper,we soon expanded from stocking only teak to around fifteen species,we supplied city council and the parliament builings,which are just down the road.While we have closed Commercial Lumber cc as a trading name,we continue to stock specialist timbers,such as Teak, Poplar,Oak,Beech,White Ash,Meranti,Oregon Pine.

Posniaks on McKenzie Street,Cape Town

The original Brimble and Briggs name plat was nailed to each fitting and window they made using tiny very sharp copper nails.

We fitted out two Tosca 36 hull and decks,this is boat one,it was followed by another,then a Fortuna 37 after which the building was sold and we moved to premises around the corner in Glynn Street,by then Commercial Lumber cc was quite well established.

We invested in a container of plantation teak,this was the start of Commercial Lumber,a successfull venture untill the exchange rates changed for the worst.

I recently added a blog on Brimble and Briggs my old Wetton employers,they used to own a building in McKenzie and Wesley Streets,these pictures are taken inside the office complex that we turned into our workshops,Bertie Posniak owned the building back then.

Markfield Town,Leicestershire,England

This was taken two days back by my good friend Notty,he tells me that he used his Canon Camera on the following settings.

The little church is St. Michael and All Angels' Church.
The green is Church Drive, Markfield, Leicestershire. Taken on a Canon EOS 450-D with an EF-S 18-55-mm Zoom lens on 20/12/2009. The settings were 1/200th. Sec. at F11& 100-4009 whatever that last number means?

Your Christmas Card

Happy Christmas every one!

This is a chistmas card to everyone who views our blog and I hope you all stay out of harms way like the bird on top of the tree has managed to do!

Roy

River Tyne Shipping

Another picture frozen in time,the tug will have been an important addition to the days when sailing ships had no engines,as a paddle wheeler and with a steam engine,this tug the Stag,would have done a much better job than a party of men in the ships long boats rowing their ship out.
Thanks to Norman Dunn for permission to use his photo.

And now a new boat

The purpose of the boat is pleasure,its got a lot of wasted space on its ends,as if they want to reduce pitching but as its used in the mediterainian sea,I am not sure why,just a design feature,let me know when you want your kit.Roy


I have already been advised that we could make this as a kit,what say you?