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This
news page is current for May and June 2009
The Early Season
Easter has already been and
gone, along with the early May Bank Holiday – so
how were things in April? The comparison of visitor numbers with last
year makes for pretty good reading, although we must remember that in
2008 Easter was back in the March and the school holidays were all a
bit of a jumble. Nevertheless, the visitor figures for April this year
are well up on April 2008 despite the credit crunch.
Many attractions have been
reporting a good Easter period, which is encouraging and perhaps bucking
a perceived national trend. Certainly
the concept of ‘stay local, visit local’ is having a positive
effect at the moment, and there is little doubt that this year will see
a greater tendency for people to take breaks, if not their main holiday
as well, in the UK. The ‘visiting friends and relatives’ element
is also a factor that is likely to increase trade within the sector.
Our forward bookings for educational visits and the travel trade are
quite encouraging and the number of wedding ceremonies being booked in
the Ship are also ahead of last year. The Spring Bank Holiday week will
tell us more, but in the meantime we are cautiously optimistic about
the season ahead.
Two good
events – Too
good to miss!
The Friends of HMS Trincomalee are holding their Summer Fayre on board
the Ship during the afternoon of Saturday 13 June when there will be
stalls, games, tombola etc for visitors to enjoy as part of the normal
visit. It should be great fun and hopefully will raise some good money
for the Friends in their support of the Ship. Do come along if you can
make it.
Make a note in your diary
for the weekend of 4 and 5 July for the Hartlepool dockfest 2009 event
that will be taking over the area surrounding the
Historic Quay. A huge tent will stage all kinds of performances of music
and dance and outside there will be displays and stalls and many colourful
goings-on! The event is being organised by colleagues at Hartlepool Borough
Council and there will be discounted entry to Hartlepool’s Maritime
Experience and the Ship over the weekend.
Maintenance in the Ship
Having just recovered from the massive re-rigging programme and tightening-down
the lower rigging, Les Gilfoyle and his small maintenance team are now
turning their attention to the summer jobs. Firstly, we have to keep
on top of the caulking of the Upper Deck. During the warmer weather the
decks can dry out and we find leaks after a heavy shower. To counter
this the Deck is hosed down weekly with salt water from the Graving Dock
in an attempt to keep the planking good and tight, whilst re-caulking
and stamping down any persistent leaks .
The big job for this summer is the painting of the stern and portside
hull. It is this side that faces the weather: the prevailing wind and
the sunshine, and it needs doing twice as often as the starboard side.
Preparing and painting the hull from floating pontoons with a scaffolding
system on top is not for the faint-hearted!
A view from the Top
Intrepid freelance photographer,
Chris Armstrong, recently had a heady hour up on the Main Mast Fighting
Platform to take some unusual photographs
for us. David Lilley and Bobby Monsen, our two riggers, made sure he
had a harness on safely and roped him up using the ladder within the
shrouds. Chris had a great time – and he took some pretty good
pictures as well!
The Great
Survivor – a
new DVD for your collection
I mentioned briefly
in the last News column that we have a brand new DVD about the Ship
with the title ‘HMS Trincomalee - The Great Survivor’.
The programme, produced and directed by television and radio broadcaster
Paul Frost, is around an hour in length and traces the chequered history
of the Ship in a most entertaining and authoritative way. Archive footage
and that from the restoration are part of the mix, together with contributions
from Professor Andrew Lambert and others. The DVD is now available
and can be ordered through the Trust for £14.99 plus £1.50
if postage and packing is required. Just give us a call with your card
number and we will get a copy off to you directly.
There are further
improvements to the Souvenirs and Merchandise/Mail Order page on this
site which now provides better imagery and details of a selection of
our goods. Do support this if you can, as all profits help in the maintenance
of HMS Trincomalee. Thank you.
Project Appeal
Having recently completed the programme of exciting new
capital works, the Trust has now launched a new Project Appeal for
the period through
to and beyond the Tall Ships Races that will be hosted in Hartlepool
in August 2010. This superb event is expected to bring a very high profile
to Hartlepool and the Tees Valley, and of course HMS Trincomalee is centre-stage!
We have identified four areas of development in the Project Appeal, all
of which aim to contribute to the improvements for the public’s
enjoyment of the Ship, whilst at the same time helping our operational
finances. The four elements are:
i) Conservation of the Ship
* Renewal of the two platform lifts
* Provision of maintenance materials
ii) Education, interpretation and presentation
* Upgrading of educational materials
* Support funding for educational guided tours
* Further interpretation works
* Upgrading of the audioguide system
* Introductory cards in several languages and in Braille
iii) Archive, records and marketing
* Development of the Archive in conjunction with the University of Teesside
* Cataloguing of in-house records and development of promotional materials
* Upgrading of the Trust’s website content
* Provision of display equipment and promotional print
iv) Corporate and voluntary development
* Development of the Packets for Business scheme
* Encouragement in the development of Friends membership and support
The aim is to raise £450,000 to achieve this package,
and there is something here for everyone! Thank you to those kind supporters
who
have already given a donation to the Appeal, but clearly we still have
some considerable way to go. If you feel able, we would be most grateful
to receive donations from everyone interested in the Ship to help get
the Appeal off to a cracking start, and which would be given in the knowledge
that all contributions are helping towards this important programme of
improvements.
Please print-off the coupon for convenience. If you would like copies
of the attractive and informative Appeal leaflet to help spread the word,
then do please get in touch. Thank you very much indeed. Appeal
Coupon (PDF format)
Bryn
Hughes
General Manager
HMS Trincomalee Trust
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