My travels and experiencesnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 9 Jun 2026 18:25:08 +0200Blogger http://www.blogger.com531125http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/en-usnoMy travels and experiencesnoreply@blogger.comhttp://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/06/tall-ship-stamps.htmlsailingsailing shipstall shipTravelnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 9 Jun 2026 09:22:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2889437921469141552The stamp seriesI came across this series of stamps published in Falkland Islands in 1979, they feature sixteen notable tall ships at the end of the windjammer era. I can see the most expensive stamp being a fast American clipper but not sure how the logic was ship vs pricing seeing the 1 cent stamp is these days under Russian ownership. Perhaps all ships had something to do with Falklands, maybe0FIQQ 1ZZ, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)-51.796253 -59.523613-80.106486836178846 -94.679863 -23.486019163821155 -24.367362999999997http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/06/falmouth.htmlBritishGreat BritaintourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 2 Jun 2026 09:02:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-1470413303755081858RainbowHaving been in Falmouth almost 2 months,  her are some pictures of town and areas around taken on various days as I have gone out and about. I have already written earlier about Falmouth and one can read on about it here. Our time is soon coming to an end and it is time for us to wrap up the maintenance period and head for warmer climes for summer time. It was even a double 0Falmouth, UK50.152570999999988 -5.066269999999999421.842337163821142 -40.22252 78.462804836178833 30.08998http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/05/gwithti-pystri.htmlGreat BritainhistorymuseumUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 26 May 2026 07:00:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-4023300925101817056The street signWalking up old high streetGwithti An PystriOne Saturday I was walking about in the Falmouth old shopping street next to the waterfront and I came across this shop with a weird name, Gwithi An Pystri, after reading the many notes in the window and on the door I came to learn it was a museum of folklore and magic and also a space for some tarot readings and library for the occult. 0Falmouth, UK50.152570999999988 -5.066269999999999421.842337163821142 -40.22252 78.462804836178833 30.08998http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/05/ss-shieldhall.htmlBritishGreat BritainseafarersshipspottingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 19 May 2026 07:00:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-1009270192169669485s/s ShieldhallAs we were closing in on Falmouth we saw in daylight the famous s/s Shieldhall, the largest (if not only) steam operated screw propelled vessel in UK. As per their website they are nowadays also largest in northern Europe (if not all of it). The s/s Waverley is a paddle steamer built in 1946 that does regional cruises around UK and the other paddle steamer Kingswear is built in 19242Falmouth, UK50.152570999999988 -5.066269999999999421.842337163821142 -40.22252 78.462804836178833 30.08998http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/05/fred-klebingat-collection.htmlhistorysailingsailing shipsseafarersshippingnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 12 May 2026 07:00:05 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-8727178014592387927Bark Anna (ex Otterburn)(credit: clydeships.co.uk)Capt Fred Klebingat's name popped up several times when I looked up history of sailing ships and the US west coast. It turned out also that he has published a number of articles in the Sea History magazine that are readily available on Issuu and also in Sea Letter from archive.org (published predating or in parallel with the Sea History). 0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.41941559.4646956638211535 -157.5756655 66.085163336178852 -87.2631655http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/05/k-kortum-on-fred-klebingat.htmlhistorysailingsailing shipsshippingShipsnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 5 May 2026 08:30:01 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2486718814769581412Captain Fred Klebingat(credit: San Francisco Maritime museum)I found the full text of "Kortum narratives on Captain Klebingat: also, Fred Klebingat on various subjects." in the archive.org but the pages are mixed up so I put below the text in order with the salty stories of the Captain as recorded by K. Kortum.The text is actually consisting of long letters to various history experts in sailing 0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.41941559.4646956638211535 -157.5756655 66.085163336178852 -87.2631655http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/lands-end.htmlBritishGreat BritaintourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 28 Apr 2026 10:48:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-509646402993061117Lands End signpostAs the yard was not working the weekend and Saturday had a good forecast I decided to hazard UK mass transport and try reach Land's End, the westernmost point of British Isles mainland (Scilly Isles is still more west). PenrynPenryn, pub where I stayed years ago when visiting Cockwells yardAnother Henson pubUncle google helped me on the way and the bus stop was only a 0http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/boatologists.htmlboatshistorymuseumsailingsailing shipsseafarersshippingnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:47:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-9080413935979548511Boatologist (credit: AI)My friend and colleague, Capt Jan Rautawaara, is an expert on old sailing tall ships, coasters and cruise ships. It doesn't matter what ship picture you show him, he'll tell you the name and a short history of the ship in question, the answer usually comes like Doctor's orders, straight off the cuff. After having had many discussions about ships it was mentioned in passing0San Francisco, CA, USA37.7749295 -122.41941559.4646956638211535 -157.5756655 66.085163336178852 -87.2631655http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/anny-of-charlestown.htmlGreat Britainsailingsailing shipssailing yachtshipspottingtall shipUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:30:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-4216487683631882160Anny of Charlestown in 2021(credit: Anny's IG channel)Anny of Charlestown in 2022(credit: Anny's IG channel)Anny of Charlestown (on the inside)As we visited Fowey again the port offered us pontoon no 6 upriver because of approaching bad weather and we accepted. As we rocked up and tied up I saw behind us a lonely looking tall ship, it was Anny of Charlestown. Our pilot told me she was wintering 0Fowey, UK50.3372663 -4.643707922.027032463821158 -39.7999579 78.647500136178849 30.5125421http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/fowey-to-dartmouth.htmlGreat BritainmuseumTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:19:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-4444145579830283050Pilgrim of Brixham in DartmouthIn Fowey we were lucky to be tucked away up on the pontoon as the storm came a day later and lower harbour had 2m swell forecasted at port entrance as per our pilot. I was told it was quite choppy on the Saturday, the wind was reaching almost 20 knots up in the river bend but no swell. It was quite raw, hopefully it was the last blow of King Bore, the polar chill 0Dartmouth, UK50.352517 -3.57880722.042283163821153 -38.735057 78.662750836178844 31.577443http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/herzogin-cecilie.htmlmuseumsailingsailing shipstall shipwrecknoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 7 Apr 2026 12:38:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-4076909766501189804Herzogin Cecilie aground(credit: Unknown photographer, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland,Wikipedia)The "Death of the Duchess" a.k.a. the loss of the Herzogin Cecilie in 1936, how Gustaf Eriksons flagship grounded off Ham Rock, she was taken off and then subsequently was lost at Starehole Bay next to Salcombe. As I was visiting Salcombe and popped into their small maritime museum of 0Salcombe, UK50.23758 -3.76979121.927346163821156 -38.926041 78.547813836178847 31.386459http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/scilly-isles.htmlGreat BritaintourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Sat, 4 Apr 2026 14:51:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-8708256654574389797Painting of Scillonian III by Inga Drazniece (Ingart)Because of approaching weather we left Salcombe and skipped Falmouth in our program in order to get there earlier. This to be able to visit all items scheduled as we needed to cut the visit short due to approaching 35 knot westerlies and with it 4-5m seas. We arrived by 0730hrs in the morning and the pilot had us plonk the anchor down in Crow 0Isles of Scilly, UK49.925002 -6.298672000000000721.614768163821154 -41.454922 78.235235836178845 28.857578http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/04/salcombe.htmlGreat BritainhikingtourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Wed, 1 Apr 2026 19:37:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-4863916870463913810"Red sky in morning, sailors warning"Salcombe was our next destination and we left early morning to catch the afternoon high tide in order to be able to cross the bar. There was inclement weather incoming and had a very typical sky that has the age old adage "red skies in the morning, sailors warning". I hadn't stayed up all night so wouldn't know if the moon had been up because the other adage 0Salcombe, UK50.23758 -3.76979121.927346163821156 -38.926041 78.547813836178847 31.386459http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/falls-of-clyde.htmlhistorymuseumsailingsailing shipswrecknoreply@blogger.com (J L)Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:30:00 +0200tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2247629489867134021Falls of Clyde (credit: nationalhistoricships.org)The history of electricity and electromagnetism spans from ancient observations of static to the 19th-century unification of forces. Key milestones include Ørsted's 1820 discovery of electromagnetism, Faraday's induction (1831), and Maxwell’s 1865 equations unifying light and electromagnetism, enabling modern motors and generator.Here is 0O‘ahu, Hawaii, USA21.4389123 -158.0000565-6.8713215361788471 166.8436935 49.749146136178844 -122.8438065http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/james-craig.htmlAustraliamuseumsailingsailing shipstall shipnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:30:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-6161517838908555426James Craig restored (credit: Peter Harris)I came across the story of this ship and I start with a bit of background of this barque that was rescued and restored (or rebuilt).In a nutshell the James Craig is a tall ship built in 1874, designed as a three-masted barque. She has a rich and long history and is currently used for educational purposes and sailing experiences.Excerpt of 0Sydney NSW, Australia-33.8622503 151.207684-62.172484136178845 116.051434 -5.552016463821154 -173.63606600000003http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/seacity-museum.htmlBritishGreat BritainhistorymuseumSouthamptonUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2123714303422341492Cruise advert (credit: britannica.com)As I was walking around Southampton I also popped into the SeaCity museum where they have their Titanic story and also 2 other exhibitions, one of Southampton's history and another about Southampton personages.Titanic foundering posterThe Titanic story should be a largely known tragedy to anyone who have seen the Titanic movie and would 0Southampton, UK50.9105468 -1.404901822.600312963821153 -36.5611518 79.220780636178844 33.7513482http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/southampton.htmlBritishGreat Britainsailing yachtShipsshipspottingSouthamptontourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:57:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2529500339952012464The BargateHaving spent several weeks in Southampton and surroundings I made walks around town from time to time and here are a few pics of the city and ships passing by. Below are some evening photos of the historic Southampton center with the old city walls and the gate still standing next to the large shopping mall West Quay.The BargateSouthampton city gateSouthampton city wallSouthampton city0Southampton, UK50.9105468 -1.404901822.600312963821153 -36.5611518 79.220780636178844 33.7513482http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/fowey.htmlGreat BritaintourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:50:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-1648695049642453169Entrance to Fowey with the old St. Catherine's Castle (built by Henry VIII)Our next stop was at Fowey, there we had to take a pilot for the buoy mooring they employ there. The town jetties do not take larger vessels and at low tide the bank was dry anyway. Nevertheless we came in with a N'ly force 8 blowing and we had been hugging the coast since Falmouth so the wind was strong but going was good0Fowey, UK50.3372663 -4.643707922.027032463821158 -39.7999579 78.647500136178849 30.5125421http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/spirit-of-falmouth.htmlBritishGreat Britainsailingsailing shipssailing yachtschoonerUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Sun, 8 Mar 2026 13:54:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2412706812494935476Spirit of FalmouthHaving seen the schooner at the end of the jetty I was curious to have a look on her and walked over as I had some spare time. On the pontoon I found presumably the skipper and chatted with him awhile. Turned out they had just done some patching up of the side with fresh timber due to storm damages, in the pics below one can see the large area midships painted grey was newly 0Falmouth, UK50.152570999999988 -5.066269999999999421.842337163821142 -40.22252 78.462804836178833 30.08998http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/03/falmouth.htmlGreat BritainpiracytourismTravelTravel logtravelingUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Sat, 7 Mar 2026 11:00:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-2270244866955278510Pendennis marina and Falmouth museumIt has been 5 years since I had been in Falmouth, the previous time was very brief though as I just signed off St Helena in 2021 and drove off towards Hull and the time before that was in 2019 for Illusion Plus inspecting her limo tender built by Cockwells. All work, no fun, well, maybe a little bit.St Anthony lighthouse off FalmouthThis time though arrived 0Falmouth, UK50.152570999999988 -5.066269999999999421.842337163821142 -40.22252 78.462804836178833 30.08998http://cyber-captain.blogspot.com/2026/02/hms-alliance.htmlBritishenglishGreat BritainhistoryNavyShipsUnited Kingdomnoreply@blogger.com (J L)Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:25:00 +0100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1124553431083910232.post-721020113088684932HMS AllianceThen as I had completed the Mary Rose, Victory and Warrior it was only remaining the tour of HMS Alliance, the most modern exhibit of the ships displayed. It being a submarine I was in totally unfamiliar territory, knowing only what I had seen on "Das Boot" movie, highly recommended film, fantastic acting. For the Alliance one needed to get over to the Gosport side with a small ferry 3Portsmouth, UK50.8197675 -1.087976922.509533663821152 -36.2442269 79.13000133617885 34.0682731