A visit to Davaar Manor

Here is the next part of the serialized tale from our role play group "The Messdeck".

You can start from the beginning here.

Previously Lt Cmdr Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe and the crew of the aged cargo airship HMAS Doris are on their way to the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow in the dead of winter. During a very cold night tied up to a docking tower at York, Max is visited by an old acquaintance, a Lt Barbesly, who tells Max about the events surrounding the precipitous departure of the HMAS Velvet Brush from Esquimalt two years before. Lt Barbesly now works for the formidable head of the Royal Navy's Intelligence service Fleet Admiral Avis Chicheley. Continuing on their journey North Max takes the Doris on an un-authorised side trip to visit the home of the Velvet Brush's  medical officer Christine Pearse the Duchess of Argylle.

Frozen Sky

A serial story from The Messdeck.

Part V

Collected and edited by Kevin Jepson

*It is late in a bright but frigid winter afternoon and The HMAS Doris is approaching Davaar Manor, the home of Dr Christine Pearse, and her husband the missing scientist and inventor the Duke of Argylle.*

Max at the wheel keeps his eyes fixed on the looming Manor. "Hold her elevation steady at 200' I'll get a feel for the surface winds as we pass"

"Aye Sir." Sgt Fraser is at the elevator controls beside him watches the angle and the elevation closely.

"Hmmm, no sign of any winds, none of the chimney smoke is moving, should be good to go. We will do a pass then line up on the courtyard. It will be a tight fit."

"Aye aye Sir!"

*As the old airship slowly passes over Davaar, Max eyes the courtyard looking for anything that might cause problems with landing.*

"Looks a lot different than the last time we was here eh Sgt?"[1]

"Aye Sir it do indeed."

*The Navigator and Miss BB come out of their cabin and watch the manor passing below.*

"My compliments Lt Belava, your navigation was superb."

"Thank you Sir!"

"Any messages from the manor Lt?" Max asks Miss BB as she stretches out over the window sill to look down into the courtyard.

"Oooh looks nice, much better without all that smoke! Um, yes Sir, The Doctor says 'Welcome back exclamation point' Sir."

"Thank you Lt. Right, let us go down and see how the good Doctor is faring shall we?"

"Aye aye Sir!"

*Max sets the telegraph to engine stop and begins to vent hydrogen slowly to let the airships settle. As the Doris lowly begins to drop towards the courtyard of the Manor Max can see the Duchess and her mechanical butler Mr Gears waiting by the doorway.*

I hope we don't scratch up all that nice new paint!

Fraser calls out the elevation "40 feet, 30 feet, 20 feet, 10 feet". The old Doris inches lower, the roof of the Manor rising beneath them until it is even with the airship's envelope. "Contact Sir!"

*Max sets the telegraph to finished with engine and the Doris settles down with a slight creaking nestled neatly in the courtyard.*

"And that is that! Secure from flight stations and let us go ashore."

"Secure from flight stations aye Sir!"

Any landing you can walk away from Max me lad, any landing...

(Continued below the break)

======
[1] After a sabotage attempt on the HMAS Velvet Brush while in the airdock at Portsmouth, Doctor Pearse returned to her Manor at Davaar. The manor was attacked by a band of mechanically enhanced mercenaries attempting to acquire the secret research of the Doctor's husband the Duke. Max took the ship's Marines and other members of the crew North on a "private" rescue mission. The ensuing battle, while successful in repelling the mercenaries, left the manor severely damaged.

A teaser!

Here is a little video Teaser Ad I put together from some of the photos taken at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo where we had 3 demos and the Spring Regional Competition this year.

It is my first attempt at such a thing so a bit rough around the edges.

The photos are by Phi Vernon and Lindsay Dunlop of Third Eye Arts.
As always they make us look good so check out their work.

The music is from the Album "Nemesis" by Two Steps From Hell a track called 'Hunter's Moon".
Their website has the subtitle "Music makes you braver" and these wonderful tracks do just that!
If you like epic music check them out!

Enjoy



Keep you sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your water iced!
KJ

Lay on!

Here is a video, taken by Alex Norrington, of the Parasol Duelling demonstration we did at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this year in Calgary.

The Demo covers all the basics of Parasol Duelling.

Enjoy

 



Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

To find out more about this great sport go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

Click here for information on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling are here.

Sunday April 19,2015

On the Calgary Stampede grounds, nestled under big cottonwood poplar trees just starting to show their leaves, is the faux Western village called Weadickville. Typically home to displays of Western gun fighting, on the Sunday of the Calgary Comic Expo it was to host a far more elegant kind of duelling.


Madame Saffron Hemlock's Parasol Duelling League and the Steampunk Arts and Sciences Society,  in conjunction with the 2015 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, hosted the Spring Regional Parasol Duelling Competition.

This was the first formal competition held in Calgary since the World Championships last September.

The 10th Anniversary CCEE was the biggest yet with over 100 thousand attendees! We had two outside demos and one panel on Parasol Duelling and had attracted a lot of attention amongst the attendees.

It was fun to demonstrate Parasol Duelling right after the exciting gun play of the Guns of the Golden West 

A dangerous gang!
Parasol Duelists and Western Gunfighters
Photo by Phi Vernon

When Sunday arrived it was a beautiful sunny spring day and there was quite a crowd gathered expectantly waiting to watch the Ladies duel in their finery.

We had one hour so there was only time to run the duels. There were no Compulsory Figures or Flirtation Trials at this competition.


Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock and Baroness Daniela Fawkes were the Judges and Record keepers for the event.

Chief Judge and Black Sash, Madame Saffron Taxus-Hemlock (aka Jayne Barnard)
and Baroness Daniela Fawkes (aka Dana Teh)
Photo by Phi Vernon

Dr.Johann Portsmouth Adler and I were the Doctors for the competition.

Dr. Johann Portsmouth Adler (aka Stewart MacPhee)
and Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe ( me )
Photo by Phi Vernon

Eight ladies signed up for the competition.

The competitors
L to R: Raven Hawthorne, Audra Balion, Katherine Eleanor Lingwood,
Josanna Justine, Sarafina Kain, Cali Brewer, Kyra McDonald
Missing: Laura McKay
Photo by Phi Vernon

 
The experience level of the competitors ranged from two of the World Champions from 2014  to Ladies who had never competed formally before!

The format of the duelling was a modified Round Robin where everyone got to duel with at least two other competitors.

The duelling was fast and furious. The speed of transition between the figures was striking. There has been a significant increase in speed and confidence since the Worlds. The Ladies have been practicing hard!

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what these first rounds were like!

Katherine Eleanor Lingwood vs Raven Hawthorne
Photo by Karlo Keet

Kyra McDonald vs Laura Mckay
Photo by Karlo Keet

Cali Brewer vs Audra Balion
Photo by Karlo Keet

Raven Hawthorne vs Audra Balion
Photo by Phi Vernon

Katherine Eleanor Lingwood vs Cali Brewer
Photo by Phi Vernon

Cali Brewer
Photo by Phi Vernon

Sarafina Kain vs Josanna Justine
Photo by Phi Vernon

 The last duel of the first round was an interesting situation. The duel was between the 2014 Dueling Champion, Sarafina Kain, and a newcomer, Laura McKay. For the first time ever there were three draws in a row!

A Draw!
Sarafina Kain vs Laura McKay
Photo by Phi Vernon

 Madame Saffron halted the proceedings and conferred with the Baroness and decided to break the tie by conducting a best of three Compulsory Figures.

Breaking the Tie
Laura McKay and Sarafina Kain
Photo by Phi Vernon

Again the duelists were very evenly matched winning one apiece.

 The third round was won by Sarafina Kain.










We look forward to seeing great things from Laura McKay in the future.

Laura McKay
Photo by Lindsay Dunlop

Doctor Adler
Photo by Phi Vernon

The crowd had been steadily growing and whilst Madame and the Baroness prepared the competition list for the Semi Finals, Doctor Adler entertained the spectators with a tale of some alternate competition styles used in Prussia.















After conferring, the Judges announced the Semi-Finalists to the excited crowd of spectators.


The Semi Finalists:
Raven Hawthorne
Sarafina Kain
Cali Brewer
Kyra McDonald

Again the speed and precision displayed by all the competitors was amazing!

Photo by Phi Vernon

Cali Brewer vs Kyra McDonald
Photo by Phi Vernon

Kyra McDonald vs Raven Hawthorne
Photo by Phi Vernon

After two rounds the duel for Third place was fought between Raven Hawthorne and Cali Brewer.
With Raven Hawthorne emerging victorious!

Raven Hawthorne vs Cali Brewer
Photo by Phi Vernon

The final round was between Kyra McDonald and Sarafina Kain.
A lightning two duels were both won by Sarafina Kain!

The final duel!
Sarafina Kain vs Kyra McDonald
Photo by Phi Vernon

The final results of the 2015 Spring Regional Competition were:
First Place: Sarafina Kain
Second Place: Kyra McDonald
Third Place: Raven Hawthorne

The prize ribbons created by Raven Hawthorne

Madame Saffron presents the third place ribbon
to Raven Hawthorne
Photo by Phi Vernon

Madame Saffron presents the second place ribbon to Kyra McDonald
Photo by Phi Vernon

Madam Saffron congratulates the first place winner
Sarafina Kain
Photo by Phi Vernon

The winners of the 2015 Regional Parasol Duelling Competition
L to R: Second Place Kyra McDonald
First Place Sarafina Kain
Seated: Third Place Raven Hawthorne
Photo by Karlo Keet

Thanks to all the Ladies who came out to duel!
It is great to see how the competition is improving.

Looking forward to seeing more Ladies competing in the World Championships in September this year.

Thank you to the photographers who do their best to make us look good.
Phi Vernon and Lindsay Dunlop of Third Eye Arts, and Karlo Keet.
Check out their awesome work!
There are lots more photographs of the demos and competition posted at Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies 


Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your parasol up!
KJ

To find out more about this great sport go to:
Madame Saffron Hemlock’s Parasol Duelling League for Steampunk Ladies

Click here for information on the history and development of Parasol Duelling 
or click the Parasol Duelling tag.

The Rules for Parasol Duelling are here.

Hindenburg Disaster

On this day in 1937 the German rigid Airship LZ129, the Hindenburg, was destroyed by fire as she approached the mooring tower at the Naval Air Station near Lakehurst, New Jersey.

There is still much debate concerning the causes of the fire.  You can read  a good summary of the details here at Wikipedia.

There is also good discussion by Harold Dick in his "The Golden Age of the Great Passenger Airships" that I reviewed here.  Dick had flown on the Hindenburg as well as the Graf Zeppelin and had access to many German files and the employees of the Zeppelin Company itself.  His conclusion was that the fire was the result of a hydrogen leak caused by a broken stress wire near the stern frames holding the fins.

Whatever the cause the result of the fire was much bigger than simply the loss of  13 passengers and 22 crew, and the destruction of the most advanced airship ever built. The press coverage essentially destroyed the public's confidence in rigid airships. The technological advances in the capability of heavier than air aircraft brought on by WWII doomed any further commercial uses.

The safety record of the big German airships was impeccable prior to this disaster. The loss of all the big US built rigid airships was mostly a problem with structural strength. Every one was lost in bad weather. This has been attributed more to their being based on the extreme design of the German military's high altitude bombing airships from WWI. It is interesting to note that the USS Los Angeles, which was built by Zeppelin Company and turned over to the USA, as both war reparations and in the hope of future commercial deals, never had any structural issues despite being used in stress testing.

The disaster at Lakehurst changed the direction of civil commercial aviation for ever, but it was not because of technical limitations or safety problems but public perception.

A true "If only" moment in history.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

A Winter Morning


Here is the  next part of the serialized tale from our role play group "The Messdeck".

You can start from the beginning here.

Previously Lt Cmdr Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe is in command of the old airship HMAS Doris currently moored to a tall tower in York on her way to Scapa Flow.  He is visited by a fellow officer Lt John Barbesly. Max knew him as the aid to the Admiral of the Pacific Airship Fleet in Esquimalt but he is now working for Naval Intelligence under the formidable Fleet Admiral Avis Chicheley.  He tells Max about the mystery surrounding the sabotage attempt on Max's ship, the HMAS Velvet Brush, in Esquimalt two years ago.


Here is part IV

Frozen Sky

A serial story from The Messdeck.

Part IV

Collected and edited by Kevin Jepson

Feb 2
* Lt Barbesly excused himself on the grounds of doing his trick on ship watch for the black naval airship moored beneath the old Doris on the tower.  He kindly "donated" the heater to the cabin for the comfort of Miss BB and Iveta, and promising to tell the rest of the Doris' crew that they weren't expected back until first light, he took his leave. After a quick and very cold tour of the Doris to make sure everything was secure, Max went back to the little cabin in the control car and is soon fast asleep.*

*Three hours later, with the automatic timing of a sailor long used to standing 4 hour watches, Max shakes himself awake and does another ship check. As dawn breaks across the grey winter sky the crew begins to climb back up. The first to appear is Sgt Fraser with Cpl Cooke close behind him.*

Fraser comes across the walkway and as he steps onto the control car he comes to attention and salutes smartly. "Good Morning Sir!"

"At ease Sergeant, I trust you had a comfortable night below?"

"Aye Sir. I half expected to find you frozen solid though Sir!"

Max chuckles. "That might have been the case Sergeant, save for a happy intervention by an old friend of mine. How did the rest of the crew fare?"

"No troubles Sir, most spent it in the pub with the crew of that black ship below us. Miss BB seems to have accumulated a fair pile of additional scarves and blankets though."

"And not a small amount of coin either I expect."

"Aye Sir more an likely."

Cpl Cooke comes aboard with a large box which he puts on the deck before saluting Max smartly. "A care package from Lt Barbesly Sir, said he didn't think we was equipped properly for such winter travels."

*Max opens the box to see several canisters that look like they would fit the bottom of the mushroom heater in the cabin. There are also several loaves of bread, some insulated jars of mulled wine, and a lovely old bottle of rum.*

Max clicks his tongue in appreciation. "Ah John, always the organized one eh? Thank you Cpl please stow this in the cabin."

"Aye aye Sir."

*Next to appear is Iveta who almost leaps aboard with a step so light that the control car barely moves. She gives Max a quick salute and a "Good Morning Sir!" and heads directly into the cabin to start working up the course that they will need to fly.*

*A few moments later Max can see Simpson at the top of the stairs burdened with a large duffel bag, followed by Miss BB with an equally large duffel and finally Watkins brings up the rear. Each member of the crew stops and salutes Max as they board the small airship. Except Miss BB who walks right by him before stopping most of the way to the cabin. With a muttered "Oh Dear!" she quickly turns and salutes with a squeaky, "Good Morning" and vanishes into the cabin.*

Max looks out at the slowly brightening winter day and says, "Well gentlemen, at least the wind seems to have dropped so maybe we will be able to make some headway." Turning to Watkins he says, "Prepare for up ship in 10 minutes!"

"Up Ship in 10 minutes Aye aye Sir!"

As the two mechanics climb up the ladder to the open keel walk Max can hear Watkins saying, "Right aft we go and get that old engine warming up, if she'll start at all in this cold!"

"Cpl Cooke!"

The Marine snaps to attention."Sir!"

"Think you can handle the unmooring?"

"Aye Sir, no worries Sir!"

"Very good, grab yerself another couple of them scarves of Miss BB's and standby to go aloft as soon as Watkins gets the drive going."

"Aye aye Sir!"

*As the crew begins the bustle and apparent chaos of a ship preparing to unmoor and head off into the winter skies, Max stands at the front of the control car, his hands clasped behind his back, looking down on the sleek black topsides of the navy airship moored below.*

Now, Mr John Barbesly, I'm thinking there is no way you just happened to be here by accident. You was sent by Admiral Chicheley I'm sure. She's keeping a close eye on us an no mistake. I wonder what she'll make of our little diversion today?

Part V is here.

On this night in 1912

In the icy darkness of the North Atlantic sometime between 2.15 a.m. and 2.25 a.m. a primitive spark gap transmitter blasted the following message into the aether and was forever silent thereafter.

... --- ... ... --- ... -.-. --.- -.. -.-. --.- -.. - .. - .- -. .. -.-. .-.-.- .-- . .- .-. . ... .. -. -.- .. -. --. ..-. .- ... - .-.-.- .--. .- ... ... . -. --. . .-. ... .- .-. . -... . .. -. --. .--. ..- - .. -. - --- -... --- .- - ... .-.-.- - .. - .- -. .. -.-. .-.-.-

RIP
RMS Titanic, passengers and crew.

May the silence of the deeps keep you safe unto the ending of the world.

The only known photograph of Titanic's Marconi room. Taken by passenger Fr. Browne, who disembarked in Queenstown.

Operator is probably Harold Bride. Photograph from the Fr. Browne collection. 

The Titanic Marconi room set from the James Cameron movie.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed and your spark gap clean.
KJ

Photos from the fantastic webpage
THE RMS TITANIC RADIO PAGE