Knot the best day (in part anyway)

Today saw us head out again to the Historic Dockyard (again) to see the warships - HMS Warrior and HMS Victory.

Knots became the theme for the first part of the day as there were many to choose from on HMS Warrior. We really impressed with HMS Warrior - it is so vast in length especially. I always like anything historical thinking about what life would of been like and imagining the hustle and bustle. I not sure I would of enjoyed life on a warship - I can't go across to France on the Dover ferry without feeling seasick let alone go into battle.

Here are a few facts about HMS Warrior:

Warrior was designed and built in response to an aggressive French shipbuilding programme which saw the introduction of the first iron-clad warship La Gloire designed by the brilliant naval architect Stanislas Charles Henri Dupuy de Lome.

Determined to see off this challenge to the supremacy of the Royal Navy the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir John Somerset Pakington, determined to build a ship so superior in terms of quality, speed, size, armament and armour that it would be inconceivable to France that she could take Britain on in a sea battle.

When commissioned by Captain the Hon. Arthur Auckland Leopold Pedro Cochrane, on August 1st 1861, Warrior was the largest warship in the world, at 9,210 tons displacement she was fully 60% larger than La Gloire.

The ship underwent minor modifications after a sea trial. In June 1862, she started active service in the Channel Squadron, patrolling coastal waters and sailing to Lisbon and Gibraltar.

Having introduced a revolution in naval architecture, by 1864 Warrior was superseded by faster designs, with bigger guns and thicker armour. By 1871 she was no longer regarded as the crack ship she had once been, and her roles were downgraded to Coastguard and reserve services. In May of 1883 her fore and main masts were found to be rotten, and not considered worth the cost of repair, Warrior was placed in the reserve, eventually converted to a floating school for the Navy and re-named Vernon III in 1904.

Put up for sale as scrap in 1924, no buyer could be found, and so, in March 1929 she left Portsmouth to be taken to Pembroke Dock and converted into a floating oil pontoon, re-named again as Oil Fuel Hulk C77. By 1978, she was the only surviving example of the 'Black Battlefleet' - the 45 iron hulls built for the Royal Navy between 1861 and 1877.

During our time on the Warrior a bird pooped on my head - thankfully it missed the camera and my head entirely. It was mainly on my camera strap and then splashed onto my top. But life went on and we went onto HMS Victory.

I have to say as impressive as HMS Victory was, I was more impressed about the Warrior.

Here are a few facts about HMS Victory:

Undoubtedly Victory’s most famous battle saw her as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, fought against a combined French and Spanish fleet. The allies were soundly defeated, total losses reaching 22 ships without the Royal Navy losing one. Nelson was shot at the height of the battle and died on Victory’s orlop deck after receiving news of victory.

What I have to say was how impressive all the volunteers who help your around both ships sharing their knowledge and willing to answer any questions. Also the artefacts on board both ships were amazing.

Other than the poop it was a good day. Just not looking forward to work tomorrow.