“Hornblower”, alias Paul Joseph. Commonly seen on roofs about the Swansea area. A man with a head for heights – although questions have been asked about his sea legs – in fact, about his legs in general. Loves the front man role – and in fairness, the unit probably would not exist without him. Scourge of the English Units (for some unknown reason they seem to think the Welsh have an “attitude”. Cannot image why!

Star sign -Pluto. Favourite colour -puce. Pet hates – Cardiff City FC and stop tap. Claim to fame – grounded our RIB more than anyone else in the unit.

Now let me introduce you to Sam –

When Sam joined us I thought she would be the most unlikely candidate for our band of misfits. Far from it. She has proven herself to be more than a capable member. A single Mum (open to offers from hunky millionaire studs), who has launched herself into the MVS with gusto. So far she has managed to avoid aquiring a nickname – but it is only a matter of time. She has developed a very high standard of boat handling skills, and is now also a commited member of the Lougher Inshore Lifeboat crew. Her drunken hedge-leaping skills are spectacular! English Units beware – do not get into a drinking competition with this girl – she may be small, but her size belies her capacity.

Nothing to do with members of our unit – dogs. Every year the Swansea Maritime Festival (Swansea Council – get your act together – it is supposed to be a MARITIME Festival), features an appearance from Newfoundland dog enthusiasts. However, they have double booked this year, so sadly will not be with us. These magnificent animals, weighing in at 140 lbs+ were originally bred to save the lives of fishermen who fell overboard. They have web feet, and enormous appetites. Their display has as a climax one dog towing eight or more people through the water. This is no mean task, and in one display it included Digger (an ex-member of the MVS, weighing in himself at an unmentionable weight) and seven others. Impressive! One of the funniest sights I have seen is when all the Newfoundlands turned up with a 100lb pup – that was afraid of the water! Look carefully at the photograph, the dog is aboard the RIB.

This photo, taken I think at the Portsmouth Festival of the Sea in 2005, is of some members of the Swansea Unit, with Digger in the front tickling Henry’s fancy.

Thought I might introduce you to this rather sad little craft. Fondly known as “Spare Rib” (as opposed to our RIB – rigid inflatable boat – which is called Jack Tar). This small ex-police inflatable was donated to use after a full working life with South Wales Constabulary. We use it far work on the River Tawe in Swansea, and it has proven itself as a good working tool, even though it is now showing it’s age. It has also taken part in safety exercises in Swansea Bay, but one would not wish to set to sea in anything much more than a force 3. Needless to say, it has no home comforts, being and airy sort of craft even on a warm summer’s day. However, it plays a key role in training new members – and is a stern reminder [sorry!] for those mariners more used to the luxury of a steering wheel. Seen here at the inaugural opening of the Swansea SA1 development, where it acted as a safety boat on the King’s Dock. Unfortunately the evening was washed out by a force 8 storm, and even the harbour became unmanageable for all craft involved. The crews still managed to enjoy themselves – that is, after drying out and adjourning to the yacht club.

By the way, if anyone wishes to donate a craft to this small registered charity we would certainly welcome their contribution!

Also present were a bunch of dodgy looking pirates. I’m not convinced that this lot would have terrorised the high seas – however, when they were actually fighting, on a floating pontoon in the middle of the harbour in an impending storm, they certainly went at each other with a vengeance. No injuries were sustained – but Swansea High Street saw some action later in the day!

I have amassed a range of photographs to put onto the blog – and now that I have actually got here, I have to decide whether to add them in the haphazard way they ocurred, or in some sort of theme. I decided on the theme as it is the best way of dealing with my cluttered mind and lifestyle. With special thanks to various members of the Merriman family for keeping me on some sort of reasonable path in life!

So, to the Maritime Volunteer Service, or MVS as it is more commonly referred to. A motley bunch, made up from ex-service people and those who have always had a hankering for the sea and boats. I have been a member of the Swansea Unit for a number of years, and by national standards we seem to be quite a successful unit. Our main purpose is to develop and promote maritime skills. Further than this, we provide a service to our local maritime community by providing safety boats at various events. It is hoped that we can develop more useful links with the emergency services to assist in search and rescue operations. In recent years we have been involved in several incidents, two being successful, in one instance recovering a drunk from the River Tawe who had decided to take a short cut from a bridge en route home. Pulling someone aboard with a broken femur is not funny, even if he was suitably anaethetised. The other, more rewarding was pulling a distressed labrador from flood water. He was very grateful, and all crew members were thoroughly licked in thanks. On the other hand, we have pulled bodies from the water. Unfortunately Swansea does seem to have quite a record of river suicides and accidents. Although we do not yet operate a 24 hour call-out system, we do seem to have an uncanny knack of being on the scene – sometimes even before the emergency services (but they will not thank me for saying that).

The first photo I have included is a bit unfair.At the Pembroke Sea Rally last year I passed Carol my digital camera, a Minolta Dimage 7 at the time. One of the particular features of this piece of kit is the exceptionally long delay between pressing the shutter release and the shutter actually operating. I was asked to do the commentary for the public, so I passed the camera to my long-suffering partner, Carol, and said “just keep shooting” – which she dutifully did, and it must be said the rest of the pictures were fine…but this remains my favourite. RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) races onto scene to pick up casualty, Carol points and shoots…the picture says the rest !