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The ship has a long association with offshore radio broadcasts, most recently the watery wireless recreations by BBC Essex in 2004, 2007 and 2009. Click here for audio courtesy of Steve Scruton and BBC Essex – Steve interviews Tony O'Neil; Colin Crawford, Chairman of the Pharos Trust, introduces Councillor Neil Stock, Leader of Tendring District Council, who performs the ribbon-cutting. Photos © John Sales |
Arriving just before midday, I parked the car and headed for the LV18. There were a few people on board so I opened the gate at the beginning of the gangway, walked on and asked whether Tony O’Neil was around. I found him down below with Steve Scruton from BBC Essex and said, "Hello again!" to both of them. After a brief exchange of greetings, Steve had to go and get ready for the broadcast. Unfortunately there were no other PBBCE or BBC Essex presenters present, as they all had prior commitments. (left) Chris Dixon and John Rose prepare for the broadcast Tony and I chatted briefly before he had to carry on with his many tasks. I returned to the lower rear deck to look for other attendees to speak to. There weren't very many people there that I knew, but I found volunteer Brian, whom I'd met several times before in and around the LV18. Later on, none other than engineer Mike Barrington appeared. So, things were looking up, as I'd found a couple of friendly, familiar faces to talk to, but the rain just wouldn't give up and regrettably, this was to be the pattern for most of the day. The bad weather unfortunately made it very difficult to take any decent photographs. The rain caused the assembled guests to congregate on the lower rear deck, due to it being somewhat sheltered by the heli-deck above. To say the least, it did get a little bit crowded! I couldn't take photos anywhere other than on this deck because I couldn't hold both the camera and my umbrella at the same time! Around 1230 we were invited to the mess room for drinks and 'nibbles' prior to the ceremony itself. Well, at least it was nice and dry down there! The assembled multitude consisted of members of the Pharos Trust, volunteers, local dignitaries including councillors and the Mayor of Harwich, the Ship's Chaplain, members of the consulting team and the marine engineering company who were responsible for carrying out all the necessary work, plus invited friends and supporters of the ship. BBC Essex personnel comprised Presenter/Producer Steve Scruton and Production Assistants Chris Dixon and John Rose. (right) Mike Barrington and Tony O'Neil Steve went live at 1300 to introduce his 'Steve's Summer Saturday' show, but unfortunately, there wasn't any audio on board the ship. I really wished I'd brought along a radio and pair of headphones so that I could have heard what was going on! There was a small PA by the BBC outside broadcast vehicles which were parked in the car park, but since there wasn't anyone out on the quayside, they didn't turn this on till later in the afternoon. Considering the absolutely atrocious weather conditions I thought that Steve worked really hard trying to 'talk things up' and lift people's spirits! His first interviewee was, quite rightly, Tony O'Neil, without whom I don't think this project would ever have come to fruition. We all owe him a great deal. The show continued and as the hour of two o'clock approached, preparations were being made for the opening ceremony to take place. Tony fixed the obligatory piece of ribbon across the gangway at the ship end where all the guests were assembled, and he produced a pair of scissors for the council leader to cut it. Shortly after 1400 the ceremony commenced with Colin Crawford, Chairman of the Pharos Trust, giving his introduction and welcoming everyone who had braved the weather and turned up. Next, he handed the proceedings over to Councillor Neil Stock, Leader of Tendring District Council, to perform the cutting of the ribbon to declare the ship officially open. After his speech, the ribbon was cut and the LV18 was ready for her first paying visitors. However, before this could happen, the ship then had to be blessed by the official Ship's Chaplain.
The Reverend Eugeniah Adoyo has recently been appointed the Team Vicar of Harwich Peninsula. In addition to this position she is now also appointed the Ship's Chaplain of the LV18! Service sheets of the minister's blessing 'Bless the Sea and Lightship' were handed out to everyone and the service then commenced. The ceremony itself was rather, shall we say, light-hearted and went down really well! It was rather a surprise to me, as I certainly wasn't expecting anything at all like this, but the Reverend Eugeniah's ship's blessing was very enlightening and also very entertaining! Throughout the ceremony, she repeatedly dipped small conifer branches into a bowl of holy water and then proceeded to throw this water over everything and everyone. After a couple of times of doing this the group of invited guests knew what was coming and took to diving for cover! Everyone, the Reverend included, was laughing aloud. Steve Scruton summed the situation up very well when he said on-air, "I'll bet her services are fun!" (Download pdf of the blessing here.)
The blessing completed, it was now time for the very first official paying visitors to be invited aboard. Tony O'Neil walked across the gangway escorting the few waiting visitors who had braved the rain. LV18 admission charges are £2.00 for adults and £1.00 for children. For this sum visitors are given a guided tour of the ship, including the cabins and living accommodation on the lower deck. Down there is also a small selection of vintage radio and audio equipment and of course, a display of Offshore Radio items and memorabilia! The opening hours are, at present, 0900 to 1800, though, of course, these are likely to change in line with customer demand. The ship is currently only open at weekends, though this is also likely to be reviewed in the future. It does go without saying, of course, that all monies collected will go towards the repair, maintenance and further restoration of the LV18, under the auspices of the Pharos Trust. The first official visitor to Harwich's new attraction was offshore radio enthusiast Chris Brisland of Ipswich, who walked aboard proudly carrying his wonderful Ever Ready Sky Queen radio, which had been manufactured in 1953! The radio, which Chris has lovingly restored, was tuned to BBC Essex on 411 metres and Steve's show could be clearly heard coming from the loudspeaker. Chris is famed for being a very regular contributor to the Keith Skues Show on Sunday evening and for listening via his 'Wireless of the Week'. I've had the pleasure of meeting Chris several times during previous PBBCE broadcasts and he has always had an interesting radio with him. He also works in a traditional radio shop in Ipswich called Adams, where vintage radios like the one in the photo are restored.
Steve continued with his show and the first visitors were taken around the ship for their guided tour. I disappeared down below to drink a much-needed cup of tea that Tony's girlfriend Sally had kindly provided for me. While I was in the mess room I spoke to several visitors, giving out information about the ship. Jim Salmon came up and said that I didn't know him, but he was pleased to have read my first report on the LV18 which had appeared a few weeks previously on the Radio London website. He recognised me from my photograph at the top of the feature (Thanks Mary!) Jim said he enjoyed reading my work, which was very nice to hear! Next I met well-known anoraks Cathy and Terry who I've had the pleasure of meeting many times before. I also met up with 'Phil from Gosfield' once again, who was proudly sporting his 2009 Pirate BBC Essex tee-shirt and there were a few more familiar anoraks who came aboard during the afternoon. Stewards were positioned around the ship to promote on-board safety and advise and inform the visitors. I guess I also became a steward for the afternoon and, indeed, Tony had previously asked me if I would be willing to assist in this capacity. Well, how could I possibly refuse? The fact that it was pouring with rain must have considerably limited the number of visitors but, in a way, this was not too bad a thing as it gave everyone on board a chance to do a few 'dummy runs' and fine-tune the tours.
Steve Scruton carried interviewing various people for his show – Councillor Neil Stock, Mayor of Harwich, Councillor Barry Brown and Chris Brisland. Considering how bad the weather was, I think Steve did incredibly well, and I told him so just before he departed. As I did so, Cathy asked him when he thought the next PBBCE broadcast would be. Steve replied that he was sorry, but he didn't know. However, he also added, "never say never"! So, make of that what you will, but that's straight from the horse's mouth! Shortly after Steve's show finished at 1600, the rain finally stopped at long last! Of course, this then caused more people to venture out and come down to the Quay. Quite a few extra visitors turned up then to pay their £2.00 and take tours. The Stewards and volunteers were kept pretty busy from then onwards, particularly Carol and Carley who worked really hard showing visitors round. When things had quietened down on board towards the evening, Tony, Mike Barrington, Tony's friend Martin and myself all sat at a table on the rear deck recollecting the day's events and other offshore radio happenings from over the years. Mike told us the full story of the Sealand Navy - which is a tale for another day! John Sales To see photos of the ship taken in sunny conditions, read John's report from his visit in June 2011. Feature © John Sales and Radio London, 2011 |
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John Sales reports on the official opening of the lightship LV18 to the public – Saturday July 16th, 2011
