Meeting Report January 2003
A very cold night with a threat of snow, resulted in a lower than usual turn out for our meeting on Monday 6th Jan 2003. All who attended our two part �homespun� event however had a varied and interesting evening. During the first half of the evening Tony Hogwood presented the concluding part of his �European Waters� show that he started last month. This month the majority of slides were taken at Terneuzen on the Scheldt estuary. At this point ships pass close to the shore on their way to Antwerp and Ghent. In 2001 the port of Antwerp was reported to be the second largest European port, handling some 130 million tonnes of cargo and being served by 15,885 seagoing vessels. Tony was able to show many ships reflecting the diversity of cargoes handled in the area. We hope that he will be visiting again this year, if only to give us another splendid show.
By contrast, Ray Smith visited Turkey last year with the Thames Ship Society and presented the second half of the evening. Rays slides were taken on a visit to Tuzla on the Sea of Marmora, about an hour and a half�s ferry trip from Istanbul. The whole area concentrates on shipbuilding and repair with about 30 independent shipyards. Ships are moored in small trots awaiting repair or completion, sitting high in floating docks or on the shore side slipways. About as many ships per square kilometre as you could find anywhere in the world. Ray�s slides showed us a varied selection of ships from tugs to tankers and bulk carriers to coasters and were of all ages dating from the Albatross of 1878. Some northern waters favourites were also seen under new colours most notably the �Saga� and the �Duke of Holland 2�. Our thanks to Tony and Ray for an excellent evening.
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