Steam Yacht Gondola- the survival of the excellence and innovation of the Victorian age.
Captain Julian Blatchley SpeakerNet Sponsor
- Region:
- North West
- Notice Period:
- Regular (more than one month's notice)
- Type:
- Humorous presentations on Sailing, Professional Marine, modern Greek and Historical subjects
- Fee:
- Unknown
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 19th February 2020
- Tagged:
- Steam Engines | 19Th Century | Coniston Water | Swallows And Amazons
Steam Yacht Gondola still sails her scenic excursions under the Coniston Fells to day as she first did in 1860... under steam. To date, she has spent at least 116 of her 160 years carrying enchanted passengers around this beautiful waterway of Northern England.
A byword for innovation in shipbuilding technology, Gondola outlived her successors in an amazing 76 year career as an excursion steamer. In 'retirement', she remained an icon of the lake for which she was built, first as a houseboat and, later, as a picturesque wreck. She is connected with John Ruskin and W. G. Collingwood; Arthur Ransome steered her as a boy, and acknowledged her influence in his creation of Captain Flint's houseboat. She played a pivotal role in the growth of Lake District tourism, and in the birth of modern tourism.
Restored by the National Trust and put back into service in 1980, Gondola is very little changed from the vessel which first sailed in 1850 and still runs a busy schedule, cruising every day from April to October, and remains powered by her double-acting twin-cylinder steam engine and wood-fired locomotive boiler. My talk will tell the story of this elegant survivor, and of her surprising connections.
Views: 1181 | Enquiries: 2About Captain Julian Blatchley
Julian is a professional seaman and latterly an author of humorous travelogues. Raised next to Windermere in the English Lake District, he has sailed recreationally for almost 5 decades, and as a professional seaman for 4. His career has included commanding and piloting supertankers, over a hundred and fifty thousand miles of ocean and offshore sailing, several years as a charter yacht skipper, oilfield management and a very short and alarming period fighting bush fires. He has lived in the Far East, Pacific Islands and, for 30 years, in the Greek Islands. In 2014 Julian moved back to England with his family, and is loving being home. Since March 2019, he has been manager and master of the National Trust's historic steam yacht 'Gondola' on beautiful Coniston Water
Julian has recorded his early experiences in Greece in two humorous travelogue novels, 'Adjacent To The Argonauts' (Troubador, 2010) and 'The Trojan Walrus' (Troubador, 2015). These books have, respectively, 4.8 and 5.0 star ratings on Amazon.
Julian has a fascination with history, and in particular with historical subjects that he feels have been misunderstood or misrepresented. He is a fan of Captain William Bligh, a deep sceptic about the evil portrayal of Richard III, an unhealthy interest in Lake District Norsemen, and a mitigating advocate for Field Marshall Earl Haig. Following on from these historical interests, he is shortly publishing his first novel, 'Ne'er Do Well', which is a humorous tale of a feckless young man's accidental involvement in the War of the French Revolution and the start of a trilogy.
Following on from talks given to expat groups when living abroad, Julian is now available to speak in the UK on subjects such as life at sea on large tankers, the life of a yacht charter skipper, Greek history, lifestyle and cuisine, the fact and fiction of famous shipwrecks, and Steam Yacht 'Gondola'.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Captain Julian Blatchley
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