The Verse of Dr. Stephan Maturin

The following three verses were written by Dr. Maturin while he served on H. M.S. Surprise.

“Then we upon out globes last verge shall go.
And view the ocean leaning on the sky;
From thence our rolling neighbors we shall know,
And on the lunar world securely pry by God I believe.”
…

“Thus to the Eastern wealth through storms we go;
But now, the Cape once doubled fear no more;
A constant trade-wind will securely blow,
And gently lay us on the spicy shore.”
…

“All all of a piece throughout,
Thy chase had a least in view,
Thy wars brought nothing about,
The lovers were all untrue.”
…

H. M. S. Surprise, Patrick O’ Brian

Aubrey–Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brian

I have started to read the third volume in Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series; HMS Surprise. The Aubrey–Maturin series includes 20 historical novels. The series are set during the Napoleonic Wars and are centering around the friendship of Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and the ship's surgeon, Stephen Maturin. Maturin is a trained physician, a natural philosopher, and an intelligence agent.

Having read the previous two titles in this series and having seen the Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, I knew I that I would be entertained.

Novels in order of first publication:

Master and Commander (1969)
Post Captain (1972)
HMS Surprise (1973)
The Mauritius Command (1977)
Desolation Island (1978)
The Fortune of War (1979)
The Surgeon's Mate (1980)
The Ionian Mission (1981)
Treason's Harbour (1983)
The Far Side of the World (1984)
The Reverse of the Medal (1986)
The Letter of Marque (1988)
The Thirteen Gun Salute (1989)
The Nutmeg of Consolation (1991)
Clarissa Oakes (1992)
The Wine-Dark Sea (1993)
The Commodore (1995)
The Yellow Admiral (1996)
The Hundred Days (1998)
Blue at the Mizzen (1999)
The Final Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey (2004)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Screenshot 1

The first time I viewed this video was in a surround sound movie theater where every creek and grown of the wooden ship was heard as if you were there on the ship. And the sound of cannon was deafening.

I have watched this video on two other occasions and now it is part of my collection. I have read the book by Patrick O'Brian-Master and Commander in which the movie was, in part, contrived. The video was adapted from three novels from the O’ Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series.

Screenshot 2

“The film takes place in the spring of 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey of HMS Surprise has orders to pursue the French privateer Acheron, and "Sink, Burn, or take her as a Prize".

Screenshot 3

Jack Aubrey the captain of the HMS Surprise, played by Russell Crowe, is depicted as an excellent navigator, a great leader, and a compassionate friend. Aubrey outwits his French opponent and takes the Acheron as a prize, only to find out that it is he who has been outwitted. The last scene finds the HMS Surprise beating to quarters and changing course to pursue the Acheron, with the idea of escorting the recently captured ship to port.

Build your own Stubby Paper Rocket!

I have so many links to material that I thought I would like to make posts; so many links that they have a tendency to get lost in the shuffle. This is my first Rockets and Rocket Men post, a topic I hope to expound on in the upcoming months. The TOR HMS Stubbin has somewhat of a history and there are even a few desktop wallpapers for your computer.

The paper-craft model doesn’t look all that difficult to assemble. There are two files to download, that is the model itself and the illustrated instructions (both files are PDF’s).

Axis and Allies-War at Sea-HMS Saumarez

The HMS Saumarez was an S-class destroyer that was commissioned in 1943. The Saumarez saw action in the Atlantic and earned the following battle honors for the following campaigns: Arctic 1943-44, North Cape 1943, and Normandy 1944. During operations in the Pacific the Saumarez earned the following battle honors: Malaya 1945 and Burma 1945.


As part of the East Indian Fleet the Saumarez together with four other destroyers intercepted the Imperial Japanese cruiser Haguro and sank her with torpedoes, this fight being the last surface action of the war.
Some of the Axis and Allies-War at Sea statistics for this vessel are:

• Speed (Movement): 2
• Armor: 2
• Vital Armor: 7
• Hull Points: 2
• Rarity: common